What prospects to escape low-skill/low-wage based economic growth in Spain and Italy?

Return to a path of sustained development after the Great Recession has not lowered worries on the extension and risks attached to a low-wage/low-skill based economic growth. An increase in labour rents inequality may be ascertained in the majority of EU member states. Moreover, in those economies traditionally more inclined to such a growth model, recent employment improvements seem to concentrate disproportionally on low quality jobs.

The presentations in this roundtable aim to throw light on the strategies of economic recovery undertaken in Italy and Spain after the crisis. Major questions raised comprise the evolution of institutional and political conditions that would enable escaping the low-wage/low-skill vicious circle. In particular, the objective is to reflect on the interactions between institutional frameworks and policy reforms regarding, on the one hand, employment supply, such as skills provision, collective bargaining, wage formation and employment protection and, on the other hand, employment demand as, for instance, monetary, financial regulation, public expenditure and corporatist government policies.