Real unit labour costs in Eurozone countries : drivers and clusters
Ordóñez, Javier 1947- (Universitat Jaume I)
Sala Lorda, Hèctor (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Silva, José I. (University of Kent)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada

Imprint:	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada 2014
Description:	38 p.
Abstract:	We examine the trajectories of the real unit labour costs (RULCs) in a selection of Eurozone economies. Strong asymmetries in the convergence process of the RULCs and its components -real wages, capital intensity, and technology- are uncovered through decomposition and cluster analyses. In the last three decades, the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain) succeeded in reducing their RULCs by more than their northern partners. With the exception of Ireland, however, technological progress was weak; it was through capital intensification that periphery economies gained efficiency and competitiveness. Cluster heterogeneity, and lack of robustness in cluster composition, is a reflection of the difficulties in achieving real convergence and, by extension, nominal convergence. We conclude by outlining technology as the key convergence factor, and call for a renewed attention to real convergence indicators to strengthen the process of European integration.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ECO2011-30260-C03-0 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ECO2012-31081
Note:	Altres ajuts: Generalitat Valenciana PROMETEO/2009/098
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Series:	Departament d'Economia Aplicada. Documents de treball
Series:	Document de treball (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada) ; 14.05
Document:	Working paper
Subject:	Política monetària ; Unió Europea ; Real unit labour costs ; Eurozone ; Real wages ; Capital intensity ; Technology

38 p, 331.8 KB

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Research literature > Working papers > Department of Applied Economics. Working papers