The study investigates the business cycle dynamics in the euro area using an empirical framework which comprises common global and euro area shocks as well as allows bilateral spillovers of country-specific shocks across the member economies. Three core questions lie at the heart of the...

While a widespread consensus exists among macroeconomists that the German labour market reforms in 2003-2005 have successfully contributed to the decline of the unemployment rate, critics claim that the reforms led to wage restraint and consequently consumption dampening accompanied by...

In this paper we analyze the (potential) effects of labour market and fiscal policy reforms by heterogeneous European countries - Germany and France - on the domestic and foreign economy. We test the implications of the gains in matching efficiency and reduced unemployment benefits induced by...