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While unemployment rates in Europe declined after the global financial crisis until 2018/2019, the incidence of long-term unemployment, the share of people who have been unemployed for >1 year to the total unemployed, remained high. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic could aggravate the long-term unemployment. This paper explores the factors associated with long-term unemployment in European countries using a panel of 25 European countries over the period 2000–2018. We find that skill mismatches, labor market matching efficiency, and labor market policies are associated with the incidence of long-term unemployment. Among the different types of active labor market policies, training and startup incentives are found to be effective in reducing long-term unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the factors explaining the vulnerability of the European countries' industries to foreign trade and production downturn in the years 2008-2009 and attempts to identify branches and industries (or their features significant in this context) that most greatly contributed to the last crisis transmission in Europe, mainly through the slump in their trade. Among those factors we took into particular consideration: the level of specialization versus diversification of the export basket and production, trade openness in the cross-country and cross-industry perspective, the intra-industry/inter-industry structure of trade and the financial openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European integration is obviously impeded by the national and nation-state idea that is still vigorous and motivates European Union (EU) member states' refusals to cede powers to the EU or subnational levels. Recent events like the global economic crisis, the Euro crisis, the migration crisis and the coronavirus pandemic have, however, demonstrated that it is not just the national idea and the nation state that appear to seriously hinder further integration, but that fundamental differences in cultural attitudes in different parts of Europe are also responsible. They can be traced back to earlier periods of history and a Europe that consisted of parts with very divergent economic, social and political attitudes. These disparities are difficult to equalize. The article highlights Europe's major cultural differentiation processes in history, hints at their current traces in economic, social and political attitudes and relates those attitudes to problems in European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the Europe's productivity trend and annual performance since the financial crisis from multiple perspectives. Topics discussed include impact of global economic and financial crisis on the European economy between 2008 and 2016; growth in labor productivity in 2017; and business spending on innovation and automation for raising productivity.

The cost of the financial crisis to the real economy has so far remained underexamined, probably because of the difficulty in making such an assessment. The crisis was precipitated by an unsustainable bubble that artificially inflated economic figures, so what should be used as a benchmark for measuring the effects of the crisis on the real economy? How reliable are current estimates of the output gap? Could overestimating this indicator lead to underestimating the current risk of inflation? Finally, what effect will the crisis have on the declining long-term productivity gains in Europe and the USA, and what does this mean for potential output? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for the government to prioritize the reduction of inequality in Europe. It is stated that economic inequality within European Union (EU) countries has been exaggerated by the recession with the rise of income inequality, unemployment and poverty. It notes that inequality should be measured as if it were in a single country to tackle the social and regional policies in a much more integrated way. It also mentions the effects of inequality on economic growth.