Larsson läser
Janerik Larsson
Janerik Larsson
Jean Pisani-Ferry är en fransk ekonomiprofessor, tidigare chef för tankesmedjan Bruegel i Bryssel och just nu ansvarig för den franske premiärministerns avdelning för framtidsplanering. Han har härom dagen lämnat en rapport om hur Frankrike ska vända sina nedåtgående kurvor. Man kan läsa den på premiärministerns hemsida. Här på engelska: http://www.strategie.gouv.fr/blog/en/2014/07/france-ten-years-now/
I en artikel har han sammanfattat problem och lösningar. Här några utdrag:
”France is widely regarded around the world as a country that has failed to embrace globalization or to modernize its economic and social model. Its own citizens have been more pessimistic about its future than ever in recent decades. The question is, can the French map out a way forward, dispel the prevailing gloom, and rebuild prosperity? The starting point must be a lucid diagnosis. In comparison to countries that enjoyed a similar level of development 25 years ago, France has underperformed economically. The gap is not wide – six percentage points of per capita GDP – but the trend is worrying enough to call for a correction. Unemployment, moreover, has remained at shamefully high levels. And, whereas France ranks higher for some social indicators related to health care, income inequality, and poverty prevention, the price for this performance has been a steady rise in public spending and debt. The reason for this state of affairs is not that France’s economy lacks potential. It has weaknesses for sure – a relatively thin layer of medium-size companies, adversarial labor relations, and public-sector inefficiencies, to name some key shortcomings. But France can also build on remarkable assets: on average, its working-age population is much better educated than it was a quarter-century ago; it is younger than most neighboring countries; it is home to more global corporate champions than Germany or the United Kingdom; and its infrastructure is outstanding. The balance of assets and liabilities does not justify the gloom. (—)
Economic and social reforms tend to be very gradual. Each government does its bit of tinkering with regulations but generally falls short of a more ambitious overhaul of the aims and instruments of a given policy, merely paving the way for another reform five or ten years later. As a result, French citizens view each reform as partial, temporary, and possibly reversible. Half a reform, however, does not deliver half of the results. It often delivers much less, because it fails to provide clear and stable incentives for new behavior. The rules of the game that are supposed to provide guidance to individuals and firms lack clarity and stability.
France needs to become much clearer about some key choices, and to act consistently.
This is an ambitious agenda. But the credibility gap in France nowadays is such that anything short of comprehensive reform is likely to be regarded with suspicion. This is a moment when broad objectives should be set out clearly and openly debated, so that French society can embrace common aims.”
Premiärminister Manuel Valls har ambitionen att förändra sitt land så som Tony Blair gjorde när han tog över stafettpinnen från Margaret Thatcher.
Blir det så ?