This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

European Labour Markets and the Euro: How Much Flexibility Do We Really Need?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael C. Burda () (Humboldt University Berlin)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Widespread concern over real effects of EMU is consistent with new Keynesian approaches to macroeconomic fluctuations, but more difficult to reconcile with a real business cycle (RBC) paradigm. Using a model with frictions as a point of departure, I speculate that nominal price rigidity in Europe is likely to increase, while real rigidities are likely to decrease, as a consequence of monetary union. This logic implies a new European macroeconomic regime in which monetary policy is increasingly "effective" in influencing output in the short run. Similarly, changes in the nature of real and nominal price determination are likely to increase the volatility of the European business cycle. Empirical evidence of increasing covariation of price inflation and declining correlation of wage inflation and real wage growth within EMU countries in the last decade is consistent with this conjecture. Calls for additional labour market flexibility, given the magnitude of what is already in store for Europe, may be unwarranted.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.enepri.org/Publications/WP003.pdf
Our checks indicate that this address may not be valid because: 404 Not Found. If this is indeed the case, please notify (CEPS)
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes in its series Economics Working Papers with number 003.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 33 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2001
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:epr:enepwp:003

Contact details of provider:
Postal: ENEPRI c/o CEPS Place du Congrès 1 1000 Brussels Belgium
Phone: +32 2 229 3911
Fax: +32 2 219 4151
Web page: http://www.enepri.org

Order Information:
Postal: ENEPRI c/o CEPS Place du Congrès 1 1000 Brussels Belgium
Email:
Web: http://www.enepri.org

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (CEPS) The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask CEPS to update the entry or send us the correct address..

Related research
Keywords: Euro; European Integration; European Monetary Union; monetary transmission mechanism;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Calmfors, Lars, 1998. "Monetary Union and Precautionary Labour-Market Reform," Seminar Papers 659, Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies. [Downloadable!]
  2. Frankel, Jeffrey A & Rose, Andrew K, 1996. "The Endogeneity of the Optimum Currency Area Criteria," CEPR Discussion Papers 1473, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Fatás, Antonio, 1997. "EMU: Countries or Regions? Lessons from the EMS Experience," CEPR Discussion Papers 1558, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Rudiger Dornbusch & Carlo A. Favero & Francesco Giavazzi, 1998. "The Immediate Challenges for the European Central Bank," NBER Working Papers 6369, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Knetter, Michael M, 1989. "Price Discrimination by U.S. and German Exporters," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 198-210, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Eichengreen, Barry, 1993. "European Monetary Unification," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 1321-57, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. von Hagen, Jurgen & Neumann, Manfred J M, 1994. "Real Exchange Rates within and between Currency Areas: How Far Away Is EMU?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(2), pages 236-44, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. W.H. Buiter, 1995. "Macroeconomic Policy During a Transition to Monetary Union," CEP Discussion Papers dp0261, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  9. Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1983. "Real Wages and Unemployment in the OECD Countries," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 14(1983-1), pages 255-304. [Downloadable!]
  10. Barro, Robert J & Gordon, David B, 1983. "A Positive Theory of Monetary Policy in a Natural Rate Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(4), pages 589-610, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Calmfors, Lars, 1998. "Unemployment, Labour-Market Reform and Monetary Union," Seminar Papers 639, Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies. [Downloadable!]
  12. Taylor, John B, 1980. "Aggregate Dynamics and Staggered Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(1), pages 1-23, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Calmfors, L., 1998. "Monetary Union and Precautionary Labour-Market Reform," Papers 659, Stockholm - International Economic Studies.
  14. Blanchard, Olivier Jean, 1990. "Why does money affect output? A survey," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: B. M. Friedman & F. H. Hahn (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 15, pages 779-835 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Branson, William H. & Rotemberg, Julio J., 1980. "International adjustment with wage rigidity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 309-332, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Decressin, Jorg & Fatas, Antonio, 1995. "Regional labor market dynamics in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1627-1655, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Lawrence F. Katz, 1992. "Regional Evolutions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(1992-1), pages 1-76. [Downloadable!]
  18. Dornbusch, Rudi, 1996. "The Effectiveness of Exchange-Rate Changes," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 26-38, Autumn.
  19. Bils, Mark J, 1985. "Real Wages over the Business Cycle: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(4), pages 666-89, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Cukierman, A. & Lippi, F., 1998. "Central Bank Independence, Centralization of Wage Bargaining, Inflation and Unemployment: Theory and Evidence," Papers 332, Banca Italia - Servizio di Studi.
    Other versions:
  21. Tamim Bayoumi & Barry Eichengreen, 1992. "Shocking Aspects of European Monetary Unification," NBER Working Papers 3949, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  22. Danthine, Jean-Pierre & Hunt, Jennifer, 1994. "Wage Bargaining Structure, Employment and Economic Integration," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 528-41, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  23. Robert Miguel W. K. Kollman, 1999. "Explaining International Comovements of Output and Asset Returns: The Role of Money and Nominal Rigidities," IMF Working Papers 99/84, International Monetary Fund.
  24. Berthold, Norbert & Fehn, Rainer, 1998. "Does EMU Promote Labor-Market Reforms?," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(4), pages 509-36.
  25. Lars Calmfors, 1998. "Unemployment, Labour-market Reform and Monetary Union," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  26. Dornbusch, Rudiger, 1987. "Exchange Rates and Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(1), pages 93-106, March.
    Other versions:
  27. Kollmann, Robert, 2001. "Explaining international comovements of output and asset returns: The role of money and nominal rigidities," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 25(10), pages 1547-1583, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  28. Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1979. "Wages, Profits, and Macroeconomic Adjustment: A Comparative Study," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 10(1979-2), pages 269-332. [Downloadable!]
  29. Buiter, Willem H, 1995. "Macroeconomic Policy During a Transition to Monetary Union," CEPR Discussion Papers 1222, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  30. Mankiw, N Gregory, 1985. "Small Menu Costs and Large Business Cycles: A Macroeconomic Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 529-38, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  31. Frankel, Jeffrey A. & Rose, Andrew K., 1997. "Is EMU more justifiable ex post than ex ante?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 753-760, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  32. Bayoumi, Tamim & Eichengreen, Barry, 1996. "Operationalizing the Theory of Optimum Currency Areas," CEPR Discussion Papers 1484, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  33. Lars Calmfors, 1998. "Monetary Union and Precautionary Labour-market Reform," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  34. Burda,M.C., 1995. "Unions and Wage Insurance," Papers 596, Stockholm - International Economic Studies.
    Other versions:
  35. Wyplosz, Charles, 1997. "EMU: Why and How It Might Happen," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 3-21, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  36. John V. Duca, 1998. "How increased product market competition may be reshaping America's labor markets," Economic and Financial Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Q IV, pages 2-16. [Downloadable!]
  37. Jeanne, Olivier, 1998. "Generating real persistent effects of monetary shocks: How much nominal rigidity do we really need?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1009-1032, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  38. Carlton, Dennis W, 1986. "The Rigidity of Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 637-58, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  39. Streeck, Wolfgang, 1998. "The Internationalization of Industrial Relations in Europe: Prospects and Problems," MPIfG Discussion and Working Papers 2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. [Downloadable!]
  40. Calmfors, L., 1998. "Unemployment, Labour-Market Reform and Monetary Union," Papers 639, Stockholm - International Economic Studies.
  41. Rudi Dornbusch & Carlo Favero & Francesco Giavazzi, 1998. "Immediate challenges for the European Central Bank," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 13(26), pages 15-64, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Torben M. Andersen, . "International Integration and the Welfare State," Economics Working Papers 2002-2, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus. [Downloadable!]
  2. Andersen, Torben M. & Skaksen , Jan Rose, 2006. "Product Market Integration, Comparative Advantages and Labour Market Performance," Working Papers 08-2004, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Torben Andersen & Jan Skaksen, 2007. "Labour Demand, Wage Mark-ups and Product Market Integration," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 103-135, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Boeri, Tito, 2000. "Social Europe: Dramatic Visions and Real Complexity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2371, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Achim Kemmerling, 2003. "Regional Input on the Social Dimension of Ezoneplus: Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Austria, and Germany," Eastward Enlargement of the Euro-zone Working Papers wp13c, Free University Berlin, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, revised 01 Mar 2003. [Downloadable!]
  6. Cukierman, A. & Lippi, F., 1999. "Labor markets and monetary union : a strategic analysis," Discussion Paper 100, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Andersen, Torben M. & Skaksen, Jan Rose, 2003. "Product Market Integration, Comparative Advantages and Labour Market Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 698, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  8. Roel Beetsma & Lans Bovenberg, 2001. "Structural Distortions and Decentralized Fiscal Policies in EMU," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Gilles Saint Paul & Samuel Bentolila, 2000. "Will EMU Increase Eurosclerosis?," Economics Working Papers 449, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Lars Calmfors, 2001. "Wages and Wage-Bargaining Institutions in the EMU – A Survey of the Issues," Empirica, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 325-351, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Markus Knell, 2002. "Wage Formation in Open Economies and the Role of Monetary and Wage-Setting Institutions," Working Papers 63, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Jochen Michaelis & Michael Pflüger, 2002. "Euroland: Besser als befürchtet, aber schlechter als erhofft?," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 71(3), pages 296-311.
  13. Böckerman, Petri & Riihimäki, Elisa, 2009. "International outsourcing and labour demand: Evidence from Finnish firm-level data," MPRA Paper 16903, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  14. Markus Knell, 2002. "The effects of EMU on euro area unemployment," Atlantic Economic Journal, International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 30(3), pages 244-262, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Blandine ZIMMER, 2005. "Coordination des négociations salariales en UEM : un rôle majeur pour la BCE," Working Papers of BETA 2005-09, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, ULP, Strasbourg. [Downloadable!]
  16. S. Sgherri, 2000. "When is labour market flexibility welcome? More on asymmetric policy impacts in Europe," WO Research Memoranda (discontinued) 619, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  17. Dohse, Dirk & Krieger-Boden, Christiane & Soltwedel, Rüdiger, 2000. "Emu Challenges Regional Labor Markets," ERSA conference papers ersa00p7, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  18. Calmfors, Lars, 2001. "Wages and wage-bargaining institutions in the EMU – a survey of the issues," Seminar Papers 690, Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You can create your own reading lists on IDEAS.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-6.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.