Five years after the peak of the Great Recession, growth remains weak across most of Europe and unemployment, especially among young people, has reached unacceptably high levels in all countries but a few. As the risk of renewed crisis is receding, policymakers have shifted focus from crisis management and stabilization to strengthening growth and rebuilding resilience. In the short and medium term, the challenges include the need to repair balance sheets, both private and public, in a growth-friendly way. The main long-term challenge is to undertake the reforms needed to address structural weaknesses in product and labor markets, financial markets, and Europe’s institutional frameworks. The seminar will bring together a set of panelists from the public and private sectors and academia to discuss the various facets of the medium- and long-term challenges for lifting growth and creating jobs in Europe, building on analysis in a forthcoming IMF book on these topics.

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