Unemployment in Transition: Restructuring and Labour Markets in Central Europe

by Mickiewicz; Tomasz

• ISBN13: 9789058231031
• ISBN10: 9058231038
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The emergence of open unemployment is an unavoidable consequence of postcommunist transition. Some countries-notably in the former Soviet Union-initially slowed economic contraction. But in the longer run slower reformers have generally sustained deeper and more prolonged recessions than faster reforming central European countries. Moreover, the initially low unemployment rates in the former Soviet Union are now rising, and may stabilise at higher post-transition equilibrium rates than in Central Europe.

Author Biography

Tomasz Mickiewicz is Lecturer in Economic Restructuring at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London Janice Bell is Social Science Analyst in the Europe Branch of the Office of Research, United States Department of State, Washington DC.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(11)
Employment and Unemployment During Economic Transition	11	(46)
Transition and Unemployment	11	(12)
A Note on Data. The Role of the Labour Force Surveys	23	(5)
Employment Versus Production Indices	28	(3)
Labour Force and Participation Rates	31	(5)
Structural Characteristics and Flows: Europe, East and West	36	(18)
The Next Steps	54	(3)
Wages and Unemployment	57	(30)
Miscalculation of Real Consumption Wages	57	(3)
Real Consumption Wages and Real Product Wages	60	(1)
Unemployment and Wage Pressure Outliers: the Czech Republic and East Germany	61	(10)
Unemployment and The Wage Structure: General Comments	71	(2)
Unemployment and Wage Dispersion During the Transition	73	(6)
Market Adjustment and Rent-Sharing	79	(5)
Summary	84	(3)
Restructuring of Employment: Central and Eastern Europe and the EU	87	(22)
De-industrialisation, Convergence towards the EU, and Growth	87	(6)
More Details on Restructuring	93	(9)
Restructuring and Unemployment	102	(2)
A Digression: Restructuring and Liberalisation	104	(1)
Final Remarks on Sectoral Restructuring	104	(5)
Restructuring of Employment: The Polish Example	109	(36)
Introduction	109	(1)
Post-Socialist Labour Shedding?	110	(8)
Aggregate Labour Demand Shock Versus Reallocation of Labour	118	(3)
Sectoral Restructuring	121	(3)
The Impact of Sectoral Restructuring: Labour Demand	124	(6)
Participation Rates	130	(4)
Privatisation and Job Creation	134	(8)
Three Stages of the Labour Market Adjustment	142	(3)
Labour Market Institutions	145	(44)
From Transition to Accession	145	(3)
European Labour Market Institutions and Outcomes	148	(4)
Institutional and Systemic Reform of Central European Labour Markets	152	(4)
Convergence of Labour Market Institutions	156	(29)
Summary	185	(4)
Unemployment and Growth Paths During The Post-Communist Transition	189	(38)
Introduction	189	(1)
Interpretation and the Speed of Transition	190	(1)
Labour Force	191	(1)
Production	192	(1)
Government: The `Cascade' Structure of Taxes; and the Deficit	193	(6)
Net Incomes	199	(1)
Flows	200	(7)
Characteristics of Transition	207	(5)
Simulations. Basic Set of Parameters	212	(1)
Simulations. CE and FSU Scenarios	213	(4)
Possible Extensions; Budget Surplus, Active Labour Market Policy	217	(1)
Conclusion	217	(10)
Index	227