Long-term unemployment in Eastern Germany in the two-years period since Currency, Economic and Social Union is analyzed by means of a discrete hazard rate model of individual re-employment behaviour estimated on the first three waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Although most unemployment...

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...

In many European countries, wages are determined by collective bargaining agreements intended to improve wages and reduce inequality. We study the local and aggregate effects of collective bargaining in Italy and Germany. The two countries have similar geographical differences in firm...