It Is Time for Independent Economic Forecasts in France

French growth stalled in the second quarter and the country’s economy is caught in the market’s headlights.

If government growth forecasts turn out to be too optimistic, planned measures to bring the deficit down may not be sufficient. As the International Monetary Fund said recently, France can’t risk missing deficit targets given the need to secure its triple-A rating.

To settle nerves and prevent the government overestimating growth, international institutions say France should allow an independent body to forecast growth. The IMF has encouraged France to enhance its credibility by establishing an independent public institution or fiscal council to provide forecasts for its budget.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said government GDP forecasts have been almost “systematically upwardly biased.” They believe an independent review would increase France’s credibility by eliminating politically motivated and overly optimistic forecasts.

In June, the European Commission said government forecasts underpinning French budgetary projections are “too favorable” and France’s track record on meeting budgetary targets is “at best mixed.”

Ratings firm Fitch Ratings has voiced concerns over risks to fiscal consolidation due to optimistic growth forecasts. French budget minister Valérie Pécresse went on the defensive Friday after the disappointing growth figures.

“We’ve always had realistic growth projections in our budgets,” she said on French radio.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to write a fiscal rule into the constitution that would oblige governments to lay out plans of how to reach budget balances. But the plan doesn’t include using independent growth forecasts.

France is beginning to look increasingly lonely on the matter.

The U.K. has the Office for Budget Responsibility, which produces forecasts for the economy and public finances and judges government progress on targets. In Germany, data from several independent economic research institutes, the statistics office and the Bundesbank are considered when a working group at the economy ministry makes twice-a-year forecasts. The Netherlands has a Central Planning Bureau, Sweden a Fiscal Policy Council, the OECD notes.

Next week Mr. Sarkozy will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris to discuss proposals to strengthen the euro zone’s economic governance.

What Is Vagus Nerve Fainting of Rehabilitation Method Center

Vagus is Latin for “wandering,” and it is an accurate description of this nerve, which emerges at the back of the skull and meanders in a leisurely way through the abdomen, with a number of branching nerves coming into contact with the heart, lungs, voicebox, stomach, and ears, among other body parts. The vagus nerve carries incoming information from the nervous system to the brain, providing information about what the body is doing, and it also transmits outgoing information which governs a range of reflex responses.

The vagus nerve is either one of two cranial nerves which are extremely long, extending from the brain stem all the way to the viscera. The vagus nerves carry a wide assortment of signals to and from the brain, and they are responsible for a number of instinctive responses in the body. You may also hear the vagus nerve called Cranial Nerve X, as it is the 10th cranial nerve, or the Wandering Nerve. A great deal of research has been carried out on the vagus nerve, as it is a rather fascinating cranial nerve.

Symptoms

Because the vagus nerve innervates the throat, damage to this nerve often results in problems speaking and swallowing. There is often a loss of the gag reflex as well. The vagus nerve also supplies nerve fibers to the stomach, and damage there can cause digestive difficulties such as loss of appetite or feeling full after eating a small amount of food.

Causes

Diabetes is a common cause of damage to the vagus nerve. The mechanism by which diabetes damages nerves is not fully understood. Any nerve in the body can be affected by diabetes. Another cause of vagus nerve damage is trauma to the vagus nerve. This can be caused by trauma to the body, such as a car accident, that puts pressure on part of the vagus nerve. Surgery also can put pressure on the vagus nerve and cause damage. Chronic illnesses such as HIV or Parkinson's disease also can cause damage to the nervous system, including the vagus nerve.

Most of the time, you don't notice the actions of the right and left vagus nerves, but you probably would notice if this nerve ceased to function as a result of disease or trauma, because the vagus nerve is one of the many vital nerves which keeps your body in working order. Without the functions of the vagus nerve, you would find it difficult to speak, breathe, or eat, and your heartbeat would become extremely irregular.

Diagrams of the nerves of the human body, exhibiting their origin, divisions and connections, with their distributions to the various regions of the cutaneous surface and to all the muscles

Our brain body and nerves

On brain, body and nerves

A Text-book of physiology

Edinburgh medical and surgical journal