Why do many democracies fail to reform their labor market institutions? We study the feasibility of reforms that … unemployment may be constrained Pareto-efficient. Consequently, no reform is accepted unanimously by voters. We show that this … low rates of unemployment can be removed in the political process while high rates of unemployment tend to be politically …

High unemployment in many OECD countries is often attributed, at least in part, to the generosity and long duration of … unemployment compensation. It is therefore instructive to examine a country where high unemployment exists despite the near … complete absence of an unemployment insurance system. In South Africa unemployment stood at 23% in 1997 and the unemployed have …