Gaps in competitiveness, rooted in economic as well as in political factors, characterise postwar European economic history. The eurozone experience showed the emergence of large current account imbalances. The peculiar mixture of financial markets integration and national cycles in wages and...

Introduction: Liberalisation, privatisation and the labour market / Maarten Keune, Janine Leschke and Andrew Watt -- Privatisation and liberalisation of public services in Germany / Torsten Brandt and Thorsten Schulten -- Marketisation in Swedish electricity and postal services / Christer...