Unemployment And Labor Market Rigidities

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: Many European countries have experienced a significant increase of unemployment in recent years. Especially striking is the fact that unemployment rates in most European countries are significantly higher as compared to the United States. This paper reviews several theoretical models, which have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Predominantly, these models claim a link between the poor performance of European labor markets and the high level of market regulation. Commonly referred to as the Eurosclerosis debate, prominent approaches consider insider-outsider relationships, search-models, and the influence of hiring and firing costs on equilibrium employment. The paper presents empirical evidence of each model and studies the relevance of the identified rigidities as a determining factor for high unemployment in Europe. Furthermore, a case study analyzes the unemployment problem in Germany and critically discusses recent reform efforts. Einleitung: In vielen europäischen Ländern ist die Arbeitslosigkeit in den vergangenen Jahren stark angestiegen. Besonders auffallend ist hierbei, das die Arbeitslosenrate in den meisten europäischen Staaten über den Werten in den USA liegt. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht eine Reihe theoretischer Modelle, die in der Literatur zur Erklärung dieses Phänomens diskutiert werden. Hauptsächlich sehen diese Modelle eine Verbindung zwischen dem hohen Grad an Marktregulierung und der schlechten Performance europäischer Arbeitsmärkte. Im Rahmen der so genannten Eurosclerosis-Debatte beleuchten mehrere Ansätze eine Insider-Outsider-Problematik, Such-Modelle, sowie den Einfluss von Einstellungs- und Kündigungsschutzregelungen (hiring- and firing-costs) auf die gleichgewichtige Beschäftigungsquote. Die Arbeit diskutiert die empirische Relevanz jedes Modells und analysiert insbesondere ihre Bedeutung als Erklärungsansatz für die hohe Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa. Darüber hinaus untersucht eine Fallstudie das Arbeitslosigkeitsproblem in Deutschland und diskutiert jüngste Reformmaßnahmen des so genannten Hartz-Programms. Insbesondere steht dabei die Frage im Vordergrund, ob einzelne Arbeitsmarktinstrumente wie Ich-AGs, Persönliche Service Agenturen (PSAs) sowie Mini- und Midijobs Abhilfe schaffen zu den in der Literatur identifizierten Beschäftigungshemmnissen. Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: 1.Introduction1 2.Labor Market Rigidities and the European Unemployment [...]

We study a two-country two-sector model of international trade in which one sector produces homogeneous products while the other produces differentiated products. The differentiated-product industry has firm heterogeneity, monopolistic competition, search and matching in its labor market, and wage bargaining. Some of the workers searching for jobs end up being unemployed. Countries are similar except for frictions in their labor markets. We study the interaction of labor market rigidities and trade impediments in shaping welfare, trade flows, productivity, price levels and unemployment rates. We show that both countries gain from trade but that the flexible country -- which has lower labor market frictions -- gains proportionately more. A flexible labor market confers comparative advantage; the flexible country exports differentiated products on net. A country benefits by lowering frictions in its labor market, but this harms the country's trade partner. And the simultaneous proportional lowering of labor market frictions in both countries benefits both of them. The model generates rich patterns of unemployment. Specifically, trade integration -- which benefits both countries -- may raise their rates of unemployment. Moreover, differences in rates of unemployment do not necessarily reflect differences in labor market rigidities; the rate of unemployment can be higher or lower in the flexible country. Finally, we show that the flexible country has both higher total factor productivity and a lower price level, which operates against the standard Balassa-Samuelson effect.

Spain has the most serious and persistent unemployment problem in Europe, with an unemployment rate that reached 24.6 percent in early 1994. This paper explores the characteristics of this unemployment problem, its causes, and provides a brief discussion of recent labor market reform measures and their likely Impact. A demographic shift in recent years has produced a large rise in female labor force participation and a decrease in agricultural jobs to which the economy has been unable to adjust. The effects of generous unemployment benefits and the large underground economy may explain 6–12 percentage points of the resulting unemployment, but the remainder must be explained by failures and rigidities in the labor market. The paper presents econometric evidence that unemployment displays hysteresis, and that wages are not responsive to changes in the unemployment rate. This evidence supports the claim that insider-outsider factors and rigidities in the legal structure of the labor market are responsible for much of the high unemployment rate. Recent reforms have improved the functioning of the labor market, but they are unlikely to be sufficient to reduce unemployment to single digit rates without further action.

Estudio donde se examinan las razones para la gran persistencia e incremento del desempleo en España a partir de los primeros años de la década de los setenta, centrándose particularmente en la flexibilidad como principal razón para la ineficacia del mercado laboral.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between labor market flexibility and unemployment outcomes. Using a panel of 97 countries from 1985 to 2008, the results of the paper suggest that improvements in labor market flexibility have a statistically and significant negative impact on unemployment outcomes (over unemployment, youth unemployment and long-term unemployment). Among the different labor market flexibility indicators analyzed, hiring and firing regulations and hiring costs are found to have the strongest effect.

Many European countries have experienced a significant increase of unemployment in recent years. This publication reviews several theoretical models that try to explain this phenomenon. Predominantly, these models claim a link between the poor performance of European labor markets and the high level of market regulation. Commonly referred to as the Eurosclerosis debate, prominent approaches consider insider-outsider relationships, search-models, and the influence of hiring and firing costs on equilibrium employment. The publication presents empirical evidence of each model and studies the relevance of the identified rigidities as a determinant of high unemployment in Europe. Furthermore, a case study analyzes high unemployment rates in Germany and critically discusses recent reform efforts. This study provides a sober and unprejudiced analysis of the European labor market and its weaknesses. According to the author's convincing argument, substantial efforts are still needed in the areas of institutional reform and incentive-based labor market policy. The book is a must read for political and economic decision-makers. Prof. Dr. Klaus F. Zimmermann; Director; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Germany. A superb piece, well documented, comprehensive and with many useful insights and policy recommendations, on one of the most important topics in Europe. A must for all those interested in unemployment and labor market issues. Javier Santiso; Acting Director and Chief Economist; OECD Development Centre, France.

Critically assessing the widely accepted view that the cause of unemployment is excessive labor market regulation and overly generous welfare state benefits, this book's chapters include both cross-country statistical analyses and country case studies.

"Once again, the quick capacity to overcome economic difficulties in 1995 was insufficient to mark improvements on the labor field." -ILO-Latin America, Editorial, "Labor Outlook 1996" For the first time, this volume compares labor market flexibility across countries in Latin America and the United States. The study uses two performance variables, a price variable measured by real wages and a quantity variable measured alternatively by either employment or unemployment. This paper looks into the structural relationship between output and these variables across 13 countries in Latin America and the United States for the last 20-30 years as a way of measuring the ability of the labor market to absorb output shocks.