Real sector and microeconomic analysis

An important strand of research at the ECB is the characterisation of key trends in labour and product markets, using both micro datasets.

Labour markets within EMU

General area of interest: the evolution of labour markets in the euro area, including trends in unemployment, labour productivity and the gender pay gap.

Selected areas of focus:

• behaviour and flexibility of wages in the euro area, in particular the determinants of cross-country differences
• determinants of structural unemployment across euro area countries
• measurement of labour market slack and its relationship to output

Product markets within EMU

General area of interest: the evolution of product markets in the euro area, including trends in productivity and competitiveness.

Selected areas of focus:

• drivers of productivity in the euro area
• recent evolution of market power in the euro area
• product market integration in the euro area, and the identification of obstacles to deeper integration
• main characteristics of the business cycle in the euro area, including its synchronisation across euro area economies

Price-setting

General area of interest: use of micro and aggregate data to gain a better understanding of price-setting in the euro area.

Selected areas of focus:

• analysis of firms’ price-setting in the euro area economy
• drivers of the observed level of price dispersion and of cross-country differences in the dispersion