DP7251 Inequality, Integration, and Policy: Issues and evidence from EMU
| Author(s): | Giuseppe Bertola |
| Publication Date: | April 2009 |
| Keyword(s): | Policy competition, Social policy |
| JEL(s): | E0 |
| Programme Areas: | International Macroeconomics |
| Link to this Page: | cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=7251 |
Economic integration fosters production efficiency by enhancing market competition, and makes it difficult for National governments to conduct independent fiscal policies and to enforce income redistribution schemes. Controlling for country-level income variation, available data suggest that Europe?s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was associated with a small but significant increase in disposable income inequality, reflecting less generous social policies.