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BRUSSELS - The Danish and German economies have benefited most among 14 EU countries from the expansion of the bloc's single market between 1992-2012, according to a study published Monday (28 July) by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German foundation.

Over those 20 years, German real gross domestic product rose by an average of €37 billion per year, translating into a yearly income rise of €450 per person. Danish citizens had a yearly income rise of €500 over that same period. Austria and Finland rank third and fourth, respectively, with gains above €200 per person, followed by Sweden and Belgium (€180). At the other end of the scale are Italy (€80/year/person), Spain and Greece (€70/year/person) and Portugal with an increase of only €20 in per capita income per year.

The study also quantifies how these 14 economies would have fared in the absence of more EU integration since 1992.

Again, Germany and Denmark would have lost the most: over two percent of their per capita GDP in 2012 would have been scrapped if there was no EU single market. This would have led to personal income losses of €720 per year in Denmark and €680 in Germany.

According to the study, only Greece would have gained from no EU single market: its per capita GDP would have been higher by 1.3 percent or €190.

In a timely report given the latest EU sanctions on Russia, the IMF says the growing tensions over Ukraine could undermine financial markets in Europe and beyond. It also warns of the effect of rising interest rates. My colleague Katie Allen writes:Rising interest rates in advanced economies and a slowdown in emerging markets could combine to cut global growth by as much as 2%, the International Monetary Fund has warned.Its latest report into how policy moves in one country can spill over into others also highlights the threat that tensions in Russia and Ukraine could send shockwaves through financial and commodity markets across Europe, central Asia and beyond. The IMF’s main concerns, however, centre around two key factors emerging as the global economy “shifts from crisis to recovery mode”.  It highlights the challenge for central banks of smoothly unwinding the ultraloose monetary policy they brought in to support advanced economies during the financial crisis. Secondly, it warns that emerging market economies are slowing in a “synchronised and protracted manner” and that poses risks to the rest of the world in terms of trade and finance. The report is the latest to emphasise the complex task of returning to more normal interest rates after years of extraordinary measures to shore up markets and confidence. In the UK, base rates have been at a record low of 0.5% for more than five years while in both the US and UK there have been vast money printing schemes, known as quantitative easing.