Major European Union Countries Research Articles

Direct and representative participation in Europe: recent survey evidence

Despite the wealth of literature on HRM and employee involvement, now there has been a remarkable lack of large-scale survey evidence on the diffusion employee involvement in work organizations in Europe. This gap in large-scale survey evidence on the diffusion of direct employee participation has now been filled representative sample of workplaces in ten major European Union countries which commissioned by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin (the EPOC project). It is by far the most comprehensive overview of the implementation and effects of direct employee participation of its kind. The paper shows that, on the basis of the EPOC survey results, there appears to considerable gap between the rhetoric and reality of direct participation. The paper shows that while the incidence of different forms of direct participation was widespread ten countries, the scope, in terms of number of issues involved and the number of given to employees, was relatively limited for most direct participation forms. The survey also showed that the introduction of direct participation posed little threat to trade representatives. Indeed, works councils and union representatives were in most 'agents of change' rather than barriers to the development of the more intensive practice of direct participation.

L o n g - run and Short - run Effects of Exchange Rate Movements for Major EU Countries: Cointegration and Erro r- C o rrection Modeling

This paper examines the long-run and short - r un effects of depre c i a t i o n / devaluation for major European Union countries (Germ a n y, France, the Unit ed Kingdom, and Italy) over the 1975-1997 period. The approach is based on cointegration techniques proposed by Johansen [1988] and uses quarterly data. The empirical results indicate the existence of a positive relationship between the exchange rate and the trade balance for each country although long-ru n e f fects are rather moderate. According to the short - r un analysis, there is a find ing of a J-curve for Italy and the United Kingdom. The costs of re l i n q u i s h i n g individual exchange rates may be rather small for major EU countries. (JEL Classification: F31, F41)

The term structure of interest rates and financial integration in the ERM

In this paper we examine the relationship between the term structure of interest rates for six major European Union countries, to discover if the Exchange Rate Mechanism has lead to a converging of domestic term structures. We test this hypothesis using a model of international interest rate parity and three alternative econometric methods. We find that there is evidence of inter-dependence of domestic term structures implying that not only are European monetary polices converging but also that the appropriate model of the term structure is one with an explicit open economy dimension. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The term structure of interest rates and financial integration in the ERM

In this paper we examine the relationship between the term structure of interest rates for six major European Union countries, to discover if the Exchange Rate Mechanism has lead to a converging of domestic term structures. We test this hypothesis using a model of international interest rate parity and three alternative econometric methods. We find that there is evidence of inter-dependence of domestic term structures implying that not only are European monetary polices converging but also that the appropriate model of the term structure is one with an explicit open economy dimension. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Europe and the Maastricht Challenge

The uncertainty caused by the exchange rate crises of 1992-93 led to two questions: Is monetary union still feasible? What strategies are best for achieving convergence according to the Maastricht criteria? This article addresses these questions by examining the progress made by the five major European Union countries in satisfying the Maastricht criteria and the two crucial impediments facing these countries--disparities in real exchange rate convergence and fiscal imbalances--and alternative strategies to deal with these impediments. Overall, our analysis suggests that the prospects for monetary union are less gloomy than many analysts believe. We show that wide bands have been useful in limiting competitive disparities. We also argue for more general fiscal criteria set forth in the Maastricht treaty. Under these more general criteria, countries that reversed the path of debt accumulation and achieved a sustainable deficit would be admitted to the monetary union. Finally, under a multispeed transition, a small group of countries will form the initial core of the monetary union, and other countries will join over time.