Analyses
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Belgium’s political divisions, a result of nationalist rivalry between the Flemish and Walloons, have hurt its fiscal cohesion, and raised questions about its ability to sustain its debt which reached near 100% GDP; however, Belgium is far from reaching the economic instability of the PIIGS. There is a new candidate to the European PIIGS. One which has none of the dolce vita charm of its southern peers, but which has displayed an equally gregarious ability to overspend. Belgium, despite beating growth and unemployment forecasts in 2011 and achieving a positive current account balance for most of the past decade, has caused great agitation among rating agencies. The country’s...
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The Context Is the Greek financial crisis an isolated case or the first in a series of future failing developed states? It may not be on the front page of the Financial Times anymore, but it is far from over. The financial crisis did not only manifest itself in Greece, but also in Ireland, which has also sought an equally large EU-IMF rescue plan, and in Portugal and Spain, which too have been under the microscope of the media and credit rating institutions. These events in the periphery of the Eurozone have repercussions for the currency as a whole as well as for the EU. Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain are members of the Eurozone area, which means that they share the same currency...