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Competitiveness Within The Euro Area: The Problem That Still Needs To Be Solved

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  • Holger Zemanek

Abstract

Unsustainable public debt, low competitiveness and high current account deficits are major problems for the so‐called PIIGS countries. These countries experienced consumer price and wage inflation above the euro area average in the first decade of the euro, basically fuelled by buoyant capital inflows. The resulting real appreciation against low‐inflation countries led to a deterioration in their competitiveness, but rigid labour markets now prevent a quick market‐based readjustment of real wages to the changed situation. Thus, both public expenditure cuts and structural labour market reforms are urgent to reduce the likelihood of a euro area break‐up.

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  • Holger Zemanek, 2010. "Competitiveness Within The Euro Area: The Problem That Still Needs To Be Solved," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 42-47, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:30:y:2010:i:3:p:42-47
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2010.02020.x
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    1. Holger Zemanek & Ansgar Belke & Gunther Schnabl, 2010. "Current account balances and structural adjustment in the euro area," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 83-127, May.
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    1. Angelini, E. & Dieppe, A. & Pierluigi, B., 2015. "Modelling internal devaluation experiences in Europe: Rational or learning agents?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 81-92.
    2. repec:rim:rimpre:15_01 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Gianluigi Pelloni & Marco Savioli, 2014. "Why is Italy doing so badly after doing so well?," Professional Reports 02_14, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    4. Knobel, A. & Mironov, A., 2015. "Assessment of CIS Countries Readiness for Creation of Currency Union," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 76-101.
    5. Canale, Rosaria Rita & Liotti, Giorgio & Musella, Marco, 2022. "Labour market flexibility and workers’ living conditions in Europe," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 441-450.
    6. Angelini, Elena & Dieppe, Alistair & Pierluigi, Beatrice, 2013. "Learning about wage and price mark-ups in euro area countries," Working Paper Series 1512, European Central Bank.
    7. Juan Carlos Cuestas & Javier Ordóñez & Karsten Staehr, 2019. "Unit labour costs and the dynamics of output and unemployment in the southern European crisis countries," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 597-616, August.
    8. Giorgio Liotti & Marco Musella, 2021. "Flessibilit? e soddisfazione per il lavoro: Una riflessione generale," QUADERNI DI ECONOMIA DEL LAVORO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(113), pages 13-27.
    9. Konstantinos Liapis & Antonios Rovolis & Christos Galanos & Eleftherios Thalassinos, 2013. "The Clusters of Economic Similarities between EU Countries: A View Under Recent Financial and Debt Crisis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 41-66.
    10. Gunther Schnabl & Holger Zemanek, 2010. "Inter-temporal Savings, Current Account Dynamics and Asymmetric Shocks in a Heterogeneous European Monetary Union," CESifo Working Paper Series 3279, CESifo.
    11. João Rebelo Barbosa & Rui Henrique Alves, 2011. "Divergent competitiveness in the eurozone and the optimum currency area theory," FEP Working Papers 436, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    12. Tausch, Arno, 2011. "The efficiency and effectiveness of social spending in the EU-27 and the OECD – a 2011 reanalysis," MPRA Paper 33516, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Sá, Elisabete S. & Pinho, José Carlos M.R. de, 2019. "Effect of entrepreneurial framework conditions on R&D transfer to new and growing firms: The case of European Union innovation-driven countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 47-58.
    14. Giorgio Liotti, 2022. "Labour Market Regulation and Youth Unemployment in the EU-28," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(1), pages 77-103, March.
    15. Gianluigi Pelloni & Marco Savioli, 2015. "Why Is Italy Doing So Badly?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 349-365, October.
    16. Polanco-Martínez, J.M. & Fernández-Macho, J. & Neumann, M.B. & Faria, S.H., 2018. "A pre-crisis vs. crisis analysis of peripheral EU stock markets by means of wavelet transform and a nonlinear causality test," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 490(C), pages 1211-1227.
    17. Liotti, Giorgio, 2020. "Labour market flexibility, economic crisis and youth unemployment in Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 150-162.
    18. João Rebelo Barbosa & Rui Henrique Alves, 2011. "The Euro Area Ten Years after Its Creation: (Divergent) Competitiveness and the Optimum Currency Area Theory," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 58(5), pages 605-629, December.
    19. Gunther Schnabl, 2015. "Monetary Policy and Structural Decline: Lessons from Japan for the European Crisis," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 14(1), pages 124-150, Winter/Sp.
    20. Gunther Schnabl, 2013. "The Macroeconomic Policy Challenges of Balance Sheet Recession: Lessons from Japan for the European Crisis," CESifo Working Paper Series 4249, CESifo.

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