Real wages in absolute terms may be higher in Germany than in other parts, but arguably, the more important measure to look at is the relative change since the introduction of the Euro. After all, at the point of changeover, the exchange rates were more or less compatible with the relative competitiveness of the national economies.
The slides are in German, unfortunately, but the graphs should be fairly clear. The first few concentrate on inflation measures. On slide 5, you see the relative development of nominal labor costs. Note in particular the deviation from the inflation target of the ECB. It is clear that Germany must accept its fair share of the blame.
The irony is that from a social and moral perspective, one could argue that adjusting wages throughout the Eurozone is a good thing. Unfortunately, that has created the current imbalances on the way, and is therefore at least partially to blame for the very high unemployment in the southern Euro nations.
When you look at that relative change, a pretty stark picture emerges. See e.g. http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/upload/pdf/110207_HF+FS_Eurolan...
The slides are in German, unfortunately, but the graphs should be fairly clear. The first few concentrate on inflation measures. On slide 5, you see the relative development of nominal labor costs. Note in particular the deviation from the inflation target of the ECB. It is clear that Germany must accept its fair share of the blame.
The irony is that from a social and moral perspective, one could argue that adjusting wages throughout the Eurozone is a good thing. Unfortunately, that has created the current imbalances on the way, and is therefore at least partially to blame for the very high unemployment in the southern Euro nations.