Suchergebnisse

Mode of access: Internet. ; MAIN; J88.C2.A77: Bound with its Staff and consultants reports to The Committee . 1959; and its Summary of ad valorum property tax assessment organization by state, 1958 . 1959.

Abstract.  In this paper we take advantage of differences in the legal status of mandatory retirement in Canada across jurisdictions and over time to assess its impact on the share of older people working. The results suggest that making mandatory retirement illegal would have little effect on the size of the older workforce, and therefore such a policy alone would do little to alleviate problems associated with an aging population and the consequent decline in the share of the population employed. JEL Classification: J26, J88

Minimum wages have been among the most controversial government interventions in labor markets. There have been several waves of minimum wage activity over the past century, beginning with a 1912 Massachusetts law. Since 1938 minimum wages in the United States have been set by a complex array of federal and state laws, with state laws sometimes exceeding the national law and closing important coverage gaps. Between 1938 and 1968, the real value of the federal minimum wage was generally increasing. Coverage gaps continued to be closed by amendments to federal legislation into the 1970s. In the 1980s, the real minimum rate declined sharply, and has since this time never again reached the level of 1955-1980. In this paper we examine the political economy of early minimum wage laws, focussing on the role of interest groups, politicians, courts, economists, and the general public.

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.

Mit der europäischen Währungsunion kam es zu einer Vereinheitlichung der Geldpolitik und zu einem System fixer Wechselkurse. Damit gingen Fehlanreize einher, die gravierende wirtschaftliche Verwerfungen nach sich gezogen haben. Derzeit werden - nicht nur im DIW Berlin - Vorschläge unterbreitet, wie mit konjunkturellen Ausgleichsmechanismen in der Eurozone künftig ein größerer Gleichlauf bei der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung der Mitgliedstaaten erreicht werden kann. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht ausführlich auf einige Probleme bei solchen Transfersystemen ein und kommt insgesamt zu einer deutlich skeptischeren Bewertung konjunktureller Ausgleichsmechanismen als die beiden vorigen Artikel in dieser Ausgabe. Umfassende fiskalische Ausgleichssysteme sind immer mit dem Risiko der Verschwendung von Ressourcen verbunden. Zudem könnten automatisch wirkende Mechanismen leicht in eine ungewünschte Richtung wirken. Die Alternative zu einem fiskalischen Ausgleichssystem, eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung, ist im Grenzfall nicht wirksam, weil die nationalen Versicherungen bereits die Funktion automatischer Stabilisatoren ausüben. Es käme letztlich nur zu einer Verlagerung von Kompetenzen auf die supra-nationale Ebene. Damit wäre eine Vereinheitlichung der nationalen Arbeitslosenversicherungen und die Installierung von Kontrollfunktionen bei einer neutralen, europäischen Instanz verbunden - und mithin mehr Bürokratie. Überdies käme es bei Einführung einer gemeinsamen Arbeitslosenversicherung mindestens in der Startphase zu einer erheblichen Umverteilung von Mitteln; das könnte Verteilungsfragen in den Geberländern aufwerfen. ; The European Monetary Union brought with it a standardization of monetary policy and a system of fixed exchange rates. This was accompanied by disincentive effects which, in turn, resulted in serious economic distortions. Proposals are currently being put forward as to how financial policy equalization mechanisms could be used to better synchronize the economic development of the Member States in the euro area in future. Comprehensive fiscal equalization systems are not workable in practice and are associated with a risk of resource wastage. Furthermore, these systems can also have undesirable negative effects. The alternative to a fiscal equalization system, some form of European unemployment insurance, would be superfluous as national benefits already act as automatic stabilizers. Such a move would ultimately only lead to a transfer of competences to the supranational level. This would be accompanied by a harmonization of national unemployment benefit systems and the deferral of control functions to a neutral European authority - and thus, more red tape. Moreover, the introduction of common unemployment insurance would result in a significant redistribution of resources, at least during the initial phase, which could raise questions about distribution in the donor countries.

This article examines the impact of the minimum wage on employment, focusing on women in their 20s and 30s, who are known to be typical low‐wage workers in Japan. The results, based on a panel estimation, suggest that the minimum wage has a measurable impact on employment; the workers whose current wage is below the revised minimum wage are about 20–30 percentage points less likely to be employed in the following year than comparable low‐wage workers who are not affected by the revision of the minimum wage. The estimation results are sensitive to the choice of the control group. (JEL J23, J38, J88)

An important segment of labour regulations concerns the protection aspects of social security. These regulations provide safety nets or fall back mechanisms to enable workers to cope with crises that affect households from time to time, such as illness, employment injury, death or old age. This paper critically reviews and analyses existing regulations in India that provide fall back mechanisms and evaluates how they compare with systems in selected comparator countries and measure up against the minimum standards recommended in various ILO Conventions. These regulations are important not only from the point of view of the welfare of society but also from the perspective of efficiency of the work force in any activity. The analysis reveals serious shortcomings in the social security legislation and programmes in the country insofar as they apply to the unorganised workers. The paper concludes by making recommendations on alternative approaches to redress the deficiencies.

The minimum wage has never been as high on the political agenda as it is today, with politicians in Germany, the UK, the US, and other OECD countries calling for substantial increases in the rate. One reason for the rising interest is the growing consensus among economists and policymakers that minimum wages, set at the right level, may help low-paid workers without harming employment prospects. But how should countries set their minimum wage rate? The processes that countries use to set their minimum wage rate and structure differ greatly, as do the methods for adjusting it. The different approaches have merits and shortcomings.

Governments regulate employment to protect workers and to improve labor market efficiency. However, employment regulations can be controversial, often complicated by opposing ideological views. Thus, it is important for policymakers in developing countries to base decisions on empirical evidence of the impacts of these regulations. The majority of the evidence suggests that most countries have set their regulations in the appropriate range. But it can be costly when countries either overregulate or underregulate their labor market.

International audience ; This paper empirically investigates the influence of globalization on various aspects of labor market deregulation. I employ the data set by Bassanini and Duval (2006) on labor market institutions in OECD countries and the KOF index of globalization. The data set covers 20 OECD countries in the 1982-2003 period. The results suggest that globalization did neither influence the unemployment replacement rate, the unemployment benefit length, public expenditures on ALMP, the tax wedge, union density nor overall employment protection. In contrast, protection of regular employment contracts was diminished when globalization was proceeding rapidly. In fact, domestic aspects, such as unemployment and government ideology are more important determinants of labor market institutions and deregulation processes in OECD countries than globalization. For this reason, working conditions of unskilled workers are not likely to deteriorate and the jobs of unskilled workers are not likely to disappear in the course of globalization. All this is, of course, not to insinuate that globalization has any benign influence on labor market institutions.

Abstract
Promoting minimum age of employment regulation has been a centerpiece in child labor policy for the last 15 years. If enforced, minimum age regulation would change the age profile of paid child employment. Using micro-data from 59 mostly low-income countries, we observe that age can explain less than one percent of the variation in child participation in paid employment. In contrast, child-invariant household attributes account for 63 percent of the variation in participation in paid employment. While age may explain little of the variation in paid employment, minimum age of employment regulation could simultaneously impact time allocation. We do not observe evidence consistent with enforcement of minimum age regulation in any country examined, although light work regulation appears to have been enforced in one country.

JEL Codes

J22, O15, J88, K42

People with severe disabilities, such as severe mental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, do not participate in the open, competitive labor market to the same extent as people without disabilities or other forms of disability. Sheltered employment is an internationally accepted approach for the vocational integration of people with severe disabilities, which introduces integration in sheltered workplaces mainly with other people with disabilities and ongoing support from the Government or self-government. Therefore, sheltered employment can be defined as the employment of a person with a disability under particular conditions. This paper presents the legislative framework regarding sheltered employment in Poland and Greece and the ways sheltered employment takes place in each of the two countries with the corresponding comparisons and conclusions. The results show a need for a more precise and more comprehensive legislative framework on sheltered employment in Poland and Greece. Alternative options for the vocational integration of people with severe forms of disabilities, such as supported employment programs, need to come to the fore. Supported employment seems to be the only effective and efficient way for people who have particular difficulties in finding and keeping a paid job in the open labor market to take up paid employment on an equal basis with other people. Does the concept of supported employment have a chance to prove itself on Poland and Greece's open labor markets and become a complementary tool in the vocational activation of people with disabilities? Legislative regulations, system projects, and stable sources of financing are necessary for both countries.

In this work we discuss the research findings from the labour-augmented Schumpeter meeting Keynes (K+S) agent-based model. It comprises comparative dynamics experiments on an artificial economy populated by heterogeneous, interacting agents, as workers, firms, banks and the government. The exercises are characterised by different degrees of labour flexibility, or by institutional shocks entailing labour market structural reforms, wherein the phenomenon of hysteresis is endogenous and pervasive. The K+S model constitutes a laboratory to evaluate the effects of new institutional arrangements as active/passive labour market policies, and fiscal austerity. In this perspective, the model allows mimicking many of the customary policy responses which the European Union and many Latin American countries have embraced in reaction to the recent economic crises. The obtained results seem to indicate, however, that most of the proposed policies are likely inadequate to tackle the short-term crises consequences, and even risk demoting the long-run economic prospects. More objectively, the conclusions offer a possible explanation to the negative path traversed by economies like Brazil, where many of the mentioned policies were applied in a short period, and hint about some risks ahead.

For mainstream economics, rigidities in the labour market are the primary determinants of high and persistent long-term unemployment rates, leading to the need to reform labour market institutions and make them more flexible. Flexible labour markets would not only help to smooth normal business cycle fluctuations (implying a small impact of these fluctuations on employment and unemployment) but also to reduce the negative impacts on labour market of structural shocks. If we focus on the labour market performances in the European Union during the Great Recession, we can easily detect the existence of significant differences in the impact of this common structural shock on the domestic labour markets. For mainstream economics, the countries with the best results in terms of unemployment and employment would have been those that had a more flexible labour market at the beginning of the crisis and/or those having implemented reforms to increase this flexibility.The aim of this paper is to determine the validity of this argument, that is, whether labour reforms making the labour market more flexible effectively ensure macroeconomic stability by reducing the impact on the labour market of economic shocks. Using panel data techniques, we investigate whether, as mainstream studies argue, the evolution of employment and unemployment in the EU labour markets is explained, and to what extent, by the levels and changes registered in the indicators of employment protection legislation. Conversely, we examine whether, as heterodox and post-Keynesian studies suggest, this evolution is explained by the changes registered in economic activity (i.e., GDP growth).