inglés al español Negocios/Finanzas Economía economia de la UE

Germany's recent history shows how hard it is for a member of the euro club to recover from a cost-induced slump. Devaluation might have been an obvious remedy, but can only be achieved by leaving the currency union. The only other solution is to drive down wage costs relative to those in competing countries. This option is also costly: Germans have paid the price in terms of high unemployment and stunted growth. Cost reduction is also painfully slow. Workers are resistant to pay cuts, so the necessary reduction in real wages relies on a long period of below-average inflation. This kind of wage discipline has underpinned Germany's revival.