European policy makers, notably in the euro area, seem to take for granted that the electorate will punish them for bold reform in product and labour markets. This may explain why progress in the euro area has been comparatively limited. This paper posits and, using a dataset for 21 OECD...

This paper analyses the adjustment mechanism in the euro area prior to the crisis. Results show that the real exchange rate adjusted to redress cyclical divergences and that after monetary unification, real exchange rate dynamics became less reactive to country-specific shocks but also less...

The cyclically-adjusted budget balance (CAB) is the backbone of the EU framework of fiscal surveillance, both in its preventive and corrective arms. The concept corresponds to the budget balance prevailing if the economy was running at potential. After correcting for the one-off and temporary...

The paper examines potential challenges arising at Member State level from the need and scope for either consolidating on the revenue side or shifting taxes away from labour. It uses a systematic indicator-based screening to identify Member States that may face a challenge in each of these two...

The paper examines the rationale for creating a database on labour market reforms and looks at the value-added of LABREF compared with existing datasets. In doing so, it considers recent developments in the economic literature as regards the design of labour market institutions. After a...

This paper presents a selective survey of the recent literature on labour market institutions and performance and offers new empirical EU-based evidence on the impact of labour market reforms on employment and labour market adjustment. While the literature traditionally treats labour market...

Summary for non-specialistsAn essential part of the Europe 2020 strategy consists of reforms with a medium- to long-term horizon that focus on promoting the sustainability of public finances and enhancing potential growth. Building on structural reform simulations with the DSGE model QUEST III,...

The proceedings gather together the views of academics, national policy-makers and international institutions on two topical issues of great policy-relevance at the current juncture, i.e. housing taxation and tax governance. The part on housing taxation touches upon different aspects of housing...

This paper aims to identify the contribution of the business cycle and structural factors to the development of part-time employment in the EU-15 countries, through the exploitation of both cross-sectional and time series variations over the past two decades. This analysis is used to comment on...

This paper reviews the available indicators in the European Union to monitor short-term labour cost developments, i.e. of quarterly frequency, with a special focus on the euro area. It clarifies concepts, provides information on availability and compares the indicators against various...