The Federal Reserve Board eagle logo links to Board's home page

International Finance Discussion Papers
The International Finance Discussion Papers logo links to the International Finance Discussion Papers home page Can Structural Reforms Help Europe?
Gauti Eggertsson, Andrea Ferrero, and Andrea Raffo
2013-1092  (November 2013)

Abstract:  Structural reforms that increase competition in product and labor markets are often indicated as the main policy option available for peripheral Europe to regain competitiveness and boost output. We show that, in a crisis that pushes the nominal interest rate to its lower bound, these reforms do not support economic activity in the short run, and may well be contractionary. Absent the appropriate monetary stimulus, reforms fuel expectations of prolonged deflation, increase the real interest rate, and depress aggregate demand. Our findings carry important implications for the current debate on the timing and the design of structural reforms in Europe.

Full paper (567 KB PDF) | Full paper (screen reader version)

Keywords
Structural reforms, zero lower bound, monetary union

PDF files: Adobe Acrobat Reader   ZIP files: PKWARE

Home | IFDPs | List of 2013 IFDPs
Accessibility | Contact Us
Last update: April 25, 2014