Italy and Germany have similar geographical differences in productivity – North more productive than South in Italy …; West more productive than East in Germany – but have adopted different models of wage bargaining. Italy sets wages based on … nationwide contracts that allow for limited local wage adjustments, while Germany has moved toward a more flexible system that …

In 1997 GDP per capita in East Germany was 57% of that of West Germany, wage rates were 75% of western levels, and the … bring convergence, labor flows would respond, enhancing overall efficiency. Yet net emigration from East Germany has fallen … from high levels in 1989-1990 to close to zero. Using state-level data for all of Germany, available from 1991-1996, I am …

per job of $30,000 per year. A complementary IV estimation strategy yields similar estimates. We also explore the …

States, Canada, Germany, and several other OECD countries during and after the Great Recession of 2008-09. Unemployment rates … did not change substantially in Germany, increased and remained at relatively high levels in the United States, and … increased moderately in Canada. More recent data also show that, unlike Germany and Canada, the U.S. unemployment rate remains …