Sujet n°1 - Académie de Nantes

Transcription

SUJET N° 1
DATE : 3 novembre 2011
MATIN
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SESSION 2011
UE6 – ÉPREUVE ORALE D'ÉCONOMIE SE
DÉROULANT PARTIELLEMENT EN ANGLAIS
Document autorisé : aucun sauf ceux qui sont fournis avec le sujet.
Préparation de l'épreuve : 2 heures.
Durée de l'épreuve : 1 heure maximum (exposé : 20 minutes maximum ; entretien en
français : 20 minutes maximum ; entretien en anglais : 20 minutes maximum).
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SUJET
Quelles solutions aux problèmes environnementaux ?
Annexe : Could the rebound effect undermine climate efforts ? Posted by Sylvia Rowley
Tuesday 22 The Guardian, February 2011.
DSCG 2011 – UE6 Épreuve orale d'économie se déroulant partiellement en anglais
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Could the rebound effect undermine climate efforts ?
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Researchers warn of phenomenon where savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by increases in other
carbon-intensive behaviour. The rebound effect: Greenhouse gas reductions can be cancelled out because the
money saved through energy efficiency measures are often spent on extra goods and services. One member of
the Guardian's environment desk admits to leaving his energy-saving lightbulbs on more than traditional bulbs.
Owners of fuel-efficient cars tend to drive them more often. These are both examples of an often-overlooked
phenomenon which, according to a new report, could undermine attempts to tackle climate change.
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The so-called rebound effect occurs when some of the savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by
changes in people's behaviour. On a consumer level it can be direct (turning up the heating in a newly insulated
house) or indirect (spending the money saved on bills on a flight to Spain). And on a macro-economic level,
improved efficiency is usually believed to lead to lower prices and more demand.
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In one of the largest literature reviews on the topic yet, the American thinktank the Breakthrough Institute has
concluded that at an economy-wide level the rebound effect could have a serious impact. "For every two steps
forward we take with below-cost efficiency, rebound effects mean we take one or more steps backwards,
sometimes enough to completely erode the initial gains made," says the report's lead author, Jesse Jenkins. This
could have important policy implications, but more on that later.
On an individual level there is reasonably good evidence of a rebound effect in relation to car use and space
heating: the report estimates that 10-30% of energy savings from efficient cars and homes are lost.
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Exactly why this occurs is not well researched. It could be because if something costs less, we start to use it
more. Or perhaps doing something beneficial to the environment gives us "moral licence" to compensate with
something less beneficial. It is interesting that people who see themselves as leading sustainable lifestyles are
often the most carbon-intensive. [...]
Steve Sorrell, energy policy expert at the University of Sussex looked at three energy-saving actions – turning
the heating down 1C, replacing car journeys under two miles with walking or cycling, and throwing away onethird less food. According to Sorrell, if you did these three things and then spent the money you saved in line
with your typical spending patterns, the rebound effect would be 34%. That is, 34% of the greenhouse gas
reductions would be cancelled out because of the goods and services that the extra money will be spent on.
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But according to Breakthrough Institute the highest rebound in energy use from efficiency occurs "not at the
consumer level but in the productive sectors of the economy (industry and commerce) improving the efficiency
of a steel plant may result in lower cost of steel, greater demand for steel, and also create greater economic
growth - all of which will drive significant rebound in energy use following efficiency improvements."
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So what does all this mean? The rebound effect is still an under-researched and controversial topic. But if these
findings hold true, some commentators argue that this shows the need for a carbon tax, because much of the
rebound effect seems to stem from the fact that energy efficiency (usually) saves money. Others such as
Breakthrough Institute argue that policymakers should focus on generating low-carbon energy, so that it doesn't
matter how much we consume.
However, in terms of UK policies on energy efficiency, NGOs and academics argue that focusing on
environmental as well as money-saving messages, and making the connection between single initiatives such as
home insulation and the bigger picture, are important for trying to reduce the rebound effect.
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According to environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh: "If you're framing something like the green deal
[for energy efficiency in homes] purely in terms of money saving – and especially if you're promoting cruises as
a reward – then you're actually undermining what you're trying to achieve. You have to take a more holistic
approach, not just look at one policy."
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SUJET N° 4
APRÈS-MIDI
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Le mouvement coopératif, une alternative au capitalisme financier ?
Annexe : Co-operative sector has grown by more than 25 % since credit crunch – report.
Heather Stewart, Economics editor The Observer, Sunday 26 June 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Co-operative sector has grown by more than 25 % since credit crunch – report
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From Scottish cyclists to Yorkshire farmers, thousands of Britons have turned their back on dog-eat-dog
capitalism and opted to do things for themselves, according to a new report which shows the turnover of cooperatives has grown by more than 25 % since the credit crunch.
Ed Mayo, the secretary general of Co-operatives UK, which represents the sector, said : "We've seen lots of newstart co-operatives emerge, which reflects a DIY(do it yourself) type of culture."
Until recently, the co-operative was regarded as an outmoded model. But since the limits of shareholder
capitalism were brutally exposed in the recession, their all-in-it-together approach has won new converts.
"One of the things that comes out of the credit crunch is : how do we avoid this lemming effect of everyone
doing exactly the same thing ?" said Mayo.
The annual report from Co-operatives UK, to be published this week, shows that while big players such as the
John Lewis Partnership and the Co-operative Group have been performing strongly, a new generation of smaller,
grassroots organisations has also grown up.
Co-operatives UK highlights the examples of Seven Hill Farmers, a group of lamb producers on the North York
Moors who banded together after the foot-and-mouth disease crisis to get a better price for their products, and
Energy4All, which works to establish community-owned windfarms to generate local energy.
Villagers are taking over local shops and pubs to rescue them from closure; football fans are setting up their own
clubs in an effort to return the sport to its roots; and credit unions are stepping in where the big banks fear to
tread. Between them, Britain's co-operatives now have almost 10 million members, and their turnover in 2010
was £16.1bn, up from less than £13bn in 2008.
Ged Holmyard of the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, which was founded in the 1970s and now owns a chain
of stores, says worker ownership creates a special kind of culture.
"From the start, the ideology of our founders was that a workers' co-operative was an intrinsically good thing,"
he says. "It gives everyone a stake in the business." If the shops have had a good year, every employee in the
company gets the same cash bonus, and the ratio between the highest- and lowest-paid workers is five to one –
much lower than in most firms.
Some MPs including Chuka Umunna (Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham) from the Treasury select
committee, are urging George Osborne to consider a mutual model for bailed-out bank Northern Rock, which the
chancellor plans to put up for sale before the end of the year.
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SUJET N° 8
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Les difficultés de mise en œuvre d’un développement durable
Annexe : UN climate change chief urges governments to quickly implement Cancún accords UN News, 1 march 2011.
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UN climate change chief urges governments to quickly implement Cancún accords
1 March 2011 – The United Nations climate change chief today called on governments to quickly transform the
agreements reached in the Mexican city of Cancún last year into tangible action on the ground, and provide
clarity on the future of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases emissions.
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“Governments must now implement quickly what they agreed in Cancún and take the next big climate step this
year in Durban,” the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
Christiana Figueres, told reporters in Tokyo.
The UNFCCC is an international treaty which considers what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope
with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Some countries have approved the Kyoto Protocol, an
addition to the treaty, which has more powerful and legally binding measures.
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Ms. Figueres is currently in Japan to meet with government officials, Japanese business and other civil society
representatives, and to attend informal talks on Thursday, jointly organized by the governments of Japan and
Brazil.
The agreements reached in Cancun, at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in December last year,
included formalizing climate change mitigation pledges and ensuring increased accountability for them, as well
as taking concrete action to tackle deforestation, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of global carbon emissions.
Ms. Figueres described the outcome of the Cancún meeting as a solid step forward for strengthened global
climate action, encompassing the basis for the largest collective effort the world has ever seen to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
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In addition, she said, the Cancún Agreements formed the most comprehensive package ever decided by
governments to help developing countries deal with climate change, and a long-term global agreement to keep
average global temperatures below two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
Ms. Figueres, however, warned that promises to reduce or limit emissions so far amounts to only 60 per cent of
what the scientific community says is required by 2020 for global temperatures to remain below two degrees,
and that emissions need to peak by 2015 to avoid the agreed temperature goal slipping out of reach.
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Looking ahead to the next round of talks under the UNFCCC – to be held in Durban, South Africa, later this year
– Ms. Figueres said governments need to agree on a way to cut global emissions about twice as fast as they have
already promised, along with increasing the certainty that they will do what they say.
“Governments meeting in Durban must resolve the remaining issues over the future of the Kyoto Protocol,” she
said. “In this context, we need to keep in mind that the Kyoto Protocol remains the only working, binding
international model to reduce emissions, and nations have an urgent task to decide how to take forward the
protocol’s unique benefits of transparency, certainty, compliance in handling national emission targets, and
common but differentiated responsibilities.”
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SUJET N° 11
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Comment accroître l’attractivité des territoires ?
Annexe : THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLUSTER CONCEPT – PRESENT
EXPERIENCES AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS Prepared for NRW conference on
clusters, Duisburg, Germany, 4 Dec 2003 Dr Christian Ketels, Harvard Busiess School.
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Clusters and economic performance
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Clusters develop and are important because they create economic benefits. The benefits of a cluster come in
three dimensions. First, companies can operate with a higher level of efficiency, drawing on more specialized
assets and suppliers with shorter reaction times than they could in isolation. Second, companies and research
institutions can achieve higher levels of innovation. Knowledge spillovers and the close interaction with
customers and other companies create more new ideas and provide intense pressure to innovate while the cluster
environment lowers the cost of experimenting. Third, the level of business formation tends to be higher in
clusters. Start-ups are more reliant on external suppliers and partners, all of which they find in a cluster. Clusters
also reduce the cost of failure, as entrepreneurs can fall back on local employment opportunities in the many
other companies in the same field.
These benefits are important both for cluster participants and for public policy. For companies, they create
additional value that ouweighs the often-higher costs of more intense competition for specialized real estate,
skills, and customers at the location. They are thus the reasons that clusters emerge naturally from profitmaximizing decisions. For public policy, higher productivity and innovation in clusters are critical because they
are the factors that in the long term define the sustainable level of prosperity in a region. Note, however, that the
interests of these groups are not identical. Public policy is not concerned about the distribution of the cluster
benefits among companies, employees, and owners of critical assets such as real estate, while company owners
clearly are.
The performance of a cluster at a specific location is driven by the business environment that the cluster is
operating in. “Business environment” is a broad and naturally vague term : almoste everything – from the quality
of the schools to the strategies of local competitors – matters for the level of productivity and innovation that
companies in the cluster reach at this specific location.
To organize this complexity, Michael Porter has in 1990 introduced the so-called “diamond” as an analytical tool
to assess business environments. The diamond indludes the four elements factor conditions (e.g., physical
infrastructure, skills, etc…), demand conditions (e.g., sophistication of local customers, product and consumer
regulation), the context for strategy and rivalry (e.g. taxation structure, competition laws, and the strategies of
competing local companies), and the presence of related and supporting industries (e.g., the breadth and depth of
the cluster); These elements interact in their impact on specific companies and clusters ; they exhibit systemeffects where the weakest element often tends to have the strongest impact on the overall quality.
The diamond can be used to analyze the general quality of the business environment at the national or regional
level. But it can also be applied at the regional cluster level, looking at the specific conditions relevant for the
cluster in the four categories defined. Note that the impact of different aspects for the business environment
depend on the position that the cluster aims to take in the field.
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SUJET N° 7
Matin
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Pour relancer la croissance économique, existe-t-il un moyen efficace de
réduire la dette ?
Annexe : Handle with care. The economist JULY 9TH-15TH 2011.
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Handle with care
(…). Debt can be reduced in several ways. It can be paid off with the help of higher thrift. Its burden can be
reduced through higher inflation or faster growth. Or it can be defaulted on. In practice, rich countries seem to be
using different combinations of these approaches.
In America, where overall debts levels have fallen fastest, a lot of the reduction in household debt has been
thanks to mortgage defaults and write-downs. In Britain, where there have been virtually no mortgage writedowns, relatively high inflation has pushed down the overall debt burden. Spain, in contrast, has seen virtually
no reduction in its debt load , despite fiscal austerity, partly because that very austerity has contributed to weak
growth and low inflation which have kept down nominal GDP. Tough rules on mortgages have made it hard to
reduce un payable household debt.
What can be learnt from these various approaches ? It is still early days, but four lessons stand out.
The first is that in some extreme cases, when a large debt reduction is needed orderly write-downs are necessary.
The foreclosures on American mortgages have been severe, but they mean that household debt is likely to shrink
to manageable level faster than in, say, Britain, where low interest rates on variable mortgages and a lot of
“forebearance” by banks have kept defaults artificially low. At the sovereign level the same logic should apply to
hopelessly bankrupt Greece : it needs a debt write-down.
Second, nominal growth is essential to bring down the weigh of debt. It is hard to ease the debt burden in a
stagnant economy with low inflation. That suggests the pace of public-sector austerity, where possible, needs to
be calibrated to the scale of private deleveraging. America’s government, for instance, needs a medium term
plan for deficit reduction, but cutting back spending viciously in the short term at a time of private-sector
retrenchment would be a mistake.
Third, the best way to ease the pain of deleveraging is with an export-led boom. Here, progress has been
painfully slow. The external deficits of ex-bubble economies have shrunk since 2007, but not by enough-and
some now seem to be rising again. There has been too little rebalancing of global demand toward big emerging
economies. That will require stronger currencies in emerging Asia and weaker ones in the rich word.
Deeper shifts will also be necessary : a strengthening of consumer society in China, for example, and a
reallocation of resources towards tradable goods and services in Britain and America. Unfortunately, the
sensible goal of rebalancing towards net exports can lead to dubious policy prescriptions. Britain, for instance,
would be mad to turn its back on financial services. No rich country needs a smorgasbord of subsidies for
manufacturing. Far better to get rid of distorsions and improve the economy’s flexibility.
All this will take time. So the fourth, most important and most depressing lesson for the great deleveraging is
that of realism. Even if handled well, the difficult business of debt reduction will hold back the rich world’s
economies for several more years. Get used to it.
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SUJET N° 13
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Gouvernance et globalisation des marchés
Annexe : Chapter 13 From market globalism to imperial globalism Ideology and american
power after 9/11 page 177 - Manfred B. Steger GLOBALIZATION The Greatest
Hits A Global Studies Reader edited and introduces by Manfred B. Steger 2010.
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Claim N°1 : Globalization is about the liberalization and Global Integration of Markets
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The foundational claim of market globalism seeks to shape global preferences without resorting to verbal threats
– and, therefore, represents the essence of “soft power” (Nye, 2004, p. 5). It activates the neoliberal ideal of the
self-regulating market as the normative basis for a future global order. According to this ideological narrative,
the vital functions of the free market – its rationality and efficiency, as well as its alleged ability to bring about
greater social integration and material progress – can only be realized in a liberal society that values and protects
individual freedom; Let us consider some examples.
A passage in a 1990s BusinessWeek article (13 December 1999, p 212) clearly defines globalization in market
terms : “Globalization is about the triumph of markets over governments. Both proponents and opponents of
globalization agree that the driving force today is markets, which are suborning the role of government. The truth
is that the size of government has been shrinking relative to the economy almost everywhere. “Joan Spiro, US
Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs in the Clinton administration, stated
that “One role of government is to get out of the way – to remove barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and
capital” (Spiro, 1996).
The award winning New York Times columnist argues that people ought to accept the following “truth” about
globalization : “The driving idea behind globalization is free-market capitalism – the more you let market forces
rule and the more you open your economy to free trade and competition, the more efficient your economy will
be. Globalization means the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world” (Friedman,
2000, p. 9).
Claim N°4 : Globalization Benefits Everyone (… in the long Run)
This claim lies at the very core of market globalism because it provides an affirmative answer to the crucial
normative question of whether globalization represents a “good” or a “bad” phenomenon. Market globalists in
the 1990s frequently connected their arguments in favor of the integration of global markets to the alleged
benefits resulting from the liberalization and expansion of world trade. At the 1996 G7 Summit in Lyon, France,
for example, the heads of states of the seven major industrialized democracies issued a joint communiqué that
contains the following passage :
Economic growth and progress in today’s interdependent world is bound up with the process of globalization.
Globalization provides great opportunities for the future, not only for our countries, but for all others too. Its
many positive aspects include an unprecedented expansion of investment and trade ; the opening up to
international trade of the world’s most populous regions and opportunities for more developing countries to
improve their standards of living ; the increasingly rapid dissemination of information, technological innovation,
and the proliferation of skilled jobs. These characteristics of globalization have led to a considerable expansion
of wealth and prosperity in the world. Hence we are convinced that the process of globalization is a source of
hope for the future. (Economic Communiqué, 1996).
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SUJET N° 15
MATIN
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Préparation de l'épreuve : 2 heures
français : 20 minutes maximum ; entretien en anglais : 20 minutes maximum)
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Quelle place pour le secteur non marchand dans les pays de l'Union
européenne ?
Annexe :
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The Co-operative 's Ethical Operating Plan : a new sustainability initiative
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For some social justice is as central to the notion of sustainable development as living within environmental
limits. The two have to march hand in hand, and if they don't what emerges will never be sustainable anyway.
For others, it's obviously important, but it's not central, let alone a precondition of what sustainable development
is all about.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Co-operative is the most explicit of all the big UK corporates about the
centrality of social justice. While other progressive companies may eloquently bemoan1 the lack of social justice
in a society such as ours, they argue persuasively that it's just not their responsibility. Redistributing wealth and
sorting out injustice is the job of governments, not business.
The Co-op is owned (and democratically controlled) by its members, all 6 million of them. That gives it the
privilege of putting social justice at the heart of its strategy, with or without a business case. While others have to
keep their shareholders sweet by demonstrating that all their sustainability endeavours will benefit them – either
directly or indirectly, in the long run if not immediately – the Co-op just has to keep its members sweet by doing
what they've mandated it to do anyway. As Peter Marks, Co-op's chief executive, says, "The Private Limited
Company model is not the only kind of corporate ".
No one else but the Co-op else is focusing on social justice, committing profits explicitly to tackling both
poverty here in the UK (£5m) and global poverty (another £7m). No one else is actively campaigning for a more
"balanced and sustainable economy" or vociferously lobbying, for instance, for an end to some of the absurd
investments that exacerbate the problem of accelerating climate change, while simultaneously setting out to be
the best in terms of reducing its own operational CO2 emissions and to increase its commercial lending in the
area of energy efficiency and renewables – from £400m today to around £1bn. That's properly joined-up climate
leadership.
While ministers carry on talking, the Co-op will just get on with it – supporting new Cooperative schools, setting
up an international Co-operative Development Loan Fund, getting involved in more than 10,000 community
initiatives every year, particularly around stores and branches, creating 2000 new apprenticeships through its Cooperative academy, supporting more and more young people through its Co-operative Enterprise Hub,
proactively addressing the problems of financial exclusion and the lack of financial literacy among young
people.
These are just a few of the reasons why it's now aiming to increase membership from 6 million today to 20
million by 2020 – at the rate of more than a million a year.
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To bemoan : to regret
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SUJET N° 24
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Quel avenir pour le système de retraite en France ?
Annexe : French lessons: pension protests , The Guardian, Saturday 23 October 2010.
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French lessons : pension protests
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There is at least one difference between May '68 and what has been happening in France for the last 11 days.
In '68 the protest by workers and students erupted after a prolonged period of unprecedented economic growth.
Today mass protest follows decades of high unemployment – particularly for the young. In the last two years it
has risen by 17 % for the under-25s. The social ladder in France is broken. Little wonder that among the millions
of demonstrators who have turned out against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reforms – at one point one in
20 of all the people in France – tens of thousands are sixth-formers. Behind the pensions revolt is a deep fear of
unemployment which will only be worsened by workers delaying retirement.
Before we in Britain scoff too quickly at the French for racing to the barricades to preserve a pension system
which, to our eyes, looks generous, it is worth being clear about what is being fought over and what is not. There
is a broad consensus, and has been for at least seven years, that the French pension system is bust. In a pay-asyou-go system, too few active workers are paying for too many pensioners. As the number of pensioners is set to
increase from 15 million in 2008 to nearly 23 million in 2050, the ratio of active workers to pensioners will
reduce still further. Depending on both the rate of long-term unemployment and labour productivity, the deficit
in the state pension system, currently running at €32bn or 1.7 % of GDP, could explode in the next decade to
reach something more like 3 % of GDP. That is a lot for any state to pay on pensions.
The issue is not whether this system should be reformed but how. Who is to share the pension burden? Do lowpaid manual workers, women, and the disabled take an extra hit as they would under Sarkozy's formula, or
should employers and big business pay more? Why does someone who starts work at 18 have to work for longer
– 44 years – before reaching the full entitlement than someone who enters the labour market at 22 with higher
qualifications? The age that matters is not 62, when retirees can start drawing their pensions, but 67, when the
benefit reaches its maximum. Why should poorer workers, who have shorter life expectancies, lose a higher
proportion of their retirement years ? Whether you are a refinery worker from Grandpuit or a dinner lady in a
Marseille primary school, this is an issue worth coming out on to the streets for. Nor should this debate be
wholly alien to anyone who has been following events in Britain this week. It, too, is about fairness and social
justice.
President Sarkozy is hoping that a combination of a swift vote in the senate and the forthcoming All Saints' Day
national holiday will douse passions more effectively than the water cannons of his riot police. But thus far he is
losing the battle for public opinion. Public support has curiously risen after a week in which fuel refineries and
ports were blockaded, with 70 % backing industrial action. Unions who have resisted calls for a general strike
have vowed that there will be two more days of national action. And their chief demand, that the government
must negotiate the reform rather than ram it through on to the statute books, is a reasonable one. With riot police
yesterday behaving ever more violently with union pickets, the risk of death or serious injury on the picket lines
rises by the day. Both sides could lose control, which would both weaken the unions' case and be catastrophic for
the government.
The French are not just being French. France has a lower level of inequality than most OECD countries, and is
one out of only five which saw inequality decrease over the two decades to the mid-2000s. As the basic
provisions of the welfare state are being rolled back all over Europe, in the name of protecting triple-A credit
ratings, a cause is being fought in France which we in Britain would do well to watch carefully. The same fight
could be coming here soon.
Source : The Guardian, French lessons : pension protests , http://www.guardian.co.uk/
commentisfree/2010/oct/23/french-lessons-pension-protests-editorial, (October 2010).
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La croissance économique, un objectif à remettre en cause ?
Annexe : Prosperity without Growth - Economics for a Finite Planet - Tim Jackson - First
published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2009.
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One of the key messages of this book is that we’re failing in that task. Our technologies, our economy and our
social aspirations are all mis-aligned with any meaningful expression of prosperity. The vision of social progress
that drives us – based on the continual expansion of material wants – is fundamentally untenable. And this
failing is not a simple falling short from utopian ideals. It is much more basic. In pursuit of the good life today,
we are systematically eroding the basis for well-being tomorrow. We stand in real danger of losing any prospect
of a shared and lasting prosperity.
But this book isn’t a rant against the failings of modernity. Nor is it a lament on the inevitability of the human
condition. There are undoubtedly some immutable constraints on our prospects for a lasting prosperity. The
existence of ecological limits to human activity maybe one of these. Aspects of human nature may turn out to be
another. Taking heed of these constraints is central to the spirit of this investigation.
The overriding aim of this book is to seek viable responses to the biggest dilemma of our times: reconciling our
aspirations for the good life with the constraints of a finite planet. The analysis in the following pages is focused
on finding a credible vision of what it means for human society to flourish in the context of ecological limits.
Prosperity as growth
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At the heart of the book lies a very simple question. What can prosperity possibly look like in a finite world,
with limited resources and a population expected to exceed 9 billion people within decades ?
Do we have a decent vision of prosperity for such a world ? Is this vision credible in the face of the available
evidence about ecological limits ? How do we go about turning vision into reality ?
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The prevailing response to these questions is to cast prosperity in economic terms and to call for continuing
economic growth as the means to deliver it. Higher incomes mean increased choices, richer lives, an improved
quality of life for those who benefit from them.
That at least is the conventional wisdom. This formula is cashed out (almost literally) as an increase in the gross
domestic product (GDP) per capita. The GDP is broadly speaking a measure of ‘economic activity’ in a nation or
region. As we shall see later, there are good grounds to question whether such a crude measure is really
sufficient. But for now it’s a fair reflection of what is meant, in broad terms, by rising income. A rising per capita
GDP, in this view, is equivalent to increasing prosperity.
[Extrait du chapitre 1]
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SUJET N° 18
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La crise grecque, remise en cause de l'Union européenne ?
Annexe : The Economist, July 23rd 2011.
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Slovakia and the euro: a reluctant « yes »
Purist Slovaks dislike bailing out Greece in principle. But not in practice.
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Thrifty countries don’t like bailing out freckles ones. And poor countries don’t like subsiding rich ones. Slovakia
is the second-poorest country in the euro zone (after Estonia), and it generally runs a tight fiscal ship. It held
back from last year’s rescue of Greece, and is a stickler on conditions for the forthcoming one. Slovakia’s GDP
per head (at purchasing-power parity) is $23,000, compared with Greece’s $27,000. Its debt-to- GDP ratio was a
modest 42% in 2010, against 160 % in Greece today. Slovakia’s export-centered economy has recovered quickly
from the financial crisis. After two years of budget deficits at nearly 8 % of GDP, the government is cutting
spending and raising taxes to the tune of 25 % of GDP.
Public opinion combines a streak of skepticism about the European Union (seen by some as too socialist) with
enthusiasm for the euro (which suits Slovakia’s small, open economy). Voters disliked the first Greek bail-out
because it seemed unfair. And they liked seeing their government face down self-important big countries.
Yet three of the ruling center-right parties that opposed the first Greek rescue have now reinvented themselves as
champions of euro-zone solidarity. Smer – sd, the leading opposition party, is also backing the government, in
an unusual display of bipartisan responsibility. Robert Fico, its leader and former prime minister, jokes that as
”experts on populism” his party has no intention of using the euro crisis for political gain.
Slovakia remains in the hawkish camp, along with Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. It wants more
austerity and reform from Greece. The new loan for Athens must be backed by Greek state property as collateral.
Slovakia also wants private creditors to share the pain: at least €30 billion ($43 billion), says the finance
minister, Ivan Miklos.
Only the free-market sas (Freedom and Solidarity) party, a member of the ruling coalition, is opposed. It believes
the latest bail-out is a swindle on European tax-payers. It dislikes moves towards fiscal union to save the euro.
But Iveta Radicova, the prime minister, dismisses such talk as “politicking”.
Senior government figures say privately that they yearn for the EU to fight contagion with “clatity” :
distinguishing between insolvent and illiquid countries, with the first restructuring their debts and leaving the
euro if necessary. Brave talk, from a country that accounts for barely 1 % of euro-zone GDP. Even Estonia and
Slovenia, the other two eastern European minnows, show little sign of following the Slovak’s principled head.
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SUJET N° 2
MATIN
1120006
DSCG
SESSION 2011
Coefficient : 1
SUJET
L’investissement immatériel remplacera-t-il l’investissement matériel ?
Annexe : A new OECD project, New sources of growth: intangible assets. OECD, dec 2010.
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SUJET N° 2
MATIN
DOCUMENT
New sources of growth: intangible assets
5
10
15
In many OECD countries, investment in intangible assets is growing rapidly. In some cases this investment
matches or exceeds investment in traditional capital such as machinery, equipment and buildings. Intensified
global competition, ICTs, new business models, and the growing importance of the services sector have all
amplified the importance of intangible assets to firms, industries and national economies. The global economic
crisis has placed a new focus on how policies might help the accumulation of intangible assets and provide new
sources of growth. Concerns also exist that the crisis might undermine the financing of investment in intangible
assets. And in many emerging economies policymakers are seeking to develop the intangible assets necessary for
success in high value-added activities.
Evidence from a number of countries suggests faster growth in investment in intangible assets than in tangible.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, investment in intangibles is estimated to have more than doubled as a share
of market sector gross value added between 1970 and 2004. Recent studies estimate annual investment in
intangibles in the United States of between USD 800 billion and USD 1 trillion, with a stock of intangibles of up
to USD 5 trillion. In many countries, the proportion of offbalance- sheet assets to on-balance-sheet assets (the
price-tobook ratios of companies) has risen for decades.
Previously unmeasured intangible capital has been calculated to account for 18% of the growth in multi-factor
productivity (MFP) in the United States between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The World Bank estimates that,
for countries, the preponderant form of wealth worldwide is intangible capital.
20
And key business outcomes can be linked to investment in intangibles – in 2004 in the United Kingdom around
half of export sales from winners of the Queens Award for Exports could be directly attributed to investment in
design.
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SUJET N° 14
APRES-MIDI
1120006
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SESSION 2011
Coefficient : 1
SUJET
Énergies renouvelables et régulation marchande
Annexe : Connie Hedegaard and Torben Möger Pedersen the Guardian Professional
Network Wednesday 6 July 2011 11.50 BST guardian.co.uk
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SUJET N° 14
APRES-MIDI
DOCUMENT
The EU economy needs investment in renewables by pension funds
5
10
15
20
25
30
The EU has ambitious plans to become a low carbon economy by 2050 which require investments in renewable
energy. In Denmark, pension funds are already proving the business case for these investments
This spring the EU Commission published its roadmap for transition to a low carbon economy by 2050. It's an
ambitious plan that will ensure that the EU can be a leader in the worldwide transition to a low carbon and more
resource efficient economy.
The commission estimates that to obtain the goal of an 80 % reduction in emissions over the next 40 years it will
require annual investments averaging 1.5 % of GDP – equivalent to €270bn. This is a massive challenge and it is
unsustainable for energy and utility companies to raise the funds themselves.
Given the current fiscal challenges in a number of EU countries and the future strain on public finances from an
ageing population, public sector cofinancing aiding this transition will be limited. Therefore, most investments in
renewable energy sources and more effective energy infrastructure must be financed by the private sector and
consumers.
If the 2050 goals are to be reached, it is crucial to get the substantial – and growing – private pension capital
activated within this field. Especially, since other types of more leveraged investors can no longer finance their
investments as easily as was previously observed.
Investments in renewable energy and infrastructure appeal to pension funds when they deliver a predictable and
stable cash flow. In terms of renewable energy sources the role of the government is to ensure that the power
production can be sold at a fixed or highly predictable price for large part of the life of the asset.
If these conditions are met, investments in renewable energy and infrastructure should appeal to pension funds,
but so far actual investments have been limited. This has also been due to lack of experience among pension
funds with (direct) investments in the asset class and uncertainty about a relevant pipeline of similar investment
opportunities before committing to the initial investment.
But there are already concrete business cases out there. In Denmark, for example PensionDanmark and Dong
Energy have developed and implemented a model for how pension fund capital can be activated in relation to
investments in renewable energy. The breakthrough came in 2010 with the investment in Nysted Wind Farm and
has more recently been applied with the investment in the future Anholt wind farm. Overall, the two offshore
wind farms will supply clean energy equivalent of the annual consumption of 540,000 Danish households by
2014.
The model includes the creation of a partnership between an institutional investor and the industrial partner,
where the pension fund provides the capital and the industrial partner is responsible for construction and
operation, while at the same time keeps a substantial share of the asset as to ensure alignment of interests.
The Danish experience shows that it is possible to activate the pension capital in the transition to a low carbon
economy. In order to reach our long-term goals it is essential that this type of innovative financing arrangement
spreads to other countries and other types of renewable energy sources.
2/2

Sujet n°1 - Académie de Nantes

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