The Agenda for Structural Reform in Europe

Structural reforms have been part of the economic policy discussions of European governments since the 1970s, but, during the last decade, the global financial crisis has created a sense of urgency because of the low performance of many European economies. In this chapter, empirical analysis first shows that there exists a strong correlation between policies, institutions, and economic performance. Reforms are happening and they are happening faster in the countries that need them the most. However, the speed of reforms is not always fast enough, reforms happen in an isolated manner, and their effects are not as large as planned. The chapter concludes with some thoughts on what it would take to accelerate the reform process and the potential role of Europe and its institutions.