Unit labour costs: no argument for low wages in eastern and central Europe
"This working paper discusses the use of unit labour costs (ULC) by the European Commission as a measure of competitiveness of exports, especially in central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows the flawed nature of the European Commission’s argument that increasing wages ahead of measured produc...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Institution: | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
| Format: | TEXT |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Brussels
2016
ETUI |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19101991124919291739-unit-labour-costs-no-argument-.htm |
| _version_ | 1771659892941127681 |
|---|---|
| author | Myant, Martin |
| author_facet | Myant, Martin |
| collection | Library items |
| description | "This working paper discusses the use of unit labour costs (ULC) by the European Commission as a measure of competitiveness of exports, especially in central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows the flawed nature of the European Commission’s argument that increasing wages ahead of measured productivity would necessarily represent a threat to export competitiveness. In fact, past history has shown rising unit labour costs and rising relative wages have frequently accompanied increasing exports. It demonstrates that the recorded measure of productivity appears to be low in countries with lower wage levels precisely because wages are low, even when the work performed is often very similar, or identical, to much better-paid work in higher income countries. The conclusion is that there is scope for significant wage increases without harming export competitiveness. " |
| format | TEXT |
| geographic | Central Europe Eastern Europe |
| id | 19101991124919291739_842a03e462db45beb42ab0085286a04d |
| institution | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
| is_hierarchy_id | 19101991124919291739_842a03e462db45beb42ab0085286a04d |
| is_hierarchy_title | Unit labour costs: no argument for low wages in eastern and central Europe |
| language | English |
| physical | 27 p. Paper Digital |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Brussels ETUI |
| spellingShingle | Myant, Martin competitiveness labour cost low wages multinational enterprise Unit labour costs: no argument for low wages in eastern and central Europe |
| thumbnail | https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=119419193769 |
| title | Unit labour costs: no argument for low wages in eastern and central Europe |
| topic | competitiveness labour cost low wages multinational enterprise |
| url | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19101991124919291739-unit-labour-costs-no-argument-.htm |