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Europe > Ireland

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Denmark: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses the macroeconomic impact of the pharmaceutical sector. The analysis focuses on Novo Nordisk, the leading pharmaceutical company in Denmark, and its productivity impact on the rest of the economy. Empirical evidence suggests only weak correlations between productivity shocks at Novo Nordisk and overall economic growth, as well as between Novo Nordisk’s productivity and that of other firms. The findings suggest there is limited risk that Denmark’s booming pharmaceutical company would become its “Nokia.” Although the pharmaceutical sector will be a key driver of growth, most of its production occurs overseas under Danish ownership. As a result, its linkages with the rest of the domestic economy, in terms of employment and supply chains, are somewhat limited. The empirical results also indicate limited spillover effects through productivity channels. However, the empirical results may underestimate the influence of Novo Nordisk due to limited data.
Keywords:
mitigating factor; productivity shock; E. policy option; Policy consideration; shocks to Novo Nordisk; energy firm; covered bond bond market; Nonbank financial institutions; Labor productivity; Covered bonds; Systemic risk assessment; Productivity; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Output Gaps?
Jelle Barkema
,
Tryggvi Gudmundsson
, and
Mr. Mico Mrkaic
Estimates of output gaps continue to play a key role in assessments of the stance of business cycles. This paper uses three approaches to examine the historical record of output gap measurements and their use in surveillance within the IMF. Firstly, the historical record of global output gap estimates shows a firm negative skew, in line with previous regional studies, as well as frequent historical revisions to output gap estimates. Secondly, when looking at the co-movement of output gap estimates and realized measures of slack, a positive, but limited, association is found between the two. Thirdly, text analysis techniques are deployed to assess how estimates of output gaps are used in Fund surveillance. The results reveal no strong bearing of output gap estimates on the coverage of the concept or direction of policy advice. The results suggest the need for continued caution in relying on output gaps for real-time policymaking and policy assessment.
Keywords:
Output gaps; monetary policy; fiscal policy; WP; output gap estimate; delta real-time output gap; output gap uncertainty; output gaps discussion; output gap coverage; output gap measurement error; overestimated output gap; business cycles; underestimated output gap; Output gap; Potential output; Inflation; Current account balance; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Kingdom: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper on the United Kingdom finds that the main factors behind the slowdown include weak productivity growth, labor market slack, and low inflation. Recent labor market developments in the United Kingdom appear to point to disconnect between unemployment and wages. Although the unemployment rate has fallen to a 40-year low, wage growth continues to growth at a subdued pace. The analysis in this paper suggests that this puzzle is explained by persistent weak productivity growth and well-anchored inflation expectations, as well as by greater effective labor market slack than suggested by the headline unemployment rate. Broader measures of underemployment—accounting for involuntary part-time unemployment, inactive and self-employed people seeking regular jobs—suggest that slack in the labor market was higher than implied by the unemployment rate in recent years. Persistent tightness of the labor market should prompt some firming of wage growth in the coming year, everything else equal. A mild increase in unit labor costs would help bring domestically generated inflation in line with the inflation target.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; wage; productivity growth; labor market; wage pressure; labor market condition; wage dynamics; frontier firm; labor market slack; Wages; Labor markets; Productivity; Unemployment rate; Self-employment; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Impact of Workforce Aging on European Productivity
Mr. Shekhar Aiyar
and
Mr. Christian H Ebeke
The age-distribution of Europe’s workforce has shifted towards older workers over the past few decades, a process expected to accelerate in the years ahead.. This paper studies the effect of the aging of the workforce on labor productivity, identifies the main transmission channels, and examines what policies might mitigate the effects of aging. We find that workforce aging reduces growth in labor productivity, mainly through its negative effect on TFP growth. Projected workforce aging could reduce TFP growth by an average of 0.2 percentage points every year over the next two decades. A variety of policies could ameliorate this effect.
Keywords:
WP; workforce; growth; Workforce Aging; Productivity; Policies; labor market; effect of workforce; workforce training; workforce skill; age group; aging workforce; workforce share; Aging; Total factor productivity; Labor force; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ireland: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper reviews public expenditure efficiency in Ireland. Evidence suggests that while Ireland is a low spending country, it achieves a generally efficient use of public funds, with some key differences across sectors. Although the overall space for budgetary savings appears limited, further spending efficiency could help contain cost pressures coming from the demographic challenge of an aging population and improve the quality of public services. It could also help rechannel spending toward more productive uses, for instance by increasing public investment relative to current expenditure, and support the competitive position of the Irish economy and its growth potential.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; firm; bank; TFP growth; Ireland; frontier firm; firm size; interest cover ratio; firms' TFP; CRE price; determinants of TFP; financial distress; Total factor productivity; Productivity; Global; Europe; C. public expenditure efficiency; Benchmarking expenditure; supervisory response; core infrastructure quality outcome; Health care spending
Cover Policy Papers
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board - Executive Board Meeting - November 16, 2016
International Monetary Fund
This Work Program (WP) translates the policy priorities and strategic directions laid out in the Fall 2016 Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué into an Executive Board agenda for the next six-twelve months. The Managing Director’s GPA called on members to use a balanced mix of all policy tools to revive demand and raise productivity, and ensure that gains from technology and globalization are shared more broadly. The GPA also warned against retreating from multilateralism at a time when cooperation and coordination are critical. It outlined how the Fund would support the membership by helping policymakers identify policy space and enhance resilience; assisting in understanding and tackling the underlying causes of low productivity growth; supporting members to expand economic opportunities—including by ensuring adequate and effective safety nets; and advocating for multilateralism that works for all. Where the work extends beyond traditional areas, the WP will focus on issues with a macro-economic impact that are systemically important or relevant for many and amenable to change through economic policies.
Keywords:
PP; fund; policy; policy priority; tailored policy advice; fund program; fund agenda; Policy space; MCP Policy; fund work; income position; Financial safety nets; Productivity; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Reassessing the Productivity Gains from Trade Liberalization
Mr. JaeBin Ahn
,
Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
,
Mr. Romain A Duval
,
Bingjie Hu
, and
Lamin Njie
This paper reassesses the impact of trade liberalization on productivity. We build a new, unique database of effective tariff rates at the country-industry level for a broad range of countries over the past two decades. We then explore both the direct effect of liberalization in the sector considered, as well as its indirect impact in downstream industries via input linkages. Our findings point to a dominant role of the indirect input market channel in fostering productivity gains. A 1 percentage point decline in input tariffs is estimated to increase total factor productivity by about 2 percent in the sector considered. For advanced economies, the implied potential productivity gains from fully eliminating remaining tariffs are estimated at around 1 percent, on average, which do not factor in the presumably larger gains from removing existing non-tariff barriers. Finally, we find strong evidence of complementarities between trade and FDI liberalization in boosting productivity. This calls for a broad liberalization agenda that cuts across different areas.
Keywords:
WP; input tariff; output tariff; tariff data; Trade; Productivity; Tariffs; Inputs; Liberalization; FDI; Reforms; Growth; tariff rate; complementarity regression; tariff liberalization; Total factor productivity; Foreign direct investment; Trade liberalization; Global; research department; fiscal affair; productivity gains from trade liberalization
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Kingdom: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
United Kingdom: Selected Issues
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; stamp duty; firm; foreign direct investment; stamp duty land tax; receipts increase; property tax system; resource misallocation; income balance; property tax tax revenue; Total factor productivity; Productivity; Transaction tax; Property tax; Capital productivity; Global; Southern Europe; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Steady as She Goes—Estimating Potential Output During Financial “Booms and Busts”
Mr. Helge Berger
,
Mr. Thomas Dowling
,
Mr. Sergi Lanau
,
Mr. Mico Mrkaic
,
Mr. Pau Rabanal
, and
Marzie Taheri Sanjani
Potential output—in the sense of the GDP level or path an economy can sustain over the medium term—is a crucial benchmark for policymakers. However, it is difficult to estimate when financial “booms and busts” are driving the real economy. This paper uses a simple multivariate filtering approach to illustrate the role financial variables play in driving potential or sustainable output. The results suggest that it moves more steadily during financial “boom and bust” periods than implied by conventional HP filter estimates, which tend to more closely follow actual GDP. A two-region, multisector New Keynesian DSGE model with financial frictions sheds light on the economic forces that could be behind the results obtained from the filter. This has important implications for policymakers.
Keywords:
WP; MVF output gap; boom and bust; Spain output gaps estimate; house price; MVF-implied output gap; Spain output gaps from a MVF Model; Potential output; Output gap; Credit; housing price movement; Housing prices; Financial frictions; Global
Cover Departmental Papers
Ireland: Lessons from Its Recovery from the Bank-Sovereign Loop
International Monetary Fund
Ireland’s major property bubble burst at the same time as the global financial crisis erupted, plunging the country into a severe recession in 2008–10. Public debt climbed rapidly as revenues collapsed and as banks’ rising loan losses increasingly required public support. Following the Greek crisis in spring 2010 and emerging tensions in the euro area, the last act in the process saw the operation of the “sovereign-bank loop”—a vicious cycle where uncertainty about banks’ health fed into doubts around the sustainability of public debt, which only added to fears about the banks. The government lost access to market financing at manageable interest rates, and Ireland entered into a three-year program supported by €67.5 billion of financial assistance from the European Union (EU) and IMF in late 2010. Ireland’s program therefore had three main goals: restoring the viability of the banking system; putting the public finances on a sustainable path and returning to market funding; and restarting economic recovery including by improving growth potential. A large bank recapitalization in early 2011 helped stabilize deposits and other bank funding. The government’s access to market financing was progressively regained from mid 2012, enabling Ireland to exit the program at the end of 2013 and rely fully on market financing at highly favorable terms. The first signs of recovery were seen in strong job creation starting in the second half of 2012, and Ireland’s recent economic figures have surpassed even the most optimistic expectations, with growth of about 5 percent in 2014. Seeking to draw lessons for Ireland, the EU, and the IMF, as well as other countries facing similar challenges, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), the Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), and the IMF organized a conference titled “Ireland—Lessons from Its Recovery from the Bank-Sovereign Loop.” Held on January 19, 2015, at the historic Dublin Castle, it brought together Irish government representatives, European officials, academics, journalists, private sector representatives, and other stakeholders, as well as the IMF’s Managing Director. The conference discussions were anchored by three papers by leading international academics and moderated by journalists familiar with the issues. The event concluded with a high-level panel discussion by senior policymakers.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; potential GDP; output gap; senior debt; cash injection; banking system; central bank; fiscal policy; financial crisis; Fiscal consolidation; Commercial banks; Loans; Potential output; Europe; Global