Challenge Sheets and Country Profiles
On this page you can find all challenge sheets and country profiles. Get a quick overview and click on the links to download the full material (external links open in a new window).
Challenges Sheets
|
 Research and innovation help deliver jobs, prosperity and quality of life. Information and communication technology is an important driver of productivity growth and economic performance. Many euro area countries lag behind theUSAin terms of technology. Some countries exhibit a reluctance to foster innovation. In part, this may be explained by the fact that technology tends to reward some groups over others (e.g. skilled workers gain more than the unskilled).
|
|
|
 Population aging can have profound implications for an economy. Increasing numbers of retired people put pressure on government services (healthcare, pensions, etc.). With fewer people of working age to support them, this trend can create challenges. Today inEuropethere are four people of working age for each retired person. By 2050, there will only be two.
|
|
|
 A well-functioning banking system is crucial to the success of the economy. Problems in the banking sector can also pose risks to economic stability and government budgets. And given the cross-border activities of banks, problems in the banking sector in one country can spread to others. The importance of banks in the economy, the different types of banks, and the interdependencies between banks make them subject to government regulation.
|
|
|
 The past several decades have witnessed a vast increase in the degree of global economic integration. Globalization has resulted in increased exchanges of goods, services, people and financial flows between economies. This has many benefits. But it can also result in disadvantages for certain groups, and thus presents a policy challenge for many societies. Increased immigration is one aspect of globalization. It has both benefits and costs.
|
|
|
 How well a government manages its finances can have important implications for the economy. Deficit and debt levels in euro area countries rose sharply as a result of the financial crisis, but in some countries were already too high before the crisis. Several euro area countries are now facing much higher borrowing costs;Greece,PortugalandIrelandhave been forced to seek assistance from other euro area countries to help them cope.
|
|
|
 For decades, Europe has had much higher unemployment than theUS, but the difference did narrow in the years before the crisis. As a result of the crisis, unemployment has risen sharply in some euro area countries. In others, governments have adopted policies to mitigate the impact of the crisis on employment, such as subsidizing short-term working.
|
|
|
 A little inflation is fine, even desirable, but too much of it can be damaging, both to people’s livelihoods and to the economy as a whole. Central banks are responsible for keeping inflation low and stable. High inflation usually occurs when an economy is over-heating (growing too quickly). When growth is too weak, there may be a risk of deflation (falling prices). Although this may sound attractive, it can be deeply damaging to an economy.
|
|
|
 Countries inside the euro area enjoy numerous benefits. In return, they give up the right to set their own monetary policy. Also, since they no longer have their own currencies they cannot devalue against other euro area countries to boost their exports (or revalue their currencies to rein in inflation). The more divergent a country is from its euro area partners, the harder it is to live within these constraints.
|
|
|
 Economic growth is important to ensure the welfare and standard of living of a country’s citizens. Many euro area countries suffer from sluggish economic growth due to poor productivity, higher unemployment and structural weaknesses. As populations age acrossEurope, growth is projected to slow further in the absence of needed reforms.
|
|
|
 In euro area countries, governments typically play a relatively large role in promoting the economic well-being of their citizens. In the European idea of the ‘welfare state’, government policies (e.g. social benefits, public healthcare, etc.) attempt to achieve certain socially desirable outcomes, such as reducing inequality. However, as economic growth has slowed and populations age, these social welfare systems are coming under increasing strain.
|
Country Profiles
|
 Austria has a well-developed ‘social market economy’ with a high standard of living and is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany’s. But it faces challenges…
|
|
|
 Belgium’s open economy and financial sector made it especially vulnerable to the economic downturn, and the country faces several structural challenges on the road to recovery.
|
|
|
 More than a decade of sustained and strong economic expansion in Cyprus came to an end in 2009 as the global economic crisis took its toll.
|
|
|
 Estonia’s economy was hit hard during the financial crisis, but it is now recovering, thanks to economy’s flexibility and governmental decisions.
|
|
|
 Finland, a highly open economy, was hard hit by the financial and economic crisis. Structural reforms, especially in the labor market, will help it to re-gain economic momentum.
|
|
|
 The French economy managed to stave off a more severe recession than other advanced economies, but the recovery is fragile and the economy is in need of growth-enhancing and deficit-reducing reforms.
|
|
|
 Germany, Europe’s economic engine, is slowly regaining the ground lost in the crisis, but still faces long-term structural challenges.
|
|
|
 Greece has to undergo significant fiscal adjustment and implement farreaching reforms to reduce its high deficit, stabilize its debt level, and emerge from the current crisis.
|
|
|
 After years of rapid growth, the “Celtic Tiger” was among the European economies hardest hit by the global economic crisis. Recent reforms have put Ireland back on track towards a sustainable economic future, making it a success story in the recovery from the Euro crisis.
|
|
|
 Following years of slow growth, the economic crisis highlighted Italy’s structural problems, in particular its issues with competitiveness and fiscal discipline. Nonetheless, the country is on a path to recovery.
|
|
|
 The stability of its banks and the productivity of its manufacturing industry sheltered the wealthiest country in the EU from the worst of the financial and economic turmoil of the global crisis.
|
|
|
 Malta’s economic growth exceeded the euro area average for several years and was led by robust domestic demand and export expansion. The global financial and economic crisis did not spare Malta, but it was one of the least affected countries in the EU.
|
|
|
 The global financial and economic crisis had a deep impact on the Dutch economy due to its trade and financial linkages.
|
|
|
 The financial crisis highlighted Portugal’s issues with low productivity, weak competitiveness and high public debt.
|
|
|
 A success story of strong growth led by exports and foreign direct investment, the Slovak economy took a strong hit in the recent crisis.
|
|
|
 Due to its dependence on trade, this role model for successful economic liberalization and European integration was impacted in the recent crisis.
|
|
|
 After the Spanish economic miracle ended with the burst of the housing bubble in 2007/2008, Spain’s economy now faces severe challenges.
|
The single most beneficial competition to offer kids a venue through which to learn and gain practical experience beyond our borders.
I can follow economic news and read about what is happening in the euro area and actually understand what is going on! All in all, participating in the Euro Challenge was an amazing experience.
The Euro Challenge brings the EU to life better than any text book or web site. It gives bright young Americans a lifelong interest in economics and in the EU-US partnership – which today is more important than ever, as we work together for sustainable global recovery.
