The war in Ukraine is taking a growing toll on Europe’s economies. The worsening energy crisis has depressed households’ purchasing power and raised firms’ costs, only partly offset by new government support. Central banks in the region and the world are acting more forcefully to bring high and persistent inflation down to targets, and global financial conditions have tightened. European policymakers are facing severe trade-offs and tough policy choices. A tightening macroeconomic policy stance is needed to bring down inflation, while helping vulnerable households and viable firms weather the energy crisis. But policies need to stay nimble and agile and adjust should additional shocks materialize.

Economic growth has tumbled across Europe, inflation remains too high, and financial sector risks have materialized. Taming sticky inflation while avoiding financial stress and a recession will require tighter macroeconomic policies—tailored to changing financial conditions, stronger financial regulation and supervision, and bolder supply-side reforms that heal scars from the COVID-19 and energy crises.

This distinctive textbook combines comprehensive coverage of the key policy areas of the European Union with analysis of individual countries, including the recent accession countries and Turkey. Part I analyzes the economic bases for the rise of the European Union from its origins in the post-World War II recovery to its historic enlargement in 2004. Part II takes up the different nation-state perspectives on the EU's economic policies by looking in turn at all European countries, whether members of the EU or not. The book is unique in providing both an EU perspective and European nation-state perspective on the major policy issues which have arisen since the end of World War II, as well as putting the economic analysis into an historical narrative which emphasizes the responses of policy-makers to external shocks such as the Cold War, the oil shocks, German reunification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2021 Issue 1, highlights the improved prospects for the global economy due to vaccinations and stronger policy support, but also points to uneven progress across countries and key risks and challenges in maintaining and strengthening the recovery.

Europe Regional Economic Outlook, The European Recovery: Policy Recalibration and Sectoral Reallocation, October 2021

Mario Baldassarri and Francesco Busato evaluate the impact produced by a new cycle of structural reforms over European Union economies. The structural reforms concern the size and the composition of government expenditure, the good and services markets, and the labour market. The book illustrates how the key challenge for European countries is not to discuss how policies could be implemented (e.g. fiscal policy competition Vs fiscal policy coordination), but to implement them.