PIIGS countries Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This study has analysed the causal relationship between public debt and unemployment - youth unemployment in the PIIGS countries and Turkey for the period of 1990–2015. Availing country-based comparisons, Kònya (2006) panel bootstrap Granger causality test estimation results indicate that in five of the sample countries except Portugal there is causality between public debt and unemployment (and youth unemployment). Public debt increases unemployment (and youth unemployment) in Turkey, Italy and Greece. Similar to numerous studies (i.e. Jimenez and Mishra, 2010; Fedeli and Forte, 2012; Korel and Cerkas, 2015; Kurocic and Kokotovic, 2016; Kokotovic, 2016), these findings do not support the Keynesian thesis that public debt have positive effect on unemployment. On the contrary, it may be said that the results endorse policy inefficiency and debt’s distortionary effect claims of the Monetarist and New Classical economics. Another conclusion to be made out of the analysis is that unemployment (and youth unemployment) have an increasing effect on public debt in Turkey, Ireland and Spain. In these economies—with tight monetary policies, fiscal policies are regarded as the only policy option albeit it is evident that public debt is not a proper and efficient remedy for unemployment.

- by and +1
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- Unemployment, Public Debt, PIIGS countries, Bootstrap Panel Causality Analysis

Using annual data over the period 1980–2014, this paper attempts to provide an answer to the question of whether fiscal consolidation promotes growth and employment in the context of the PIIGGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Great Britain, and Spain) by using the Boot-strap Granger causality analysis proposed by Kónya (2006), which allows testing for causality on each individual country separately, and by accounting for dependence across countries. Our findings indicate that in no country considered does fiscal consolidation promote growth. However, fiscal consolidation negatively affects employment in Portugal and Italy, whereas it positively influences employment in Great Britain. Based on our findings, we may suggest that the effects of fiscal consolidation on employment produce mixed results, varying from country to country.

- by Hüseyin Şen and +1
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- Economic Growth, Fiscal policy, Employment, Growth

(Economic imbalances have always been a core feature of the European Union. The problem of North-South (or “core” and “periphery”) division, despite the efforts of the European Union, is still relevant for the EU. Current imbalances that exist now are not the result of the current economic and financial crisis, but have been rooted before the formation of the European Union. Historically, southern states were less developed than their richer neighbors of the North. Within the EU, “core” states are represented by Germany, France, the UK, Benelux countries and Scandinavian states. The “periphery” includes Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal. However, in this article we will analyze the existing imbalances on the example of just three states: Germany, representing the “core” and Greece and Spain, representing “periphery”. The reason for the choice of these countries was quite simple, Spain and Greece have been particularly struck by the current crisis and are suffering most from its consequences, while Germany being the biggest economy in the Union, appears to be the main rescuer for the troubled states. In comparing the North and South economies of the European Union (Germany, Spain and Greece), we can see the economic structural differences through long run economic theory, we can that the crisis has merely exposed these economic imbalances and future reforms should be launched in order to make the European Union stable. Although there are many imbalances between the North and South economies, the European Union has managed to tie these economies together and reduce the gap between them. )

The article presents preliminary research results about the territorial cohesion policy of the
European Union associated to recent territorial repercussions examining the financial crisis and
unemployment. It analyzes the Policy and expenditure of the Structural and Cohesion Funds
between 2001 and 2013 with particular emphasis to the problem of unemployment, especially in
PIIGS countries - Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain - and in some of its regions with
socioeconomic and sociocultural weaknesses. Thematic maps represent variables as the behavior of GDP per head, the public debt of Member States and taxes of unemployment in regional and
national scales in the territory of the European Union.