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Abstract

Europe is facing slower growth as a result of protracted financial turbulence and spillovers from the U.S. Meanwhile, inflation has risen sharply. Policymakers in advanced economies will have to continue to support financial markets and balance risks to real activity with the need to anchor inflation. Emerging Europe is well placed to continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, amid concerns about overheating and external imbalances in several countries. Sound macroeconomic policies and structural reforms will be necessary to ensure a soft landing in these countries and smooth convergence throughout the region.

Regional Economic Out look Europe Reassessing Risks

April 2008

© 2008 International Monetary Fund

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Regional economic outlook: Europe – [Washington, D.C.]: International Monetary Fund, 2008.

p. cm. – (World economic and financial surveys)

“Reassessing risks.”

Apr. 08.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-58906-713-4

1. Economic forecasting – Europe. 2. Europe – Economic conditions – 1945- 3. Europe – Economic conditions – Statistics. I. International Monetary Fund. II. Series (World economic and financial surveys) III. Title.

HC240.R445 2008

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Contents

  • Executive Summary

  • 1. Outlook: Navigating Turbulent Waters

    • Advanced Economies

    • Emerging Economies

  • 2. Financial Turbulence: Testing Resilience and Dampening Growth

    • How Financial Turbulence Spread to Europe

    • Impact on Financial System Resilience

    • Impact on the Real Economy

  • 3. Convergence in Emerging Europe: Sustainability and Vulnerabilities

    • Overview

    • Sustaining Growth

    • Addressing Vulnerabilities

    • Running Sound Macroeconomic Policies

    • Policy Agenda

  • References

  • Boxes

    • 1. Spillovers from Weaker U.S. Growth

    • 2. Financial Turbulence: Policy Lessons

    • 3. Understanding Food Price Inflation in Emerging Europe

    • 4. Spillover Risks among Major EU Banks

    • 5. Regional Financial Interlinkages and Contagion Channels

    • 6. Banks’ Risk Profile, Credit Growth, and the Real Economy

    • 7. Real Sector Implications of Financial Turbulence for an Emerging Market Economy

    • 8. Potential Growth Estimates in Emerging Europe Based on a Growth Model

    • 9. Current Account Sustainability in the EU-10

  • Tables

    • 1. European Countries: Real GDP Growth and CPI Inflation, 2006–09

    • 2. European Countries: External and Fiscal Balances, Government Debt, 2006–08

    • 3. Measuring the Impact of Risk Repricing on Selected Markets

    • 4. Net Bank Exposure to U.S. Subprime Mortgage Markets

    • 5. Estimated Losses on Mortgage-Related Subprime Bank Exposures

    • 6. Output Response to Financial Shocks: Simulation Results

    • 7. Response of GDP Growth to a 10 Percentage Point Decline in Credit Growth

    • 8. Determinants of Growth in Emerging Europe, 2003–07

    • 9. Sustainability of Current Account Deficits Based on a Model of Regional Convergence, 2007

    • 10. Responses of External Debt-to-GDP Ratio to Adverse Shocks, 2007–11

  • Figures

    • 1. Europe and the United States: Real GDP Growth, 2001–09

    • 2. Key Short-Term Indicators

    • 3. Euro Area: Contribution of Food and Energy to Headline Inflation, January 2006–December 2007

    • 4. Euro Area: Cost of Financing, 2003–08

    • 5. Spreads of Three-Month Interbank Rates over Expected Policy Rates, 2007–08

    • 6. Changes in Credit Standards for Loans to Enterprises and Households, 2005–08

    • 7. Measures of the Euro Exchange Rate, 1999–2008

    • 8. Growth in Emerging Europe, 2001–09

    • 9. Emerging Europe: Confidence Indicators, January 2006–February 2008

    • 10. Emerging Europe: Sovereign and Corporate Bond Spreads, January 2007–March 2008

    • 11. Emerging Markets: Private Sector External Bond Issuance, 2006–08

    • 12. Emerging Europe: Bond Spreads and Current Account Deficits

    • 13. Central and Eastern Europe: Credit Growth and House Prices, 2002–06

    • 14. Estimating Shifts in the Global Price of Risk, 2007–08

    • 15. Reassessing Risks across Asset Classes and Borders

    • 16. Euro Area Lending to Nonfinancial Corporations and Households, 2000–08

    • 17. Changes in the Balance Sheet of the European Banking System

    • 18. Expected Default Frequencies, 2007–08

    • 19. Implied Spreads, 2007–08

    • 20. Market Leverage versus Asset Volatility of Exposed EU Banks, 2007–08

    • 21. European Banks: Market Evaluation of Assets in Distress

    • 22. Convergence in Emerging Europe and in the Rest of the World, 2002–06

    • 23. GDP per Capita and Current Account Balances, 2007

    • 24. Emerging Europe: Value Added by Sector, Contributions to Real GDP Growth, 2002–06

    • 25. Emerging Europe: Domestic and External Demand, Contributions to Real GDP Growth, 2002–06

    • 26. Emerging Europe: Growth Accounting, 2002–06

    • 27. Growth and Private Sector Credit Growth, 2002–06

    • 28. Emerging Europe: Contributions to Current Account Deficit, 2003–07

    • 29. Emerging Europe: FDI Coverage of Current Account Deficit, 2002–06

    • 30. Emerging Europe: Change in Current Account Balance and Real Effective Exchange Rate Appreciation, 2003–07

    • 31. Emerging Europe: Percentage Change in Export Market Shares in the World Economy, 2002–06

    • 32. Current Account Model Predictions and Actual Balances in Selected New EU Members

    • 33. Emerging Europe: Ratio of Short-Term Debt (Remaining Maturity) to Foreign Exchange Reserves, 2007

    • 34. Emerging Europe: Lending Interest Rate minus Taylor Rule Interest Rate, 2003–07

    • 35. Emerging Europe: Monetary Conditions Index, 2007

    • 36. Change in Actual and Structural Fiscal Balances, 2003–07

This Regional Economic Outlook: Europe—Reassessing Risks was written by Dora Iakova, Philip Schellekens, Silvia Sgherri, Athanasios Vamvakidis, and Edda Zoli under the guidance of Michael Deppler, Ajai Chopra, Alessandro Leipold, and Luc Everaert, with contributions from Zsofia Arvai, Elie Canetti, Martin Čihák, Karl Driessen, Dale Gray, Daniel Hardy, Andrea Maechler, Srobona Mitra, Li Lian Ong, Elina Ribakova, Geoffrey Oestreicher, İnci Ötker-Robe, Alex Pivovarsky, Mustafa Saiyid, Alexander Tieman, and David Vávra. This Regional Economic Outlook: Europe was coordinated by the Regional Studies Division of the IMF’s European Department in close cooperation with the Europe Division of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Pavel Lukyantsau, Dominique Raelison-Rajaobelina, and Thomas Walter provided research, administrative, and editorial assistance, respectively. Marina Primorac of the External Relations Department oversaw the production. The report is based on data available as of March 24, 2008. The views expressed in this report are those of the IMF staff and should not be attributed to Executive Directors or their national authorities.

Executive Summary

Outlook: Navigating Turbulent Waters

The spread of the crisis in financial markets has significantly dampened the outlook for the European economy. Even though Europe faced the financial turbulence from a position of strong fundamentals, spillovers from the expected mild recession in the United States, the global reassessment of risks, and the strains in the financial system are sapping its economy’s strength. The appreciation of the euro and the sharp increase in inflation, driven by food and energy prices, are adding to these troubles. Growth in Europe is expected to decline sharply, by 1¼ percentage points in 2008, with growth rates in the advanced economies projected to fall well below potential for some time.

The risks to the growth outlook are substantial. On the downside, spillovers from weaker global growth could be even larger than expected; global imbalances could unwind suddenly, accompanied by a further appreciation of the euro; and the credit squeeze could turn into a full-blown credit crunch. Risks are greater in countries that are going through a correction in housing prices, though this factor is mitigated in Europe by the limited reliance of households on borrowing against home equity collateral. Emerging economies with large current account deficits or high external debt ratios would be especially vulnerable to shifts in investor confidence. On the upside, domestic demand could be stronger than projected, especially in the short run, as labor markets are still strong.

The challenges facing policymakers in advanced economies are to restore confidence in the financial system and minimize the impact of the financial sector crisis on the real economy, while maintaining hard-won inflation credibility and long-term fiscal sustainability. The immediate priorities are to rebuild counterparty confidence and reinforce the soundness of financial institutions. Liquidity should continue to be provided as needed. Central banks will have to strike the right balance between supporting the real economy and preventing second-round effects from the recent rise in inflation. In the euro area, while current inflation is uncomfortably high, prospects point to its falling back below 2 percent during 2009 in the context of an increasingly negative outlook for activity. Accordingly, the European Central Bank (ECB) can afford some easing of the policy stance. For countries with fiscal room, automatic stabilizers should be allowed to operate fully to cushion the downturn. In the event of a more severe contraction in growth, timely, temporary, and well-targeted fiscal stimuli could be effective in supporting the economy for a few countries.

The economies of emerging Europe continue to grow rapidly, but their dynamism is being challenged by the slowdown in advanced economies, the repricing of risk, and the rise in commodity prices. The financial turbulence is starting to affect the cost and availability of financing: sovereign and private bond spreads have risen, short-term cross-border financial flows have moderated, and credit growth is starting to slow in some countries. For most countries, growth is expected to weaken only moderately, adjusting toward potential rates and limiting the risks of overheating. However, the growing risks of a hard landing in countries with large external imbalances call for a continued focus on reducing vulnerabilities and managing demand pressures.

Financial Turbulence: Testing Resilience and Dampening Growth

Financial turmoil has spread quickly through Europe’s financial systems (see Chapter 2). Direct valuation and income losses on subprime-related securities dented the capital and profitability of European financial institutions. With uncertainty about exposures and counterparty risk becoming pervasive, credit risk has been reappraised, but asymmetrically across the various asset classes. The erosion of risk appetite has generated unprecedented pressures in the commercial paper and interbank money markets.

Despite the depth and width of the turmoil, Europe’s financial systems have held up relatively well so far. The soundness of the major systemic players has been maintained, as shareholders and outside investors have injected fresh capital where needed. Partly as a result of this and partly because “plain vanilla” debt instruments have been less affected, bank lending in advanced economies in Europe has held up, and spillovers to emerging Europe have been limited.

But the test of Europe’s financial systems is not over. A range of estimates suggest that loss recognition in many financial institutions still needs to catch up with reality. Meanwhile, until U.S. housing market conditions stabilize, the values of subprime mortgage products will likely fall further. The continuing financial distress is spreading to other forms of debt and debt default insurance and, through its impact on parent banks in advanced economies, may spill over into emerging Europe. Moreover, liquidity remains seriously impaired despite aggressive responses by major central banks.

An overarching concern is the toll of the unfolding crisis on the real economy. Analytical work suggests that the effects on growth—from the rising cost of finance and the credit supply squeeze, as well as from knock-on effects through equity and housing price corrections—are likely to be significant. A more severe credit crunch remains a distinct possibility and would amplify the slowdown.

Emerging Europe: Sustaining Convergence and Addressing Vulnerabilities

Analysis of the prospects and vulnerabilities of emerging Europe (see Chapter 3) suggests that the convergence trend of the region is based on strong fundamentals and will therefore continue, albeit at a slower pace. Structural reforms have progressed in most countries, thanks to which growth has been driven primarily by productivity improvements. However, growth rates in recent years have been above estimates of potential for most countries and an adjustment is already under way.

Fast growth has been associated with rising external imbalances in several economies, including large current account deficits and high levels of external debt, raising risks of a hard landing. Although fundamentals justify relatively large current account deficits in the region, deficits in some countries may be excessive, suggesting the need for adjustment in the medium term. High external debt levels and balance sheet exposures in some countries are an additional source of vulnerability.

Macroeconomic policies and structural reforms will need to do more to address emerging Europe’s imbalances. Monetary conditions tend to be on the loose side in most of the region and should be tightened where possible. Fiscal consolidation has not always taken full advantage of the strong cycle and needs to play a more prominent role in managing domestic demand, particularly in countries where monetary policy focuses on exchange rate stability. Our analysis also reveals a strong link between structural reforms and potential growth, suggesting that further progress in these reforms may be essential to ensure a smooth convergence in emerging Europe. Moreover, structural reforms will facilitate the gearing of resources toward the tradable sector, thereby helping to reduce external imbalances.

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