Suchergebnisse

We examine whether the EMU has led to greater labour market flexibility, differentiating between reform that enhances the capacity of an economy to adjust to economic shocks and reform that aims to increase long-run output. Based on a panel model and using OECD data on labour market reforms for 27 OECD countries over the period 1994—2004, we find that the two types of labour market reform are driven by different variables. Most importantly, our results suggest that the EMU has had no effect on reform that enhances the economy's capacity to adjust to shocks. Most of our evidence for reform that increases long-run output suggests that the EMU has not affected this type of reform either.

In this paper, I analyze the main novelties of the new labour market reform approved in Spain in 2012 in relation to the changes that were already introduced in the preceding short-lasting reforms of 2010 and 2011. On the positive side, it is argued that the new reform goes in the right direction in achieving higher internal flexibility as a means of adjustment to business cycle fluctuations. However, on the negative side, it fails to be transformational enough in other relevant areas, like suppressing dualism, improving the effectiveness of active labour market policies, enhancing productivity and maintaining the overall level of social protection of Spanish workers. Given these limitations, it is unlikely that this will be the ultimate reform curing once and for all the Spanish labour market "disease".JEL codes: H29, J23, J38, J41, J64

We present a quarterly narrative database of important labour market reforms in selected euro area economies in between 1995 and 2018 covering 60 events. We provide legal adoption and implementation dates of major reforms to employment protection legislation and unemployment benefits. Estimates based on local projections find negative short-run effects of liberalising reforms on wages, while the employment effects of reforms differ markedly across age groups and partly depend on the state of the economy.

Supplemental material file: online appendix ; Labour market policies are multi-dimensional: their design depends on factors such as generosity, coverage, the combination of active and passive elements, and overall cost. Political conflict on one dimension often hides agreement on others, and social groups possibly care about different aspects of policies. However, most empirical studies treat policy preferences as unidimensional. This article utilizes a novel experimental conjoint design to assess how five dimensions affect support for labour market policies in Spain. It also assesses if individuals' self-interest and ideology affect the importance of each dimension for support for a policy. We find that individuals' support depends mostly on the generosity of policies for the most destitute and on funding. We also find that ideology shapes which dimensions of policy citizens care most about, but economic self-interest does not. Importantly, our experimental design can be applied to study preferences for different social policies. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement n° 334054 (PCIG12-GA-2012-334054).

We estimate the effects of the reform of the German Unemployment Insurance that replaced the wage related Unemployment Assistance with an income maintenance program and stronger means testing. We model the tax-benefit system and use the Socio-Economic Panel. We estimate a discrete labour supply model and simulate the behavioural and distributional effects using the pseudo-distribution method. Poverty and inequality decline overall, since households with children and low income gain, while those who used to earn high wages and received high unemployment transfers lose most. The behavioural responses mitigate the redistributive impact of the reform.

The medium-term economic development policy framework presented in parliament in November 2015 envisaged generating one million jobs and improving living standards of workers. The stated goal of employment creation was to be met by encouraging investments in high employment intensity sectors on the demand side, and by improving skills on the supply side. The policy framework gives special attention to create a sophisticated and modern knowledge- based economy which is able to compete effectively in the global market. One main challenge faced by the government in achieving the above mentioned labour market objectives are limited public finances. At present the government is attempting to consolidate finances by gradually reducing both the budget deficit and the debt burden. In this backdrop the room for significantly increasing government expenditure is limited.

"Reformen des niederländischen Arbeitsmarktes werden in diesem Beitrag mit Prozessen der Tarifverhandlungen in Beziehung gesetzt. Basierend auf Untersuchungen in der Bauwirtschaft in den Niederlanden wird vorgeschlagen, dass eine geeignete Theorie der Tarifverträge nicht nur ökonomische Verträge, sondern auch Tarifnormen und politische Koordination berücksichtigen muss, um ihre Bedeutung für den Arbeitsmarkt zu verstehen. Damit kann erklärt werden, weshalb und in welchem Ausmaß Interessengruppen in der niederländischen Bauwirtschaft innerhalb einer Dekade eine aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik ('Bouw-Vak-Werk') mit bemerkenswerten positiven Resultaten betrieben haben. Abschließend werden aus vergleichender Perspektive fünf Lehren mit Blick auf die deutsche Bauwirtschaft gezogen." (Autorenreferat)

The 'varieties of capitalism' literature identifies the labour market and labour relations system as an institutional feature by which liberal market economies (LMEs) and co-ordinated market economies (CMEs) of advanced countries may be distinguished. This literature argues for the resilience of CME institutional features to the allegedly convergence-inducing or homogenizing effects of globalization. Resilience to convergence has also revealed different patterns of institutional adaptation to globalizing pressures among CMEs. This article examines the adaptation of labour institutions to globalization using the Northeast Asian Newly Industrialized Countries of South Korea (hereafter Korea) and Taiwan as case studies. Examples are given of how Korea and Taiwan have pursued labour market liberalization, but within institutional conditions (policies and politics) distinct from those associated with transitions to the LME. The origins of this distinctive pattern of response are explained, pointing out the need for explanations based on globalization to be supplemented by ones that emphasize economic legacies and political logics.

The sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone and increased pressures for 'structural reform' have led to a period of intensive change in labour market policy in Southern Europe. Examining the cases of Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy, this article focuses on the security of labour market insiders, a key group in labour markets that is highly segmented. The security of labour market insiders is conceptualised as consisting of security in employment (protection against dismissals) and security in unemployment (protection against drops in income provided by unemployment insurance and assistance). Using changes in national laws, the article charts and compares labour market change along these two dimensions across these four Southern European countries. Because labour market reform has not been restricted to Southern Europe, the article also compares these developments to broader changes in the countries of the Eurozone, using OECD and MISSOC data. Having demonstrated the degree to which the security of labour market insiders has diminished, the article concludes with an agenda for research on the policy dynamics of Southern European labour market reform in the wake of the financial crisis.

We estimate the effects of the reform of German Unemployment Insurance that replaced the wage-related Unemployment Assistance with an income maintenance Programme and stronger means testing. We model the tax-benefit system and use the Socio-Economic Panel. We estimate a discrete labour supply model and simulate the behavioural and distributional effects using the pseudo distribution method. Poverty and inequality decline overall, since households with children and low incomes gain, while those who used to earn high wages and received high unemployment transfers lose most. The behavioural responses mitigate the redistributive impact of the reform.