The Effects of EMU on Structural Reforms in Labour and Product Markets

Structural reforms in labour and product markets are required in a number of euro-area countries. A question in this regard, which is the topic of this paper, is whether belonging to the euro area tends to help or hinder structural reform. The paper first reviews the theoretical arguments and the existing empirical literature – in both cases finding conclusions that point in opposite directions. Next, the paper uses an OECD database on labour market reform developed recently and an update of OECD indicators of product market regulation to compare progress in labour and product market reform over the decade since 1993 between euro-area countries and other OECD countries. Overall, euro-area countries appear to have made relatively good progress in structural reform but it is much less clear from the descriptive evidence whether progress can be ascribed to membership of Economic and Monetary Union. To explore further the role of monetary regime for structural reform, the paper undertakes an econometric examination of the likelihood that countries undertake reform in five specific areas of labour and product market policies. Based on pooled cross-country/time series Probit regressions covering 21 countries and the period 1985-2003, it is found that structural reform is strengthened by high unemployment, crisis as reflected in a large output gap, healthy public finances, reforms in other policy fields and small country size. Further, countries that pursue fixed exchange-rate regimes or participate in monetary union, and therefore have little or no monetary autonomy, appear to undertake less structural reform – with the effect possibly being concentrated on large countries.