We explore the far-reaching implications of low-wage subsidies on skill formation, aggregate employment and welfare. Low-wage subsidies have three important effects. First, they promote employment of low-skilled workers (who tend to be the ones who earn low wages). Second, by raising the payoff...

We provide evidence on the impact of globalization on labor market outcomes analyzing pay differences between foreign-acquired and domestically-owned firms. For this purpose, we use firm level data from 16 European countries over the time period 1999-2006. Applying propensity score matching...

This paper deals with the impact of international capital mobility on labor taxes and the size of the public sector. It employs a model of the labor market, where national trade unions arc able to set wages above the competitive level. In a closed economy, a higher labor tax raises wage demands...

National labour market institutions interact across national boundaries when product markets are global. Labour market policies can thus entail spill-overs, which suggests that there are benefits from international policy coordination. This paper studies the effects of wage subsidies in an...

This paper provides a new perspective in classifying ALMPs depending on their main objective, also in light of their relevance and cost-effectiveness during normal times, during a crisis, and during recovery. We distinguish ALMPs that provide incentives for retaining employment, incentives for...

This paper provides a theoretical and quantitative analysis of various types of wellknown employment subsidies. Two important questions are addressed: (i) How should employment subsidies be targeted? (ii) How large should the subsidies be? We consider measures involving targeting workers with...

We explore the far-reaching implications of replacing current unemployment benefit (UB) systems by an unemployment accounts (UA) system. Under the UA system, employed people are required to make ongoing contributions to their UAs and the balances in these accounts are available to them during...

National labour market institutions interact across national boundaries when product markets are global. Labour market policies can thus entail spill-overs, a fact widely ignored in the academic literature. This paper studies the effects of wage subsidies in an international duopoly model with...

Wage subsidies and public transfers for the unemployed as a means for increasing employment have been intensively discussed in Germany. The paper explains which models have already been applied. In addition, it describes some recent reform proposals and analyzes what economic policy might be...