PIGS (economics)
PIGS is a ethnic slur, routinely use by the British and North American economic press to refer to Mediterranean countries. It is purported to be an acronym representing four countries of southern Europe: Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Sometimes, Ireland is listed in addition to or in lieu of Italy.
The Financial Times and Barclays Capital have banned the term as "offensive."[1]
History
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
The acronym was first used in 2008 by some British and North American journalists to refer to the Eurozone countries with lagging economic performance in the preceding few years.[2][3] They were perceived as lacking fiscal discipline and often ran large current account deficits, leading to concerns about the stability of the euro currency.[4] Additionally, they tend to suffer from high unemployment.[5]
Meaning of "I"
Shortly after being coined, an additional "I" was sometimes added to create the acronym "PIIGS", with the additional letter referring to Ireland.[6] [7][8] Some Italian banks (such as Unicredit) have suggested that Italy be replaced with Ireland in the original four letter acronym, and American commentator Pat Buchanan did so in a February 2010 column.[9] According to Eric Nielsen, chief European economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London, "Italy is in a more comfortable position than the other Southern European countries because of a stronger balance sheet."[10]
Controversy
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
The Financial Times and Barclays Capital have banned the term as "offensive."[1]
See also
- European Central Bank
- Enlargement of the eurozone
- Globalization
- Union for the Mediterranean
- BRIC
- Public debt
References
- ^ a b ft.com
- ^ Von Reppert-Bismarck, Juliane (July 7–14, 2008). "Why Pigs Can't Fly". Newsweek.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ "Ten years on, beware a porcine plot". The Economist. June 5, 2008.
- ^ Reguly, Eric (December 23, 2009). "Bailing out PIIGS just encourages bad behaviour". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "The ECB at ten: A decade in the sun". The Economist. June 5, 2008.
- ^ Gros, Daniel (January 28, 2010). "Greek burdens ensure some Pigs won't fly". Financial Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'I' in 'PIGS' is for Ireland not Italy, insist UniCredit staff". Irish Independent. February 6, 2010.
- ^ Smith, David (May 25, 2008). "Reform failures may still kill off the euro". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Buchanan, Pat (2010-02-09). "The Bankrupt PIGS of Europe". buchanan.org. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Totaro, Lorenzo (February 8, 2010). "The 'I' in 'Pigs' Stands for Ireland, Not Italy (Update1)". Business Week.
External links
 | This economics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |