Structural Adjustment and Unemployment in Selected Eurozone Countries

Although not always painless, sound public finance as an objective in the Eurozone generally goes unquestioned. The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of structural adjustment on unemployment in selected Eurozone countries from 2000 to 2013. The estimates suggest that fiscal tightening, especially in declining macroeconomic conditions, will tend to increase the unemployment rate. The results suggest that if the reduction in structural deficit has to be considered an objective to achieve per se, it should be pursued in times of growth.