This paper explores the two common concepts of the natural rate of unemployment: (i) the stable, long-run equilibrium rate of unemployment; and (ii) the equilibrium unemployment rate at which there is no tendency for this rate to change, given the exogenous variables. The first concept (common...

The paper uses a general equilibrium model of regional labor markets, in which national and local factors interact to determine local wages and unemployment; when mobility between regions is obstructed by rent subsidies and controls, unemployment and wage differentials arise. Because...

Swedish wives' market earnings contribute 39% of the net family earnings of couples living together. German wives contribute 12%. This paper employs Swedish and German micro data on earnings and personal characteristics of couples. After tax earnings are simulated, under both the tax system of...

Labour markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will be a key vehicle for the expression and reallocation of skills and talents in the transformation process. To a large extent, the emergence of unemployment is an indicator of this restructuring and reallocation. This paper surveys some of...

In this paper we explore two econometric approaches to data on parity-specific birth rates in England and Wales during the postwar period. Both approaches can accommodate complex dynamic adjustments within birth rates and focus on adjustments of fertility behavior in response to changes in...

This paper tests a two equation model of supply and demand for labour for 1857-1913, the period which was the focus of the original Phillips curve study. The basic structure is an equilibrium model of the labour market with "classical" characteristics arising from a surprise supply function and...

For the first time, we present evidence on employee theft in the UK using data on actual recorded crime. We present a model where employees are ‘rational cheaters’ with ‘consciences’ to produce hypotheses about the role of labour market (wages, unemployment) and social (age, education)...

This paper analyses two-way interactions between structural reform and macroeconomic policy. If structural reforms increase the flexibility of labour markets, they are likely to improve the short-run inflation-unemployment trade-off, providing an incentive for policy-makers to expand aggregate...