02048cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF016044 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781513520261 1934-7685 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL International Monetary Fund. European Dept. Greece : Selected Issues. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2019. 1 online resource (60 pages) IMF Staff Country Reports <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This Selected Issues paper explores the links between wage policies, non-wage cost developments, and competitiveness. A series of program-era policies helped to partially reverse this trend, including labor market policies that cushioned the effect of the crisis on employment and brought unit labor costs broadly in line with trading partners. However, the resulting more competitive wage structure only partly translated into price adjustments due to product market rigidities (with firms retaining some profit margin) and rising non-wage cost factors (e.g., taxes and financing costs). This incomplete internal devaluation and subsequent low productivity gains reinforce the view that Greece has further to go to address its external imbalances. However, labor policy reversals following program exit in August 2018 threaten this objective. The paper shows that Greece must preserve its labor cost competitiveness while increasing efforts to facilitate price adjustment in product markets and reduce non-wage costs. Mode of access: Internet IMF Staff Country Reports; Country Report ; No. 2019/341 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2019/341/002.2019.issue-341-en.xml IMF e-Library