This working paper provides an overview of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the automotive industry in Eastern Europe and Spain since the 1990s.The authors examine the main trends and patterns of FDI in Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Serbia and Spain as well as the... Find out more

This working paper investigates whether European board-level representation of employees in European Companies (SEs) is really ‘Europeanised’ or is coloured by the national system of their company’s country of origin. The authors used responses of employees sitting on SE boards to a questionnaire... Find out more

This working paper looks at wage developments in central and eastern Europe (CEE) over the past twenty years and shows that wages are not only low compared to western Europe but, as demonstrated by a number of variables, also tend to be lower than what the economic potential of these countries would... Find out more

This background analysis looks at the development and success of two Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE, as major players on the global market of telecommunications equipment producers. The case of both companies indicates the importance of integrated industrial policies and can serve as a wake-up... Find out more

This paper provides a critical assessment of the OECD's Employment Protection Legislation (EPL). This indicator is designed to measure and compare employment protection legislation across countries and has dominated much of recent labour market policy making in the EU.The authors of this paper... Find out more

European employment regulation has been repeatedly identified by policymakers as too stringent resulting in policy recommendations aimed at a more flexible labour market. This diagnosis has been reaffirmed, particularly by international policymakers, in the post-2008 economic and jobs crisis with... Find out more

As part of the European Semester, the main pillar of Europe's new economic governance, the Commission puts forward every year the 'country-specific recommendations' (CSRs). This background analysis provides an overview of the 2016 specific recommendations to the EU Member States in the field of... Find out more

This working paper gives an overview of minimum wage policies in Central and Eastern Europe. It shows that minimum wages are an effective tool for reducing inequality by raising the lowest incomes. Minimum wages can have some, albeit limited, role in increasing aggregate productivity and promoting... Find out more

This working paper discusses the use of unit labour costs (ULC) by the European Commission as a measure of competitiveness of exports, especially in central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows the flawed nature of the European Commission’s argument that increasing wages ahead of measured productivity... Find out more

The aim of the present paper is to provide a basis for an in-depth discussion of the European Commission’s initiative for a ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ by briefly examining its context. The content of the Commission’s Communication is reviewed and followed by a more detailed analysis of the... Find out more