THE EMU AND LABOR MARKET POLITICS: AN UPDATE
GHEORGHE H. POPESCU, CRISTINA ALPOPIABSTRACT. This article reviews Johnston (2016) and supplements it with theoretically based empirical research. The European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) set up circumstances that economically were good for its low-inflation northwest European countries. The euro crisis is an integrated issue that is reliant on how the pre-crisis economic performance of the EMU North, reinforced by its repressive wage-setting entities, influenced that in the EMU South. Upon joining the monetary union, EMU’s member economies left behind their domestic exchange rates as adjustment mechanisms for current and capital account discrepancies, and such deficits increased relentlessly over time.
JEL codes: E42; E52; F33; F16
Keywords: EMU; labor market; euro crisis; inflation; economic performance
How to cite: Popescu, Gheorghe H., and Cristina Alpopi (2017). “The EMU and Labor Market Politics: An Update,” Economics, Management, and Financial Markets 12(2): 81–87.
Received 18 December 2016 • Received in revised form 17 March 2017
Accepted 18 March 2017 • Available online 12 April 2017
doi:10.22381/EMFM12220176