France: (incomplete) Score:

United States: (incomplete) Score:

United Kingdom: Score: +1

The British economy has remained stable over the last year. For the last seven months inflation has been at or around 2.5 per cent and is forecast to remain at that level for the nest two fiscal years. Long term interest rates have come down significantly in the past year to sit at 4½ per cent the lowest in over 40 years. The UK's growth estimate for 1999 is 1 per cent to 1½ per cent and is forecast to reach 2¾ to 3¼ per cent in 2001. Overall, unemployment figures for the past year have been at the lowest rate in 20 years. Contributing to this figure are two significant achievements: youth unemployment has fallen by 57 per cent since May, 1997, and long term unemployment has been cut in half. The government expects a budget surplus for the current fiscal year of 4 billion pounds. Despite a 50 per cent decline in exports to East Asia due to the serious economic situation in that region, Britain, with other G7 nations, has rightly assumed a leadership role to address the root causes and contain the spread of future global crises. The British government is determined to continue locking in this fiscal tightening for the years to come so that they can continue to meet their fiscal targets and deliver sound public finances.

The Government's cental economic objective is to achieve high and stable levels of growth and employment in an effort to ensure a better quality of life today and for future generations. The UK government intends to accomplish this by delivering low inflation and sound public finances and strengthening the economy by closing the current productivity gap between the UK and other G8 nations. To achieve high and stable levels of growth and employment, the government's strategy is based around moving people from welfare to into work and making work pay. The New Deal for young people, Britains's welfare to work initiative, began nation-wide in April, 1998. Already, almost 250, 000 young people have joined the program, of which over 60,000 have found jobs. Further initiatives have been put into place for the long-term unemployed and lone parents, and the New Deal for disabled people has begun as a pilot project. Latest figures show that over 100, 000 over 25s are already benefitting from the New Deal for the long-term unemployed, of which 9,000 have moved into jobs. Other new measures introduced to help combat unemployment include:

• extra help for young people to ensure everyone takes advantage of the New Deal options available, with no option of simply remaining on welfare;
• a New Deal for the over 50s including personalised support to help people move back into work and a 60 Pound per week Employment Credit;
• an Income Support run-on to ease the transition into work for lone parents;
• a New Deal for Communities and Employment Zones to tackle pockets of persistent high unemployment; and
• help for those not in work, including a better deal for pensioners.

Most fundamentally the tax reforms of this Budget provide a better deal for the hard working majority a ladder of opportunity for those who want to work their way up: 230,000 young people are already benefitting from the New Deal. The government intends to bring in those young unemployed who, for whatever reason, have yet to join.

The New Deal has been updated to include better provisions but tougher conditions and in several other important respects. To help lone parents make the transition into jobs, benefits will continue when recipients first start work. For them, and others the working families tax credit will make work pay more than benefits. Every working family will be guaranteed a minimum income of 200 pounds a week and no income tax will be paid until family earnings reach 235 pounds a week.

Britain is committed to introducing policies that encompass active ageing, including a new deal, for persons over 50 returning to work. Nearly 30 per cent of men over 50 are outside the Labour force, twice as many as 20 years ago. For those unemployed for six months or more, The government has created a new employment credit which will guarantee a minimum income of 9,000 pounds a year, for their first year back in full time work, at least 170 pounds a week.

The tax cuts made by the British government are tax cuts for a purpose, tax cuts that encourage work and make work pay, that help all middle and lower income families, tax cuts for the many and not just the few and at the best time for the economy.

The Government is committed to providing more help for pensioners recognising that pensioners need fair and decent support. On top of previously-announced measures, including a £20 winter fuel payment to all pensioners, the introduction of a minimum income guarantee, and the introduction of free eye tests from April 1999, the government has introduced a new package of measures for pensioners worth a further £1 billion every year. This supplemental package includes a fivefold increase in the winter fuel allowance from £20 to £100, a commitment to increase the minimum income guarantee by earnings rather than prices, and the introduction of the Minimum tax guarantee. The Government wants to encourage people to save, both to underpin long term investment and to secure their own financial welfare for the future, underpinning the Government's policy of work for those who can and security for those who cannot. The Government is introducing or has introduced: Stakeholder pensions which combine the low overheads and high security of occupational pensions with the flexibility of personal pensions, and which will be available to all; and Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), which started on 6 April, with the aim of extending the savings habit to the half of the population that currently has little or no savings.

Germany: (incomplete) Score:

Japan: Score: 0

The Japanese economy as a whole is still facing severe conditions. In particular, the employment situation continues to deteriorate. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.6 percent, the highest level recorded since such statistics began in 1953. Until recently, Japan, with its lifetime employment practices, had what was considered to be full employment with an unemployment rate under 3.0 per cent, but this is no longer the case. Significant private sector capital investment will be required to achieve a full scale economic recovery, but for businesses to invest, the expected rate of return on investment must rise and the Japanese economy is still considered by many to be too risky for such investment.

In an attempt to tackle the urgent situation, the fiscal 1999 budget incorporates a greatly expanded ¥1 trillion employment promotion scheme which focuses on worker retraining, especially for white collar workers. The Japanese government has abandoned it's attempt to preserve the postwar, Japanese style practices premised on lifetime employment and "keiretsu" corporate groupings. Instead, the aim is to increase the efficiency of the entire economy by promoting greater labour market mobility, upgrading worker skills, and advancing the appropriate allocation of personnel.

Analysts are predicting negative GDP growth for the Japanese economy for the 1999 fiscal year due to the continued decline in spending and the decrease in corporate capital investment plans. Despite these negative forecasts, the government remains committed to achieving positive growth this fiscal year by having carefully scrutinized the implementation of the emergency economic package, and by continuing to press forward in all areas where the anticipated implementation has not taken place.

Italy: (incomplete) Score:

Canada: (incomplete) Score:

Russia: Score: -1

President Yeltsin's recent political actions will mean even more instability in the months ahead than already exist in Russia. Much of Russia's agreement with the IMF is contingent upon a bunch of new banking reform and tax laws being passed by mid-June and Mr. Yeltsin's dealings with the Duma are dismal to say the least.

Russia is hard-pressed to keep from flying off the hook these days. It can't even afford to pay state employees or the military let alone develop and/or implement any structured employment or active ageing programs. The current economic and poltical situation does not afford the Russian government the authority and resources to implement any initiatives in this area.