Role of national structural reforms in enhancing resilience in the Euro Area | 17 June 2019

Bruegel event recordings

Major differences in economic resilience—an economy’s ability to withstand and adjust to shocks—persist across the euro area. This reflects in part the lack of independent nominal exchange rates, and the consequent greater reliance on other mechanisms to adjust to shocks. Greater risk sharing and integration within the euro area would help soften economic shocks, but countries’ own policies are vital. At this event the new IMF Economic Counsellor and director of research, Gita Gopinath, and staff will present a new IMF study focused on how euro area member states can enhance their resilience by reforming labor and product markets and strengthening corporate insolvency regimes. Some questions discussed at the event: Have recessions in euro area economies become more severe and frequent since the start of the monetary union? Can national reforms of labor market institutions, product market regulations and corporate insolvency regimes help countries in facing downturns? Would national structural reforms reduce the dependence on fiscal and monetary policies in delivering macroeconomic stability? What are the complementarities between national and euro area reforms?