. This paper assesses the role of structural factors and institutions in explaining the common patterns and main differences … suggests that laws and institutions such as product market regulations, unions and more coordinated wage-setting systems are …

This study poses the question about whether labour market institutions can explain unemployment rates in the ten new … European Union member states. In five out of the ten new member states, unemployment rates lie above the average in the 15 … institutions in the acceding countries are less rigid than in the EU-15. Moreover, labour market institutions explain only a minor …