Regional Unemployment in Europe: Implications for EMU
Monday, October 4, 1999, 2:30-4:00 p.m.
International Monetary Fund
IMF Auditorium, Red Level, (R-702)
700 19th Street, N.W.
Rising unemployment over the last two decades in European economies has provoked considerable interest in academic and policy circles. Surprisingly, less attention has been paid to an equally important issue-the extent of regional unemployment disparities within many of these countries. Indeed, trends in unemployment rates have been far from uniform across regions within some of these countries, perhaps reflecting sluggish labor market adjustment mechanisms and with potential adverse consequences on aggregate macroeconomic variables.
- What are the causes and implications of regional unemployment differences within European countries? Are these differences a cause for concern?
- What are the barriers that prevent elimination of persistent regional unemployment differences within countries? What influence will the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) have on labor market adjustment mechanisms in European countries?
- What does the experience with regional differences within Italy and Spain suggest regarding the effects of institutional arrangements of European labor markets under EMU?
- What role could macroeconomic and structural policies play in reducing regional differences in labor market outcomes?
These, and other issues, will be addressed by four panelists at this forum:
- Olivier Blanchard, Professor of Economics at MIT
- Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
- Eswar Prasad, Senior Economist, Research Department, IMF
- Antonio Spilimbergo, Economist, Research Department, IMF
The forum will be moderated by Paolo Mauro, Economist in the IMF's Research Department. It will include a summary of a recently issued IMF Occasional Paper entitled Perspectives on Regional Unemployment in Europe, which includes case studies on Italy and Spain.
Economic forums are free of charge and open to the public; no registration is needed. Please present a picture identification at the lobby. For further information, please contact Gita Bhatt of the IMF's Public Affairs Division (telephone number: 202-623-7968, E-mail: gbhatt@imf.org).