Club convergence of real wages in the European union

Vladimir Arčabić, Tomislav Globan and Goran Markušić

Economic Analysis and Policy, 2024, vol. 84, issue C, 2026-2048

Abstract: This study analyzes real wage convergence within the European Union, scrutinizing it on both regional and national scales. It questions the prevalent notion that open labor movement within the EU naturally leads to wage parity. Using a flexible log t regression and clustering algorithm, the research uncovers a lack of real wage convergence across all EU countries and regions. Instead, it identifies distinct convergence clubs based on real wages, delineated as core versus peripheral countries, and further divided into four regional categories. These findings suggest the existence of significant differences between the core and peripheral countries, hindering wage equalization. Clubs converge to different steady states which yield substantially different average real wages. At the national level, the formation of these wage-based clubs is influenced by the output gap and unemployment benefits, competitiveness and labor productivity, trade integration, and partly by human capital and development level. This study's results are robust and consistent with economic theories concerning real wage determinants. On the regional front, the analysis reveals a complex interplay of multiple variables affecting club formation, with no significant distinctions between certain club pairings. The findings highlight the complex dynamics of wage convergence in the EU, influenced by both economic and non-economic factors. The differences between core and peripheral EU countries are still strong and affect labor market outcomes and real wage convergence.

Keywords: Convergence; Real wage; EU integration; Convergence clubs; log t-test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 F15 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592624003084
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:84:y:2024:i:c:p:2026-2048

DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2024.10.054

Access Statistics for this article

Economic Analysis and Policy is currently edited by Clevo Wilson

More articles in Economic Analysis and Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().