Report
Patrick Artus

How should we consider France's and Italy's situation in the euro zone?

We consider France's and Italy's situation in the euro zone in four stages: France and Italy have lost growth and jobs because of their euro-zone membership; this is due to the fact that they are suffering from excessively high labour costs given their level of product sophistication, which can no longer be corrected through an exchange rate devaluation; But France and Italy cannot leave the euro because of the massive size of their gross external debt in euros; France and Italy refuse to improve their cost competitiveness by squeezing wages (through an internal devaluation) - which Spain has done since 2009 - because of the cost of such a policy in terms of growth and jobs; So this leaves France and Italy with a single option, i.e. to improve the sophistication of their production, by modernising corporate capital, and by improving labour force skills. This will take a long time, and in the meantime France and Italy will continue to lose market shares and deindustrialise.
Provider
Natixis
Natixis

Based across the world’s leading financial centers, Natixis CIB Research offers an integrated view of the markets. The team provides support to inform Natixis clients’ investment and hedging decisions across all asset classes.

 

Analysts
Patrick Artus

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