France: Staff Report for the 1999 Article IV Consultation
IMF Staff Country Reports, October 28, 1999
Source details
- Canonical URL
- France: Staff Report for the 1999 Article IV Consultation
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Bibliographic details
- Published: October 28, 1999
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451813418.002
Executive summary and key findings
- The economic recovery in France, which began hesitantly in the mid-1990s, strengthened in the first half of 1998.
- Internal demand became the driving force of the upswing in the first half of 1998.
- The strengthening occurred in a setting of price stability, strong competitiveness, and falling interest rates.
- By summer 1998, a weaker external environment in the wake of the emerging market crises had started to dampen the upswing.
- Activity softened as business confidence deteriorated and excessive inventories were worked out.
- GDP growth for 1998 was still the fastest in the decade.
Analytical observations
- Domestic factors: internal demand was the principal driver of the 1998 strengthening.
- Macroeconomic environment: the upswing coincided with price stability, strong competitiveness, and falling interest rates.
- External shock: after summer 1998, emerging market crises created a weaker external environment that dampened momentum.
- Business cycle dynamics: deterioration in business confidence and inventory adjustments contributed to the softening of activity.
Subject tags (as listed)
- Employment
- Expenditure
- Labor
- Unemployment
- Wages
Source: France: Staff Report for the 1999 Article IV Consultation (IMF Staff Country Report No. 1999/127, October 28, 1999).
Content in this bundle
- France: Staff Report fro the 1999 Article IV Consultation - ISCR/99/127