scholarly journals Reforming Labor Market Institutions: Unemployment Insurance and Employment Protection

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier J. Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Institutions

scholarly journals Impacts of Labor Market Institutions and Demographic Factors on Labor Markets in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (155) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Kugler
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Market Performance ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Payroll Taxes ◽  
The Impact

This paper documents recent labor market performance in the Latin American region. The paper shows that unemployment, informality, and inequality have been falling over the past two decades, though still remain high. By contrast, productivity has remained stubbornly low. The paper, then, turns to the potential impacts of various labor market institutions, including employment protection legislation (EPL), minimum wages (MW), payroll taxes, unemployment insurance (UI) and collective bargaining, as well as the impacts of demographic changes on labor market performance. The paper relies on evidence from carefully conducted studies based on micro-data for countries in the region and for other countries with similar income levels to draw conclusions on the impact of labor market institutions and demographic factors on unemployment, informality, inequality and productivity. The decreases in unemployment and informality can be partly explained by the reduced strictness of EPL and payroll taxes, but also by the increased shares of more educated and older workers. By contrast, the fall in inequality starting in 2002 can be explained by a combination of binding MW throughout most of the region and, to a lesser extent, by the introduction of UI systems in some countries and the role of unions in countries with moderate unionization rates. Falling inequality can also be explained by the fall in the returns to skill associated with increased share of more educated and older workers.

scholarly journals Civic Virtue and Labor Market Institutions

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Algan ◽  
Pierre Cahuc
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Civic Virtue ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Unemployment Benefits ◽  
Public Insurance ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Civic Virtues ◽  
Cross Country

We argue civic virtue plays a key role in explaining the design of public insurance against unemployment risks by solving moral hazard issues which hinder the efficiency of unemployment insurance. We show, in a simple model, that economies with stronger civic virtues are more prone to provide insurance through unemployment benefits rather than through job protection. We provide cross-country empirical evidence of a strong correlation between civic attitudes and the design of unemployment benefits and employment protection in OECD countries over the period 1980 to 2003. We then use an epidemiological approach to estimate the existence of a potential causal relationship from inherited civic virtue to labor market insurance institutions. (JEL: J41, J65, J68, Z13)

Symbolpolitik in Zeiten der Eurokrise

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Becker
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Infrastructure Investment ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Macroeconomic Stabilization ◽  
Budget Proposal ◽  
Automatic Stabilizer ◽  
The Common

Abstract:The recently elected French President Emmanuel Macron as well as the European Commission propose to create a common budget for the Eurozone both as a financing device for infrastructure investment and as a macroeconomic stabilization instrument. Such a reform could, in principle, be rationalized if stabilization were achieved via an automatic stabilizer mechanism (such as a common unemployment insurance). This, however, would require far reaching harmonization of labor market institutions which, for now, cannot be quickly attained. Moreover, there are more pressing problems that are currently left alone. The common budget proposal thus may be interpreted as the attempt to achieve a symbolic reform success for the Eurozone intended to prove that its Member States still are able to act unanimously.

scholarly journals Youth Unemployment in the OECD: The Role of Institutions

2015 ◽  
Vol 235 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Sachs ◽  
Werner Smolny
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
High Effect ◽  
Very High

Summary This paper analyzes the role of labor market institutions for youth unemployment, as contrasted to total unemployment. The empirical results are basically consistent with an insider view of labor market institutions. Labor market institutions tend to protect (older) employees but might harm (young) entrants. Remarkable is especially the significant and very high effect of employment protection for regular jobs on youth unemployment. In addition, the combined effects of powerful unions and a coordinated wage bargaining system are beneficial for older people and detrimental to youth. Finally, the paper identifies a significant link between a demographic as well as an educational factor and both youth and total unemployment.

scholarly journals Labor market institutions, the insider/outsider divide and social inequalities in employment in affluent countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Biegert
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Minimum Income

Abstract This article investigates the role of labor market institutions for social inequalities in employment. To distinguish institutional impacts for men and women, age groups and educational levels the analysis draws on data from 21 countries using the European Union Labor Force Survey and the Current Population Survey 1992–2012. The analysis demonstrates that there is significant heterogeneity in the relationship between institutions and employment across social groups. In line with the literature on dualization, institutions that arguably protect labor market insiders, i.e. employment protection, unionization and unemployment benefits, are frequently associated with greater inequality between typically disadvantaged groups and their insider peers. By contrast, institutions that discriminate less between insiders and outsiders, i.e. active labor market policies, minimum income benefits and centralized wage bargaining at times boost social equality on the labor market. The insider/outsider argument provides a valuable heuristic for assessing heterogeneity in institutional impacts, yet in several instances the results deviate from the expectations.

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