Eurozone retailers ‘trailing US’

Weak labour productivity growth in the retail sector, caused by over-regulation and failure to keep pace with innovation at US rivals such as Wal-Mart, is a big weakness of the eurozone economy, according to the European Central Bank. Strict regulation of opening hours and land use meant retailers in the 12 eurozone countries trailed US rivals in the adoption of new technologies and management methods, the ECB said in a report. As a result, retail prices had not fallen as much as they have in the US.

European Central Bank: Competition, productivity and prices in the euro area services sector (Occasional Paper No. 44, April 2006) http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/scpops/ecbocp44.pdf

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