Financial balances of the private, foreign and public sectors: long-term tendencies for the European Union (by Roman Römisch; pp. 1-6) Keywords: fiscal policy, budget deficits, investments and savings, public-private balances Countries covered: European Union Topics: Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Labour hoarding during the crisis: Evidence for selected new member states from the Financial Crisis Survey (by Sandra M. Leitner and Robert Stehrer; pp. 7-13) Keywords: labour hoarding, financial crisis, firm-level analysis Countries covered: Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, ...more

This paper discusses the transition agenda and provides the key economic characteristics of selected Middle East and North Africa countries (MENA) in comparison with selected Central, East and Southeast European countries (CESEE). We intend to identify some regularities in transition processes and to draw policy lessons for MENA countries. Among the key challenges facing the MENA region are job creation, fighting corruption, public sector reforms and trade diversification; the way towards a functioning market economy should not necessarily be as long and controversial as in the CESEE. MENA cou...more