Löhne, Wechselkurse und Beschäftigung: Zur Aussagekraft von Lohnstückkosten und realen Wechselkursen als Beurteilungsmaßstab für die nationale Lohnpolitik

Suntum Ulrich van
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Suntum Ulrich van: Institut für Siedlungs- und Wohnungswesen der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster Am Stadtgraben 9 D - 48143 Münster

Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, 1997, vol. 46, issue 1, 23-50

Abstract: In recent time it has been argued that Germanys international competitiveness had suffered more from the strong D-Mark than from the national wage level. As a proof it has been pointed to the relative impact of these two factors on the level of German unit labour costs, measured in terms of international currency. It is shown that neither the real exchange rate nor international unit labour costs are an unambiguous indicator of international competitiveness. On the other hand, the seemingly naive indicator of the rise in unit labour costs in national currency is by far more relevant in evaluating the impact of the wage level on national employment, at least in the long run. This is true in case of flexible as well as in the case of fixed exchange rates and also in case of a currency union. Moreover, it is argued that a flexible exchange rate will never do the job of outweighing the negative effects on employment caused by a rise in wages which is in excess of the rise in productivity. Hence with flexible exchange rates national real wage policy must bee eaqually aware of employment needs like with fixed exchange rates or in case of a currency union.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1515/zfwp-1997-0103

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