Does Eurosclerosis Matter?

by Silva-Jauregui, Carlos; Sanchez-Paramo, Carolina; Riboud, Michelle; World Bank

• ISBN13: 9780821350904
• ISBN10: 0821350900
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-01
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

"Whether or not labor market rigidities are an important contributor to persistently high levels of unemployment remains at the center of an important debate in Europe. European labor markets are often viewed as rigid and inflexible in opposition to those in North America where legislation is less protective and fosters more mobility.This paper shows that the labor market policies adopted by Central and Eastern European countries, aspiring to join the European Union, do not appear excessively rigid. However, significant and wide- ranging economic reform programs make it difficult to assess the impact of labor market institutions."

Table of Contents

Foreword	vi
Abstract	vii
Acknowledgments	viii
Introduction	1	(2)
How Flexible Are Labor Markets in CEE Countries? An Analysis of Labor Market Institutions in the 1990s	3	(14)
Employment Protection Legislation	4	(3)
Passive and Active Labor Market Policies	7	(5)
Strength of Unions and Tax Burden on Labor	12	(5)
Output and Labor Market Dynamics in the Transition	17	(8)
Output	17	(1)
Employment, Unemployment, Labor Force Participation and Wages	18	(7)
What Explains These Labor Market Dynamics?	25	(12)
Macroeconomic Stabilization Policies	25	(2)
Structural Reforms	27	(2)
Labor Market Institutions	29	(8)
Conclusions	37	(1)
Annex I. Additional Tables and Figures	38	(13)
Annex II. Constructing the Employment Protection Legislation Index	51	(5)
Annex III. Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in the EU Accession Countries	56	(4)
References	60