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Title: The Euro and Firm Restructuring

Author(s): Matteo Bugamelli, Fabiano Schivardi and Roberta Zizza

Publication Date: January 2010

Keyword(s): devaluations, euro, firm restructuring, productivity growth and skill intensity

Programme Area(s): Industrial Organization and International Trade and Regional Economics

Abstract: We test whether and how the adoption of the euro, narrowly defined as the end of competitive devaluations, has affected member states' productive structures, distinguishing between within and across sector reallocation. We find evidence that the euro has been accompanied by a reallocation of activity within rather than across sectors. Since its adoption, productivity growth has been relatively stronger in country-sectors that once relied more on competitive devaluations to regain price competitiveness. This effect is robust to potential omitted-variable bias and correlated effects. Firm-level evidence from Italian manufacturing confirms that low-tech businesses, which arguably benefitted most from devaluations, have been restructuring more since the adoption of the euro. Restructuring has entailed a shift of business focus from production to upstream and downstream activities, such as product design, advertising, marketing and distribution, and a corresponding reduction in the share of blue collar workers.

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Bibliographic Reference

Bugamelli, M, Schivardi, F and Zizza, R. 2010. 'The Euro and Firm Restructuring'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=7623