In the first decade of the euro, nominal unit labor costs rose sharply in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, while virtually flatlining in Germany. Absent the common currency, these divergences would have been accompanied by exchange-rate adjustments – certainly after (and perhaps even before) the pattern of excessive leverage and domestic demand ended.
一些欧洲国家还变得过度依赖于内需，需要偏向可贸易部门的再平衡。但它们的挑战要大得多，再平衡过程也慢得多。在欧元的第一个十年中，希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、葡萄牙和西班牙的名义单位劳动力成本大幅上升，而德国基本保持不变。在没有共同货币时，这一分化将伴随汇率调整——在过度杠杆和内需模式结束之后肯定会发生（甚至在之前就发生）。