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This report consists of a comprehensive overview of labour market institutions in the small Pacific island countries in order to propose recommendations to improve the performance of their labour markets. We pay particular attention to three countries: Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea. We focus on the main pillars of labour market institutions, as employment protection legislation, minimum wage, and labour organization. The analysis considers the possibilities for institutional change in the next future. The main guidelines for eventual reforms are discussed, for the region as a whole and for the above three countries.

"Although all economists agree that a major precondition for employment creation is sustainable economic growth of at least 2% per annum, they disagree about the effects of the institutional framework on the labour market: Optimistic observers stress the high performance of external trade and the highly specialized small and medium-sized companies operating at high potential. These have a well-qualified workforce, which relies on the existence of a highly differentiated system of labour market institutions that provide a reliable basis for sustainable economic development. These analysts point to the fact that economic growth and the demand for labour is appropriately restrained by the extremely low domestic demand. Conversely, pessimistic observers blame the relatively high labour costs resulting from institutional regulation by labour and social law, collective bargaining and labour market policies as the main barrier to the creation of employment. As the German employment system can be generally characterised as highly protective and favourable to employees in respect to their labour rights, democratic participation in the economic sphere and the level of social protection, this article addresses the question of the consequences of these two diametrical strategies for the underlying principles of the German employment system. The main argument will show that intentional government reforms are a factor that only partly accounts for the ongoing basic changes. Other factors that influence the system are ongoing changes in social practices and initiatives or rulings by supra-national organisations." (author's abstract)

Motivation: Labour market institutions are currently considered as the basic condition for high level of economic development. Decreasing income inequalities on contrary are among the main objectives of macroeconomic policy in the European Union (Europe 2020 Strategy), because unequal distribution may result in lower growth and development rates. The research done in the article is consisted with the institutional theory (D.C. North's interpretation).Aim: The main aim of the article is to analyse the relations between labour market institutions and income inequalities. There is also an attempt to answer the question if rigid labour market institutions reduce income inequality in European countries. This article provides a taxonomic analysis of labour market institutions in the EU countries. Data from Eurostat, World Bank, Fraser Institute, OECD are used. The article covers selected years: 2010 and 2016.Results: The countries were grouped according to the level of labour market institutions and in regard to income inequalities. The differences between the members of the groups were analysed between 2010 and 2016. Article ends with conclusions connected with rules shaping decisions on the labour market as well as relations between inequalities and institutions.

Motivation: Labour market institutions are currently considered as the basic condition for high level of economic development. Decreasing income inequalities on contrary are among the main objectives of macroeconomic policy in the European Union (Europe 2020 Strategy), because unequal distribution may result in lower growth and development rates. The research done in the article is consisted with the institutional theory (D.C. North's interpretation).Aim: The main aim of the article is to analyse the relations between labour market institutions and income inequalities. There is also an attempt to answer the question if rigid labour market institutions reduce income inequality in European countries. This article provides a taxonomic analysis of labour market institutions in the EU countries. Data from Eurostat, World Bank, Fraser Institute, OECD are used. The article covers selected years: 2010 and 2016.Results: The countries were grouped according to the level of labour market institutions and in regard to income inequalities. The differences between the members of the groups were analysed between 2010 and 2016. Article ends with conclusions connected with rules shaping decisions on the labour market as well as relations between inequalities and institutions.

As the German employment system can be generally characterised as highly protective and favourable to employees in respect to their labour rights, democratic participation in the economic sphere and the level of social protection, this article addresses the question of the consequences of these two diametrical strategies for the underlying principles of the German employment system. The main argument will show that intentional government reforms are a factor that only partly accounts for the ongoing basic changes. Other factors that influence the system are ongoing changes in social practices and initiatives or rulings by supra-national organisations.

The diversity of the labour market in the Visegrad Group countries is presented in the article from an institutional perspective. Institutions such as different tax and transfer policies, employment protection legislation, or active and passive labour market policies can affect not only the effectiveness of the economy from a macro perspective, but they can also be crucial in determining the system of rules and incentives for earning money. The institutional conditions of the labour market directly affect the behaviour of labour market participants, their incomes, and therefore income inequalities. To asses and compare the situation between the Visegrad group countries, a synthetic measure of labour market institutions is calculated. A taxonomic analysis is done to group the V4 countries against other selected European Union countries, which enables the assessment and comparison of similarities and differences across the Visegrad countries. Finally, the trade-offs between a synthetic measure of labour market institutions and income inequalities are analysed. The Pearson correlation coefficient and, additionally, the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient are applied. The analysis is done for 2016, as it was the most recent data available while writing the article. The results from such an analysis can help to answer the question of the state's role in limiting income inequalities through labour market institutions and to identify the policies which are the most effective in this field.

International migration is one the greatest challenges in the era of globalization and has become a focus of political debate in recent years. Although the economic effects of migration increase the efficiency of labour markets, some governments have rigorously rejected solutions proposed for the current refugee crisis. Meanwhile, immigration policies have recently become stricter in several OECD countries. Based on this conceptual framework, several labour market institutions, such as a minimum wage, unemployment benefits, union density, and active labour market policies etc., are analysed in the context of enhancing the employment of immigrants. In order to support the findings of literature this paper concentrates on the determinants of immigration tendencies and dynamic regression models analysed to clarify how these institutions can affect native- and foreign-born migrants. Hence, our results also highlight that various reforms need to enhance the efficiency of labour market migration policies.

AbstractWe study gender pay inequality in ten Central and Eastern EU countries before (2007) and during the economic crisis (2009) using quantile regression methods. The analysis reveals remarkable cross‐country diversity in levels and patterns of the gender gap along the earnings distribution; for the majority of the countries the crisis is associated with declining male/female disparities. We address the role played by labour market institutions in shaping the observed gender pay gap levels and patterns. Labour market deregulation increases gender inequality at the middle and at the top of the pay distribution, but reduces disparities at the bottom. Higher union density and wage coordination reduce the pay gap, with stronger equalizing effects on better‐paid jobs. The crisis seems to weaken the already poor role of institutions in the low‐pay sector.

This article focuses on the role of labour market institutions in explaining different labour market developments in European countries, with a special attention to the new European Union member countries. This may allow us to analyse effects of various institutional setups and of their changes on major labour market indicators. We aim at complementing several studies from the late 1990's by using more recent data that allow us to compare institutional setups from the mid 1990's and early 2000's both in old" and new" EU member states. We estimate effects of labour market institutions on various performance indicators (unemployment, long-term unemployment, employment, activity rate). Our results confirm that high taxes increase unemployment, while active labour market policies tend to reduce it. We also show that stricter employment protection, higher taxes and larger economic burden represented by the minimum wage decrease employment and activity rate. Moreover, statistical tests indicate that there is a difference in the institutional effects between old" and new" EU members.