Weathering the Shock of the Great Recession in France and Germany

No corner of the globe could wall itself off from the threats of the Great Recession of 2008. Because of the economic calamity, numerous citizens were devastated by the economic fallouts such as unemployment and inflation, and subsequently endured the diminished level of well-being. The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of how France and Germany weathered the ramifications of the Great Recession. For both countries, the impact of the Great Recession had been tempered, not only by expansionary policies, but also by the retrenchment policy. Combination of two opposing policies led to stabilization of the state. For France, public leadership and innovation contributed to lessening the severity of the Great Recession. For Germany, relatively stable public services and pension helped to whittle down the baleful effects of the Great Recession.