In times of economic crisis, many employers in liberal labor markets reduce their employees' working hours, which leads to an increase in the incidence of involuntary part-time work. We analyze the effectiveness of working time regulation in preventing such an increase during downswings. For...

I estimate the effect of tightness on wages in Hungary and Slovakia. The Mortensen Pissarides model predicts a positive relationship but the empirical evidence is scarce. I instrument tightness by the distance of a district from the Austrian border, interacted with a dummy that marks the opening...

Since the beginning of the recession period in Europe, unemployment has greatly affected the young adult population. In this context, Spain is regarded as an extreme case, due to its exceptionally high youth unemployment rates. This article seeks to identify the determinants that have led...

We analyse the use of active labour market policy (ALMP) measures by Luxembourg firms during the years of economic and financial crisis (2008–2009) and the subsequent European sovereign debt crisis (2010–2013). About 34% of Luxembourg firms used ALMPs between 2008 and 2013. Economy-wide, the...

We address the concerns about rising inequality in the German labour market after the implementation of the Hartz reforms between 2003 and 2005. We focus on the quality of new jobs started between 1998 and 2010 in West Germany in terms of job stability and level of earnings. Using social...

In a Public Employment Service reform implemented in 2013, sixty Finnish municipalities experienced an involuntary employment office closure. The Government's objective was to replace traditional face-to-face employment counselling with modern online counselling and simultaneously generate...

In a randomised controlled trial in Austria, lowering caseloads for caseworkers in a Public Employment Office led to more meetings with unemployed clients, more job offers, more programme assignments, and more sanctions for noncompliance with job search requirements. It shortened unemployment...

Germany and the United States pursued different economic strategies to minimise the impact of the Coronavirus Crisis on the labour market. Germany focused on safeguarding existing jobs through the use of internal flexibility measures, especially short-time work (STW). The United States relied on...