Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0 
Author-Name: Pérez-Moreno, Salvador 
Author-Email: sperezmoreno@uma.es
Author-workplace-name: University of Malaga
Author-Name: Bárcena-Martín, Elena
Author-Email: barcenae@uma.es
Author-workplace-name: University of Malaga
Author-Name: Ritzen, Jo
Author-Email: ritzen@merit.unu.edu
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University
Title: Institutional diversity in the Euro area : Any evidence of convergence?
Abstract: The institutional characteristics of the 19 Euro countries, such as Government efficiency
	 or undue influence or corporate ethics, have diverged in the period 2006-2015. This
	 endangers the sustainability of the EMU, as institutional characteristics are an important
	 element of competitiveness. We find that the overall inequality in the state of institutions
	 across the EMU, as measured by the Gini coefficient, increased. The institutional
	 changes across Euro area countries are linked both to the differences in the intensity
	 of the financial and economic crisis (likely to have a two-way causality) as well as the
	 policy responses in terms of fiscal consolidation applied. The empirical findings tend to
	 support the call for structural reforms enhancing institutional quality in order to shorten
	 the institutional gap between 'core' and 'periphery' Euro area countries.
Keywords: institutions, convergence, beta-convergence, inequality, Euro area, competitiveness
Classification-JEL: O43, O47, O52
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20171004
Number: 2017-047
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2017/wp2017-047.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2017047