Investigates the nature and consequences of the relationship between external imbalances and public finances and focusses on the role that fiscal policy can play in addressing and correcting existing and emerging external imbalances in the context of the global financial crisis.

Investigates the nature and consequences of the relationship between external imbalances and public finances and focusses on the role that fiscal policy can play in addressing and correcting existing and emerging external imbalances in the context of the global financial crisis.

The adjustment problems of public finance in countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are often misunderstood and misinterpreted by western scholars. This book contributes to the bridging of the gap between what is being thought by external observers and what the actual public finance reality is, as described by competent local scholars. Popular political economy research has remained biased towards advanced countries and has neglected developing and transition economies. Publications on CEE countries' public finances seem to be reluctant to apply the conceptual framework of standard political economy to these countries because of the assumption that CEE economies are different from their Western peers. But is this really the case? Are CEE economies so much different that none of the well-known "Western" political economy concepts or models can be applied to the analysis of fiscal performance in the region? Benczes demonstrates that they can be safely applied in the context of CEE economies as well. He sees no need to develop a separate or unique theory designed for the study and understanding of (one-time) transition economies.

On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific ?in-depth reviews? should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. For Slovenia, the AMR noted that two indicators in the scoreboard exceeded their thresholds in 2010 and suggested the need to assess the development and drivers of potential imbalances. The AMR explained that in the years before the crisis, Slovenia enjoyed strong growth and domestic demand conditions, coupled with some losses in price competitiveness and a gradual widening of the current account deficit. It identified signs that overheating occurred, particularly as regards private sector credit growth, construction value added and property prices. The Slovenian economy was hit hard by the global crisis and the AMR noted that this has brought some, perhaps temporary, adjustment in the external balance but this is still at an early stage. Against this background, Section 2 examines the external and internal dimensions of imbalances including developments in competitiveness, private sector indebtedness and in asset markets. This is followed by a closer look at the implications of indebtedness of non-financial corporations for the banking sector in Section 3. Section 4 presents possible policy considerations.

On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific ?in-depth reviews? should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. The AMR suggested the need to look more closely at whether the UK is suffering from macroeconomic imbalances of an internal and external nature. The AMR noted that, on the internal side, the high level of private debt is a concern, also in a context of a weak public finance situation with high and increasing government debt. The high value of private debt largely reflects household mortgages in a context of high accumulated increases in house prices. While both the levels of real household debt and real house prices have reduced, they still remain comparatively high which suggests that their unwinding has further to go where the speed of adjustment is an important aspect. On the external side, the UK lost export market share over the last decade, although some stabilisation can be noted in recent years. This loss of market shares took place despite a substantial depreciation of sterling between 2007 and 2009. At the same time and since 1997, the UK recorded small but significant current account deficits albeit below the indicative threshold. The purpose of the present in-depth review is to investigate the findings presented in the AMR and to ascertain whether macroeconomic imbalances of either an internal or external nature effectively exist in the UK and, if so, whether they are excessive in the meaning of Regulation no. 1176/2011. Sections 2 and 3 of this review analyse the existence and nature of potential macroeconomic imbalances in the UK. Section 2 takes a broad perspective of the UK economy, while section 3 focuses on two potential areas of concern for the UK: household debt and the housing market on the one hand, and external competitiveness on the other hand. Section 4 presents possible policy considerations.