Vývoj konkurenceschopnosti Německa a Itálie v kontextu členství v měnové unii

The master thesis examines the development of competitiveness in Germany and Italy in the context of common currency and outlines the implications of this development. The theoretical part focuses on the perception of competitiveness on national level and the impact of the Economic and Monetary Union membership on the economies and their competitiveness in general. Subsequently, the most commonly observed indicators concerning national competitiveness from a narrower and broader point of view are introduced. In the practical part, broader economic and historical context is presented, followed by an assessment of the competitiveness of both economies on the basis of selected indicators: unit labour costs, the labour market situation, productivity, export performance and structure, nominal and real exchange rate developments and current account developments. The final part analyses the development of competitiveness according to the multi-criteria assessments of the World Economic Forum and the International Institute for Management Development.