This Paper provides an overview of the magnitude of sectoral wage differentials in the euro area as a whole. Even when adjusting for structural sectoral features such as the skill structure or the proportion of part-timers, average wage levels in services are substantially lower than in...

Restoring competitiveness is broadly acknowledged as the critical building block for achieving sustainable growth, but defining competitiveness, both in terms of tools as well as objectives, is a matter of debate. • The Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet) adopts a pragmatic approach,...

In this paper we examine the link between wage inequality and consumption inequality using a life cycle model that incorporates household consumption and family labor supply decisions. We derive analytical expressions based on approximations for the dynamics of consumption, hours, and earnings...

This paper presents new evidence on the patterns of price and wage adjustment inEuropean firms and on the extent of nominal rigidities. It uses a unique dataset collectedthrough a firm-level survey conducted in a broad range of countries and covering varioussectors. Several conclusions are drawn...

This paper assesses the degree of wage flexibility in Luxembourg using anadministrative data set on individual base wages covering the entire economy over theperiod 2001-2006 with monthly frequency. We find that the wage flexibility at thediscretion of the firm is rather low once we limit...

This paper analyses trends in working time inthe euro area, in comparison with the US, over the period 1970 to 2004 and examines the causes and consequences of the observed changes. Between 1970 and 2004, a downward trend in average annual hours worked per worker can be observed for the euro...

Crossing borders, be it international or regional, often go together with price, wage or indeed wealth discontinuities. This paper identifies substantial wealth differences between Luxembourg resident households and cross-border commuter households despite their similar incomes. The average...

The global financial crisis rapidly spread across borders and financial markets, and also distressed EU bond markets. The crisis did not hit all markets in the same way. We measure the strength and direction of linkages between 16 EU sovereign bond markets using a factor-augmented version of the...

Policy impact studies often suffer from endogeneity problems. Consider the case of the ECB Securities Markets Programme: if Eurosystem interventions were triggered by sudden and strong price deteriorations, looking at daily price changes may bias downwards the correlation between yields and the...