The last crisis g20 has emerged in its current form

A page turns at OFCE. Jean-Paul Fitoussi, sixty-eight years, leave these next few days the Presidency of the French Observatory of economic conditions, he had held since 1990, for to "devote fully to (its) research and teaching activities. His successor could be Philippe Weil, teacher at Sciences po, where he directs the doctoral school. It is in any case this macroeconomic theory that Jean-Paul Fitoussi, which will remain researcher ofce, proposed to succeed him. The choice is the responsibility of the President of the National Foundation of political sciences, Jean-Claude Casanova, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, François Fillon.

What economic phenomena you have the most pronounced during these twenty years in the Presidency of the OFCE

The European construction, with the creation of the single currency or the implementation of the stability pact, has been a special laboratory for economists. This construction has changed the face of the world, making Europe the largest economy in terms of GDP. Today, Europe pays the economic cost of the absence of political Government. It was from its inception and it broke out in broad daylight, with the current crisis in the euro area. Because it is not economic but of a political crisis crisis. From a financial point of view, Europe is definitely the healthiest economy in the industrialized world, with a much lower than the debt of the United States or of Japan and a very high savings rate. Current speculation comes from the absence of budgetary solidarity between its members.

The second major phenomenon is the emergence of China and the India, which led to the emergence of huge imbalances of balances of payments, with substantial monetary reserves accumulated by emerging countries and a considerable and persistent deficits in the United States. With this new order institutions international put in place after the second world war are more appropriate.

Can the g-20 be the tool adapted to this new situation

The multiplication of crises, from the Internet bubble, the aftermath of September 11 or even one, extremely violent, 2007-2008, we are still not out, is of course the other major economic phenomenon in twenty years. The last crisis g-20 has emerged in its current form. But it remains a club of countries not yet with the ability to implement its own decisions.

How has, at the same time, advanced economic science

The world economy in General and European in particular, is converted to the conservative revolution appeared in the 1980s. This is reflected very well in the three fundamental pillars of Europe are the stability of prices, with the European Central Bank, free competition, with the European Commission and the budgetary surveillance, with the stability pact. Keynesian theories and public interventionism, which I am defending, were largely lost ground in the management of European policy, until the last crisis does give them saddle, because it highlighted the failure of markets. Without stimulus plans, the crisis would have been much deeper. Now, they accused the States and especially Europe to be too developments...

In view of the multiplicity of crises, the reduction of deficits is unnecessary to have future margins of manoeuvre

This is the trap question... Better, of course, have the lowest possible deficits. But still necessary to consider the best ways to reduce them. Should we conduct a policy of austerity or an investment strategy, knowing that the preferred path of deficit reduction is that of growth It is clear that these two views collide currently. The United States come to decide on a new recovery plan while their budgetary room for manoeuvre is much lower than ours. In Europe, it would have been sufficient budgetary unfailing solidarity that disappear speculation and their potential impact on the euro. Even if some small countries could today be tempted out of the euro area, a breakdown of the area would have catastrophic consequences, with a depreciation of the currencies for a majority of countries which would make the insurmountable debt problems. This is in the interest of any country.

At the light of the crisis, economic science translated correctly the reality

Denounce economists for not being able to predict the crisis is a bad trial. No discipline is able to completely explain the reality. Well until the crisis broke out, many economists had pointed out existing imbalances or disruptions in the financial markets. The possibility of a future disaster had been told, even if the time when it would occur had not predicted.

In what fields of investigation must go economic science

I am amazed to see that the crisis was only a parenthesis for a majority of economists willing to quickly find their Toolbox, grid them analysis which prevailed previously. The crisis means that we should go for a better explanatory model. You try to rebuild the elements of economic theory, which it perceives that they have been little robust to the explosion of the crisis. "Classical", dominant, theory based on the efficiency of the markets must be completely reconsidered. It absolutely enhance our knowledge of the functioning of markets and renounce theories based on a dichotomy between financial sphere and real sphere.

You have coordinated the work of the Stiglitz commission on the measurement of well-being. Is - this this to what should seek economic knowledge

The absence of a proper measure of inequality makes difficult understanding of society and therefore the possibility to drive effective economic policies. It must go beyond the average figures. In the course of the past 25 years, 80 of the population of the OECD saw his income grow less rapidly than the average income. Same thing for inflation: it has been more pronounced for the poorer than the average households, while it was negative for the more affluent. The lack of attention to the quality of life (health, education, employment, security...) partly explains the social malaise in rich countries. I note with satisfaction that the implementation of our recommendations is progressing faster that we do anticipated it, especially France.