Report
Patrick Artus

Is abnormal austerity (wage, fiscal) necessary to please financial markets?

A frequently heard criticism of financial markets is that to please them and to obtain low interest rates, countries should: Conduct a wage austerity policy, which reduces companies’ production costs, increases their earnings, and normally stimulates the supply side of countries’ economies; Conduct a fiscal austerity policy, which reduces the public debt and ensures fiscal solvency. What apparently is needed, therefore, is low wages, a skewing of income distribution at the expense of employees, and a reduced fiscal deficit to prevent a rise in interest rates caused by a rise in sovereign risk premia. We compare OECD countries to determine whether this depressing theory is correct. We see that this theory is correct to a limited extent for wage austerity, but more significantly for fiscal austerity
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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