Since the second half of the 1980s, France’s unemployment rate has never fallen below 8% for very long. This observation, more than the surge in unemployment during the crisis, serves as the starting point for the overhaul of France’s labour code. Labour market reform should have a positive impact in the medium term. In the short term, however, the question is harder to answer: economic literature indicates that the starting point matters most when evaluating the short-term impact of structural reforms.
This article analyses the recent economic performances of the eastern countries of the European Union, specifically focusing on the so called Visegrad-6 group, comprising Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. Long considered as the EU’s “junior partners”, their very strong macroeconomic performances in recent years suggest that they will soon catch up with their western EU counterparts. Are we about to witness the culmination of more than 10 years of convergence? Only if we ignore the structural challenges these economies are still facing.
