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The acronym has long been used<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/260035.html |quote=que l'argot communautaire a affublés d'un sobriquet peu élégant dans sa signification anglaise : « pigs », pour Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. |title=L'Allemagne au coeur du débat français |date=24 April 1997 |work=''[[Le Monde]]'' |author=Daniel Vernet}}</ref> by bank analysts, bond and currency traders dating back at least to the period of the [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism|ERM]] and is used by some analysts,<ref>{{cite web |quote=In general, the weakest EU economies, called PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), are best avoided in the near term. In recent times [[Ireland]] has also been associated with the PIGS countries and the acronym has been modified to become PIIGS. However considering Ireland's Public debt as a % of GDP this is an unfortunate comparison. Due to the offensive nature of the acronym PIGS, synonyms with the term "pigs" or "the pigs" generally used to refer to traders or even in some cases police, some european countries have banned this derogatory remark from the public media.
The acronym has long been used<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/260035.html |quote=que l'argot communautaire a affublés d'un sobriquet peu élégant dans sa signification anglaise : « pigs », pour Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. |title=L'Allemagne au coeur du débat français |date=24 April 1997 |work=''[[Le Monde]]'' |author=Daniel Vernet}}</ref> by bank analysts, bond and currency traders dating back at least to the period of the [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism|ERM]] and is used by some analysts,<ref>{{cite web |quote=In general, the weakest EU economies, called PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), are best avoided in the near term. In recent times [[Ireland]] has also been associated with the PIGS countries and the acronym has been modified to become PIIGS. However considering Ireland's Public debt as a % of GDP this is an unfortunate comparison. Due to the offensive nature of the acronym PIGS, synonyms with the term "pigs" or "the pigs" generally used to refer to traders or even in some cases police, some european countries have banned this derogatory remark from the public media.


|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-163612493.html |title=Greece and Ireland show best returns |date=March 15, 2007 |work=''[[Investment Adviser]]''}}</ref> academics<ref>[https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/dspace/handle/10316/11722 A Portugese university]</ref> and commentators<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0PRQXJb5I8cC&pg=PA36&dq=%22pigs%22+portugal+italy+greece+spain&lr=&cd=18#v=onepage&q=%22pigs%22%20portugal%20italy%20greece%20spain&f=false|title=The European Union: from Jean Monnet to the Euro|author= Dean J. Kotlowski|edition=|publisher=[[Ohio University Press]]|year=2000|ISBN=0821413317|page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qy38NH70qAYC&pg=PA185&dq=%22pigs%22+portugal+italy+greece+spain&lr=&cd=23#v=onepage&q=%22pigs%22%20portugal%20italy%20greece%20spain&f=false|title=Growth and economic development: essays in honour of A.P. Thirlwall|author= Philip Arestis, J. S. L. McCombie, Roger William Vickerman, A. P. Thirlwall|edition=|publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]]|year=2007|ISBN=184376878X|page=}}</ref> as a concise way to refer to the [[Eurozone]] countries of [[southern Europe]] noted for similar economic environments.<ref>[http://books.google.de/books?id=itGoAAAAIAAJ&q=pigs+portugal+italy+greece+spain&dq=pigs+portugal+italy+greece+spain&cd=3 German Google books]</ref><ref>[http://www.goldseiten.de/content/diverses/artikel.php?storyid=2576 Goldseiten]</ref><ref>
|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-163612493.html |title=Greece and Ireland show best returns |date=March 15, 2007 |work=''[[Investment Adviser]]''}}</ref> academics<ref>[https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/dspace/handle/10316/11722 A Portugese university]</ref> and commentators<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0PRQXJb5I8cC&pg=PA36&dq=%22pigs%22+portugal+italy+greece+spain&lr=&cd=18#v=onepage&q=%22pigs%22%20portugal%20italy%20greece%20spain&f=false|title=The European Union: from Jean Monnet to the Euro|author= Dean J. Kotlowski|edition=|publisher=[[Ohio University Press]]|year=2000|ISBN=0821413317|page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qy38NH70qAYC&pg=PA185&dq=%22pigs%22+portugal+italy+greece+spain&lr=&cd=23#v=onepage&q=%22pigs%22%20portugal%20italy%20greece%20spain&f=false|title=Growth and economic development: essays in honour of A.P. Thirlwall|author= Philip Arestis, J. S. L. McCombie, Roger William Vickerman, A. P. Thirlwall|edition=|publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]]|year=2007|ISBN=184376878X|page=}}</ref> as a concise way to refer to the [[Eurozone]] countries of [[southern Europe]] noted for similar economic environments of [[left wing]] control, high spending, large public sector workforces, and especially high debt.<ref>[http://books.google.de/books?id=itGoAAAAIAAJ&q=pigs+portugal+italy+greece+spain&dq=pigs+portugal+italy+greece+spain&cd=3 German Google books]</ref><ref>[http://www.goldseiten.de/content/diverses/artikel.php?storyid=2576 Goldseiten]</ref><ref>
{{cite news
{{cite news
| last= Von Reppert-Bismarck
| last= Von Reppert-Bismarck

Revision as of 14:18, 16 June 2011

  PIGS: Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain
  PIIGS: with Ireland
  PIGGS: with United Kingdom (Great-Britain)
A graph showing the economic data from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, United Kingdom, Spain (PIIGGS), Germany, the EU and the Eurozone for 2009. The data is taken from Eurostat.

PIGS (sometimes also PIIGS[1]) is a controversial grouping acronym used by some international bond analysts, academics, and by the international economic press that refer to the economies of Portugal, Ireland (originally Italy), Greece, and Spain, often in regards to matters relating to sovereign debt markets. Some news and economic organisations have limited or banned their use due to criticism regarding perceived offensive connotations.

History

The acronym has long been used[2] by bank analysts, bond and currency traders dating back at least to the period of the ERM and is used by some analysts,[3] academics[4] and commentators[5][6] as a concise way to refer to the Eurozone countries of southern Europe noted for similar economic environments of left wing control, high spending, large public sector workforces, and especially high debt.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Controversy

The term was denounced as a pejorative by the Portuguese Finance Minister in 2008,[13] and by some members of the Portuguese and Spanish speaking press.[14][15][13] Members of the Spanish and other international economic press continue to use the term of art in its narrow and restricted economic sense as a grouping acronym like the related BRIC.[16][17][18][19][20][21] Others however, notably the Financial Times and Barclays Capital have restricted or banned[22] the term, [23] with the FT notably reducing but not eliminating[24] its use.

Variations

With the onset of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010 several variations appeared.[25] When rendered as "PIIGS"[26][27] some commentators added the additional "i" to include Ireland because of the 2008–2010 Irish financial crisis. The modern trend is to simply substitute Ireland for Italy.[28]

Additional permutations gained prominence during the 2009 United Kingdom bank rescue package period and into the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis as some commentators used numerous variations such as PIIGGS[29][30] which includes Great Britain for assorted political, economic or social reports and editorial commentary or BIGPISFUKU [31] which also includes Belgium, France, and USA, all nations with high levels of national debt and limited ability to handle its debt.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PIIGS.

References

  1. ^ Hugh, Edward (Dec 16, 2009). "Is Austria Set To Join The Honourable Company of PIIGs?". Roubini Global Economics. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  2. ^ Daniel Vernet (24 April 1997). "L'Allemagne au coeur du débat français". Le Monde. que l'argot communautaire a affublés d'un sobriquet peu élégant dans sa signification anglaise : « pigs », pour Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ "Greece and Ireland show best returns". Investment Adviser. March 15, 2007. In general, the weakest EU economies, called PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), are best avoided in the near term. In recent times Ireland has also been associated with the PIGS countries and the acronym has been modified to become PIIGS. However considering Ireland's Public debt as a % of GDP this is an unfortunate comparison. Due to the offensive nature of the acronym PIGS, synonyms with the term "pigs" or "the pigs" generally used to refer to traders or even in some cases police, some european countries have banned this derogatory remark from the public media. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ A Portugese university
  5. ^ Dean J. Kotlowski (2000). The European Union: from Jean Monnet to the Euro. Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821413317.
  6. ^ Philip Arestis, J. S. L. McCombie, Roger William Vickerman, A. P. Thirlwall (2007). Growth and economic development: essays in honour of A.P. Thirlwall. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 184376878X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ German Google books
  8. ^ Goldseiten
  9. ^ Von Reppert-Bismarck, Juliane (July 7–14, 2008). "Why Pigs Can't Fly". Newsweek.
  10. ^ "Ten years on, beware a porcine plot". The Economist. June 5, 2008.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ "Europe's PIGS: Country by country". BBC News. 11 February 2010.
  13. ^ a b Robert Holloway (September 15, 2008). "Pigs in muck and lipstick". AFP. Cite error: The named reference "portafolio1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ J. Ramón González Cabezas (25 January 2009). "La recesión acosa al euro". Lavanguardia.es.
  15. ^ Federico Jimenez Losantos (16 September 2008). "Financial pigs". Elmundo.es.
  16. ^ http://www.hrima.gr/article.asp?view=1131&ref=1114
  17. ^ http://www.cotizalia.com/en-exclusiva/2011/mario-draghi-presidente-bce-sorpresa-20110430-68049.html
  18. ^ http://www.eleconomista.es/mercados-cotizaciones/noticias/3003903/04/11/La-cruz-que-carga-Espana-por-Grecia-no-se-hace-mas-pesada.html
  19. ^ "La web de Roubini propone la solución para los PIIGS: euro fuerte y euro débil".
  20. ^ "Japón, Francia, Reino Unido, EEUU y PIIGS, los más vulnerables".
  21. ^ "Krugman atribuye problemas de España a falta de unión fiscal y laboral en UE".
  22. ^ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/02/05/142451/anything-but-porcine-at-barcap/
  23. ^ James Mackintosh (5 February 2010). "STUPID investors in PIGS". ft.com.
  24. ^ http://blogs.ft.com/money-supply/2010/06/11/pigs-and-not-piigs/?Authorised=true
  25. ^ http://www.na24.no/article2908474.ece
  26. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60E2OJ20100115][. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) [dead link]
  27. ^ http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7uaWUCJ2M7wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=piigs+bric+&ots=p5F2NYo7By&sig=RfsIwCwS9EnRPCCJbpPLo5R6qbA#v=snippet&q=piigs&f=false
  28. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-05/the-i-in-pigs-is-ireland-not-italy-unicredit-report-says.html
  29. ^ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/05/26/stories/2010052650321100.htm][
  30. ^ http://free-media.pl/?p=6047
  31. ^ http://cornucopia.cornubot.se/2011/04/stora-bigpis-fukgs-grafen.html
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