PIIGS Explained Key Facts on Europe Crisis Economies

Frictional Unemployment

Frictional unemployment is a type of short-term unemployment that occurs when workers look for new employment or transition out of old jobs and into new ones. This temporary period of unemployment is the result of voluntary transitions within an economy. It stands in contrast with structural unemployment, which stems from economic shifts that make it difficult for workers to find work.Frictional unemployment can be evident in a growing, stable economy and is regarded as a part of natural unemployment, the minimum unemployment rate in an economy due to economic forces and the movement of labor.The frictional unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the workers actively looking for jobs by the total labor force. The workers actively looking for jobs are typically classified into three categories: workers who left their job, people returning to the workforce, and new entrants.

Lindahl Equilibrium

A Lindahl equilibrium is a state of equilibrium in a market for public goods. As with a competitive market equilibrium, the supply and demand for a particular public good are balanced. So are the cost and revenue required to produce the good.The equilibrium is achieved when people share their preferences for particular public goods and pay for them in amounts that are based on their preferences and match their demand.Public goods refer to products and services that are provided to all by a government and funded by citizens' taxes. Clean drinking water, city parks, interstate and intrastate infrastructures, education, and national security are examples of public goods.A Lindahl equilibrium requires the implementation of an effective Lindahl tax, first proposed by the Swedish economist Erik Lindahl.

Labor Productivity

Labor productivity measures the hourly output of a country's economy. Specifically, it charts the amount of real gross domestic product (GDP) produced by an hour of labor. Growth in labor productivity depends on three main factors: saving and investment in physical capital, new technology, and human capital.

Expansionary Policy

Expansionary policy is a form of macroeconomic policy that seeks to encourage economic growth by increasing aggregate demand. It can consist of either monetary policy or fiscal policy, or a combination of the two. It is part of the general policy prescription of Keynesian economics to be used during economic slowdowns and recessions in order to moderate the downside of economic cycles. Expansionary policy is also known as loose policy.

Disposable Income

Disposable income is the amount of money that an individual or household has to spend or save after federal, state, and local taxes and other mandatory charges are deducted. Economists closely monitor disposable personal income as a key indicator of the strength of the economy. Also known as disposable personal income or net income, It includes both necessary spending on essentials like food and rent and discretionary spending on leisure and luxury items.

Net Foreign Assets

Net foreign assets (NFA) determine whether a country is a creditor or debtor nation by measuring the difference in its external assets and liabilities. NFA refer to the value of overseas assets owned by a nation, minus the value of its domestic assets that are owned by foreigners, adjusted for changes in valuation and exchange rates.A nation's NFA position is also defined as the cumulative change in its current account, which is the sum of the balance of trade, net income over time, and net current transfers over time.