This paper examines the movements in EU unemployment from two perspectives: (a) the NRU/NAIRU perspective, in which … unemployment movements are attributed largely to changes in the long-run equilibrium unemployment rate and (b) the chain …-reaction perspective, in which unemployment movements are viewed as the outcome of the interplay between labor market shocks and prolonged …

-side policies must have different aims, that a limited number of supply-side policies are to be devoted to fighting unemployment … prevailing orthodoxy also claims that the choice of policy instruments for combating unemployment is a political decision, in … a prompt reduction of unemployment. We are confident that if the advice is given proper attention by governments and …

persistent unemployment in free market economies, outlining first a set of popular explanations for this phenomenon (and quickly … unemployment accounts. He concludes by assessing the wider economic implications of introducing these measures. …

The analysis provides a new explanation for two widespread problems concerning European unemployment policy: the … disappointingly small effect of many past reform measures on unemployment, and the political difficulties in implementing more … implement broad-based reform strategies. Our analysis suggests that major unemployment policies are characterised by economic …