signature=7490bd1f4246550e6a18dc51bacb5ba7,The signatures of Euro area imbalances1

摘要：

Growing current account imbalances within the euro area were not driven by divergences in export performance between surplus and deficit countries. While current account dynamics are highly correlated with unit labor costs (ULC) and imports, this is not the case for exports. Rising unit labor costs were not a cause but a symptom of the demand shock triggered by the inflow of capital and they were not necessarily associated with losses in export competitiveness. Detailed sectoral data on ULC confirm that the bulk of the appreciation in unit labor costs is due to price developments in the non- tradable sector.

展开