German Labor Market and Fiscal Reforms 1999 to 2008: Can They be Blamed for Intra-Euro Area Imbalances?

Konferenzbeitrag

In this paper, we assess the impact of major German structural reforms from 1999 to 2008 on key macroeconomic variables within a two-country monetary union DSGE model. By many, these reforms, especially the Hartz reforms on the labor market, are considered to be the root of thereafter observed imbalances in the Euro Area. We find that, in terms of German GDP, consumption, investment and (un)employment, the reforms were a clear success albeit the impact on the German current account was only minor. Most importantly, the rest of the Euro Area benefited from positive spillover effects. Hence, our analysis suggests that the reforms cannot be held responsible for the currently observed macroeconomic imbalances within the Euro Area.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2015: Ökonomische Entwicklung - Theorie und Politik - Session: Macro labor ; No. F01-V2

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Fiscal Policy ; Business Fluctuations; Cycles ; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Gadatsch, Niklas ; Stähler, Nikolai ; Weigert, Benjamin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (when): 2015

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/112960
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET