September 5, 2019

Reducing Shadow Economies

Across Europe, shadow markets constitute a significant portion of the economy. According to some estimates an average of 16 percent of GDP in EU member states is generated by the shadow economy. In Eastern and Southern Europe, the share of GDP produced by the shadow economy is even higher. On the one hand, governments admit that activities carried out within shadow markets create added value – they are included in official estimates of GDP among EU member states. On the other hand, governments have attempted to combat the shadow economy by introducing all kinds of policy measures aimed at reducing its operations as far as possible.
July 30, 2019

A New Beginning – Greece After the Elections

Unemployment peaked at 27.5%, more than 400,000 people emigrated in a single year, and the debt to GDP ratio reached 180%. The 2008 financial crisis hit Greece harder than every other European country, and the past 10 years have been a political and economic headache in the southern European country.
September 29, 2017

Perspectives for Poland

In the last 25 years, the Polish economy has grown faster than the economies of Western Europe and the US, which enabled a significant reduction of the distance separating it from richer countries. Annual GDP growth in the years 1992–2011 was 4.1%, which was the best result among those Central and Eastern European countries that started to transform at the same time as Poland.