labor market can coexist with a generous welfare system to achieve low unemployment. Using a panel of 19 countries over 1960 …-2002, the paper identifies the elements of the flexicurity model that may have contributed to the low unemployment rate. A … the financing aspect, the paper finds that effective implementation will depend on the initial unemployment level and …

Over the last 15 years, the reforms of employment protection legislation (EPL) in European countries have mainly eased … hiring and firing restrictions for temporary employment while leaving the strict EPL provisions for regular or permanent … EPL discourages both. The overall impact on equilibrium unemployment is thus ambiguous, depending on the characteristics …

We propose a theory of low-frequency movements in unemployment based on asymmetric real wage rigidities. The theory … generates two main predictions: long-run unemployment increases with (i) a fall in long-run productivity growth and (ii) a rise …-run unemployment over the 1980s and its rise during the late 2000s. …