Micro-economic Responses to a Macro-economic Crisis: A Pan-European Perspective

Abstract

To what extent has the macro-economic crisis of national governments and financial institutions affected ordinary Europeans at the micro-economic level? Eurobarometer surveys from all 27 European Union (EU) member states show that most individuals are coping with the crisis much better than their governments. Individual characteristics that caused people to have financial difficulties when the macro-economy was booming continue to be important, while groups such as pensioners are better able to cope than persons of working age. When Russians are compared with people from Central and Eastern Europe, similar influences hold and the political effects are marginal. In sum, the instability experienced in public and private sector financial institutions has had limited spillover effects on ordinary people.