Business writing

France Economic situation

a. Regulation of the economy (free-market, mixed, command), measured by the Heritage Foundation's economic freedom index

b. Economic and fiscal policies (government spending and public deficit; especially in their aspects impacting foreign firms, and the ease/cost of doing business in the country: see World Bank site)

c. GDP, per capita GDP, GDP growth over past 3 years

d. Labor market: per capita annual income, income inequality, unemployment

e. Monetary situation and policies: Inflation, interest rates, public deficit, exchange rate evolution over last 3 years

f. Main economic sectors: natural resources; agriculture; main manufacturing industries; main service industries.

g. Technological progress and innovation efforts (corporate and household equipment rates, R&D investments, public Vs private research, etc)

Evaluation of the economic risks and opportunities for a foreign firm: risk of a national economic recession, risk of a financial crisis, risk of adverse economic and fiscal policies, foreign exchange risk.

[Some pointers: The World Bank's "Doing Business in…" survey, in particular the Economy rankings; The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom; World Economic Forum's Competitiveness Report; AT Kearney's FDI Confidence Index]