The latest developments in Ireland are putting further strain on the Eurozone, with some calling in to question the future of the single currency. The column looks at what the countries on the periphery of the Eurozone, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain can do to restore competitiveness.

How do labour market reforms in one country affect its trading partners? Politicians often appear to assume detrimental spillover effects from labour market reforms abroad. This column argues that recent models of trade and unemployment highlight beneficial linkages, and this is confirmed by empirical work.

France has agreed a raft of labour market reforms. Here one of France’s most market-oriented labour economists evaluates the likely impact, concluding that it’s an improvement, but heightens incentives to become unemployed.