Labor Market Institutions and the Cost of Recessions

Labor Market Institutions and the Cost of Recessions PDF Author: Mr.Tom Krebs
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475592264
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Book Description
This paper studies the effect of two labor market institutions, unemployment insurance (UI) and job search assistance (JSA), on the output cost and welfare cost of recessions. The paper develops a tractable incomplete-market model with search unemployment, skill depreciation during unemployment, and idiosyncratic as well as aggregate labor market risk. The theoretical analysis shows that an increase in JSA and a reduction in UI reduce the output cost of recessions by making the labor market more fluid along the job finding margin and thus making the economy more resilient to macroeconomic shocks. In contarst, the effect of JSA and UI on the welfare cost of recessions is in general ambiguous. The paper also provides a quantitative appliation to the German labor market reforms of 2003-2005, the so-called Hartz reforms, which improved JSA (Hartz III reform) and reduced UI (Hartz IV reform). According to the baseline calibration, the two labor market reforms led to a substantial reduction in the output cost of recessions and a moderate reduction in the welfare cost of recessions in Germany.

Labor Market Institutions and the Cost of Recessions

Labor Market Institutions and the Cost of Recessions PDF Author: Mr.Tom Krebs
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475592264
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Book Description
This paper studies the effect of two labor market institutions, unemployment insurance (UI) and job search assistance (JSA), on the output cost and welfare cost of recessions. The paper develops a tractable incomplete-market model with search unemployment, skill depreciation during unemployment, and idiosyncratic as well as aggregate labor market risk. The theoretical analysis shows that an increase in JSA and a reduction in UI reduce the output cost of recessions by making the labor market more fluid along the job finding margin and thus making the economy more resilient to macroeconomic shocks. In contarst, the effect of JSA and UI on the welfare cost of recessions is in general ambiguous. The paper also provides a quantitative appliation to the German labor market reforms of 2003-2005, the so-called Hartz reforms, which improved JSA (Hartz III reform) and reduced UI (Hartz IV reform). According to the baseline calibration, the two labor market reforms led to a substantial reduction in the output cost of recessions and a moderate reduction in the welfare cost of recessions in Germany.

Labour Market Institutions and Labour Market Performance

Labour Market Institutions and Labour Market Performance PDF Author: Alfonso Arpaia
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This paper presents a selective survey of the recent literature on labour market institutions. It describes the different empirical approaches used to explore the nexus between labour market institutions and labour market performance. It stresses that the effect of institutions is complex in both stock and flow models and that it is also crucial to take into account the interactions they generate among themselves and with macroeconomic shocks. While their importance in explaining labour market performances is uncontroversial, there is no full consensus on their actual impact and the precise transmission channels. In addition, rather than taking institutions for granted, a new branch of research attempts to understand them as the result of an endogenous process. The paper also briefly discusses the relationships between the efficiency of the redistributive policies (via taxation) and the type of protection provided (on the job or in the market). Lastly, the paper examines the key issue of efficient policy design both at the macro- and micro-level.

Labor Market Institutions Around the World

Labor Market Institutions Around the World PDF Author: Richard Barry Freeman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economic development
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
The paper documents the large cross-country differences in labor institutions that make them a candidate explanatory factor for the divergent economic performance of countries and reviews what economists have learned about the effects of these institutions on economic outcomes. It identifies three ways in which institutions affect economic performance: by altering incentives, by facilitating efficient bargaining, and by increasing information, communication, and trust. The evidence shows that labor institutions reduce the dispersion of earnings and income inequality, which alters incentives, but finds equivocal effects on other aggregate outcomes, such as employment and unemployment. Given weaknesses in the cross-country data on which most studies focus, the paper argues for increased use of micro-data, simulations, and experiments to illuminate how labor institutions operate and affect outcomes.

Labour Market Transitions, Shocks and Institutions in Turbulent Times

Labour Market Transitions, Shocks and Institutions in Turbulent Times PDF Author: Ronald Bachmann
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783867888271
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Labor Market Policies and IMF Advice in Advanced Economies during the Great Recession

Labor Market Policies and IMF Advice in Advanced Economies during the Great Recession PDF Author: Mr.Olivier J Blanchard
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484325486
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
This paper does two things. First, it articulates what are the main implications of theoretical and empirical research for design of labor market policies and labor market institutions. Second, in this light, the paper analyzes the IMF’s labor market recommendations since the beginning of the crisis, both in general, and more specifically in program countries

Comparative Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes

Comparative Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes PDF Author: Giuseppe Bertola
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Demography
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description


Labour Market Adjustments in Europe

Labour Market Adjustments in Europe PDF Author: Julian Messina
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 184542896X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
. . . the book is an interesting contribution to the literature on labour market practices in Europe. The important statistics and analysis conducted by the authors in the book have important implications for scholars in the international entrepreneurship field wanting to know more about the diverse labour practices in Europe. Vanessa Ratten, Journal of International Entrepreneurship It is now widely accepted that expansionary fiscal or monetary policies alone are unlikely to help Europe s ailing economies. Solving Europe s economic problems requires reform of the economic institutions that influence economic activity and the way the economy responds to macroeconomic shocks. This volume employs novel approaches to the study of some of these institutions. The group of contributors in this book come from academia and international organizations in Europe and the USA. They focus on trade unions, which affect real-wage flexibility and the provision of training to workers. They also concentrate on employment protection legislation, which discourages firms from firing old workers and also from hiring new ones. The structure of housing market imperfections that can greatly affect regional mobility is also discussed. Labour economists and scholars of European studies, as well as economic policymakers, will read Labour Market Adjustments in Europe with great interest.

Inequality and Labor Market Institutions

Inequality and Labor Market Institutions PDF Author: Ms. Florence Jaumotte
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513526901
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
The SDN examines the role of labor market institutions in the rise of income inequality in advanced economies, alongside other determinants. The evidence strongly indicates that de-unionization is associated with rising top earners’ income shares and less redistribution, while eroding minimum wages are related to increases in overall income inequality. The results, however, also suggest that a lack of representativeness of unions may be associated with higher inequality. These findings do not necessarily constitute a blanket recommendation for higher unionization and minimum wages, as country-specific circumstances and potential trade-offs with other policy objectives need to be considered. Addressing inequality also requires a multipronged approach, which should include taxation reform and curbing excesses associated with financial deregulation.

Labor Market Institutions and Unemployment Dynamics in Transition Economies

Labor Market Institutions and Unemployment Dynamics in Transition Economies PDF Author: Ms.Zuzana Brixiova
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451930569
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
This paper studies interactions between labor market institutions and unemployment dynamics in transition economies. It presents a dynamic matching model in which state sector firms endogenously shed labor and private job creation takes time. Two main conclusions arises. First, higher unemployment benefits increase steady-state unemployment, and, during the transition, they reduce the fall in real wages and speed up closure of state enterprises. Second, higher minimum wages can theoretically speed up the elimination of state sector jobs without affecting steady-state unemployment. These results are broadly consistent with existing evidence on the dynamics of unemployment and real wages in transition economies.

The Labor Market and Economic Adjustment

The Labor Market and Economic Adjustment PDF Author: Pierre-Richard Agénor
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451854781
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
This paper examines the role of the labor market in the transmission process of adjustment policies in developing countries. It begins by reviewing the recent evidence regarding the functioning of these markets. It then studies the implications of wage inertia, nominal contracts, labor market segmentation, and impediments to labor mobility for stabilization policies. The effect of labor market reforms on economic flexibility and the channels through which labor market imperfections alter the effects of structural adjustment measures are discussed next. The last part of the paper identifies a variety of issues that may require further investigation, such as the link between changes in relative wages and the distributional effects of adjustment policies.