Economists See Slight Deterioration in Economic Policy Situation in Europe

Economic experts from Europe see a slight deterioration in the economic policy situation in their country over the previous quarter, finds the Economic Experts Survey (EES) – a global quarterly survey conducted by the ifo Institute and the Swiss Economic Policy Institute. These experts assess economic policy in their countries over the previous quarter at -6 points on a scale of -100 to +100. “Particularly in Southern Europe, the experts assess the economic policy situation as worse than in the previous quarter, at -12 points,” says ifo researcher Niklas Potrafke.

In Italy, Spain, and Portugal, significant concerns about the implementation of the NextGenerationEU bailout fund are leading to negative judgments. “Some experts believe the money is being invested in the wrong projects,” Potrafke says. This is the fourth round of the survey in which the experts see a deterioration in the economic policy situation in Southern Europe compared with the previous quarter. Only in Greece is the situation assessed as better than in the previous quarter. “In Greece, the re-election of Prime Minister Mitsotakis has had a very positive impact on experts’ assessments,” Potrafke says. As in Southern Europe, the assessment in Eastern Europe remains poor, at -11 points. Respondents in Western Europe rate economic policy at -4 points, and in Northern Europe at +2 points.

The experts in Southeast Asia (+24 points) and West Africa (+25 points) are particularly positive. The world’s poorest assessment of the economic situation is in Central Asia, with a score of -27 points.

A total of 1,405 economic experts from 133 countries participated in the survey, which ran in June and July 2023.