... labor costs below those of noncore countries—as in the case of Germany and Austria, and more generally, in the case of the other countries (Belgium, France, and the Netherlands). As Table 6 below ... on Chin and Ito 2008. The process of harmonization and intra-European liberalization of flows was parallel to the process of the establishment and introduction of the euro, which came into ... ratio, the greater the leverage, the greater the profit opportunities captured by the ratio of earnings over equity. 19 To put things in perspective: If the leverage ratio is equal to 10, then...