A wage led recovery would help reverse inequalities, increase demand, and help the EU to get out of its crisis

Mainstream economic thinking holds that low labour costs are key to growth and job creation. Özlem Onaran challenges these assumptions, arguing that low wages have contributed to the rise of the debt-led consumption of the past 30 years, which in turn has led to massive imbalances within Europe and the current crisis. She now calls for a wage-led recovery, a shortening of working hours and an investment in new green industries to lead the European Union out of its crisis.