Assessing Path Dependency in European Economic Integration This paper analyses the dynamics of structural polarisation and macroeconomic convergence vs. divergence in the context of European integration, where the latter is understood primarily as an increase in economic and financial openness....

This paper analyzes the dynamics of structural polarization and macroeconomic divergence in the context of European integration, where the latter is understood primarily as an increase in economic and financial openness. In the process of estimating the dynamic effects of such an openness shock...

This paper analyses economic developments in the Eurozone since its inception in 1999. In doing so, we document a process of economic divergence and polarization among those countries that joined the Eurozone during its first two years, which fits a typical 'core - periphery' pattern. We show...

This paper analyzes the determinants of the European Commission's NAIRU estimates for 14 European OECD countries during 1985-2012. The NAIRU is a poor proxy for 'structural unemployment': Labor market institutions - employment protection legislation, union density, tax wedge, minimum wages -...

This paper analyses economic developments in the Eurozone over the period 1999-2016 by developing a theoretical framework that traces divergent path developments across Eurozone countries to the times before the financial crisis. We argue that macroeconomic divergence between core and periphery...

This paper analyzes the dynamics of structural polarization and macroeconomic divergence in the context of European integration, where the latter is understood primarily as an increase in economic and financial openness. In the process of estimating the dynamic effects of such an openness shock...

We document two novel stylized facts on European integration and cohesion. First, we show that the interregional income distribution, measured as GDP per capita at the NUTS-3 level, is bimodal for all considered years. Second, we demonstrate that this mixture of two log-normal distributions...

This paper explores whether the EU's new economic development model of "competitive sustainability" could serve as a role model for ecologically sustainable development models for advanced economies in general. To this end, we first discuss theoretically the interplay between "competitiveness"...