If euro-zone countries with low potential growth have higher long-term interest rates, the risk of a crisis becomes very high in these countries
We examine the peripheral euro-zone countries: Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. We want to determine whether some of these countries have a configuration which we find dangerous and conducive to the occurrence of crises: Lower potential growth than the euro-zone average: Spain, Italy, Greece, to a slight degree Portugal; Higher long-term interest rates than the euro-zone average: Italy, Greece, to a lesser degree Portugal, not Spain. The most vulnerable countries are therefore Italy and Greece; the least vulnerable Spain and especially Portugal.