Deschamps, Robert <br/><br/>
Should Wage Bargaining Be Regionalized? 

 -  2003.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 94 
<br/><br/> At first glance, the collective wage bargaining process in Belgium, which is conducted at the national level, could be blamed for the persistently high unemployment rate in the Walloon region, while a process by region would lead to differentiated wage increases and in turn to lower wages and therefore lower unemployment in that region. This paper shows that such a reasoning is too limited because whereas lower labor costs would be welcome in the Walloon region in order to create more jobs, it is unlikely that a higher unemployment rate would lead toward wage moderation. In addition, regional bargaining could eventually backfire through spillover effects on social security.