Guy Abeille is a French economist. He is credited with developing the "3% rule" as applied to
government deficit ceiling in France, which was later expanded to the
Eurozone.
Early life
Guy Abeille graduated from
Ecole Nationale de la Statistique in Paris.
[3% de déficit : «Le chiffre est né sur un coin de table»](_blank)
''Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH.
Histor ...
'', September 28, 2012
Career
Abeille first worked for the
Ministry of Economy and Finance under conservative President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
[Dominique Seux]
Déficit public : L’histoire secrète du 3%
'' Les Échos'', 3/10/2014
In the late 70s and early 80s Abeille was part of the National Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance where he was responsible for budget forecasting.
In 1981 after
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
came to power, he and fellow economist
Roland de Villepin were asked to establish a risk-based criteria for fiscal
deficit ceiling by the deputy head of the National Budget Office,
Pierre Biger
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
.
[Faut-il vraiment payer toute la dette? Sur un coin de table](_blank)
''Le Monde Diplomatique
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs.
The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
'', October 2014 Abeille and Villepin are thus credited with creating the "3% rule" whereby the French deficit must not exceed 3% of the country's Gross Domestic Product.
The 3% rule was later incorporated into the Maastricht criteria, which establishes the requirements potential member states should meet to enter the third stage of the Eurozone and adopt the euro as their currency. The rule has been maintained through all subsequent treaties of the Monetary Union, including the Stability and Growth Pact and the European Fiscal Compact.
References
Living people
ENSTA Paris alumni
20th-century French economists
21st-century French economists
Year of birth missing (living people)
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