Effectiveness of International Bailouts in the EU during the Financial Crisis – A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of economic adjustment programmes during the global financial crisis in the European Union. The analysis is based on two approaches: the presence of recidivism and a comparative analysis of the countries’ economic performance before and after the crisis. The macroeconomic performance of the EU Member States is examined and compared in four groups: eurozone countries with and without external funding, and non-euro countries with and without external funding. The analysis concludes, that while the international bailouts were able to prevent sovereign default, the countries which received loans are still showing significantly worse performance and slower recovery in general than their non-funded counterparts. Aside from several exceptions the countries of the euro area show the best results during the crisis as well as in the after-crisis recovery, and the countries with a bailout package are left behind in almost every aspect of the economy both inside and outside the area of the common currency by the self-financed Member States.