This paper examines the labor market dynamics of six CEE countries over the last 10 years, paying special attention to the nature of labor market institutions these countries have adopted and their impact on labor market performance. This paper finds that, compared to EU countries, CEE countries...

Economic transition in Bulgaria has been associated with the emergence of unemployment, the fall in real wages and a substantial increase in wage inequality. The ranks of low-paid workers have grown and their relative wage status has substantially deteriorated. Unemployment is of long duration....

The structure of the paper is as follows. Section A proposes that the starting point for policy discussion should be the employment problems of those young people in developing and transition countries who are at the greatest disadvantage, rather than merely those who are unemployed. In section...

Based on consecutive labor force surveys, this study examines labor market dynamics during the first decade of the Estonian transition to market. the results show that, similar to other transition economies: 1) Estonias employment and labor force was reduced; 2) patterns of mobility profoundly...

Available studies show that the lack of decent work opportunities for youth is probably one of the most daunting problems faced by countries in South-East Europe (SEE). Yet, the lack of comprehensive, integrated and centralized databases on youth labor market disadvantage in transition countries...

This report examines the two most common programs that provide cash compensation to unemployed workers: unemployment insurance (UI) and unemployment assistance (UA). It compares them in two areas: costs and labor market disincentives. The cost analysis first derives a framework for examining...

This report examines unemployment protection with emphasis on three groups of countries: 1) OECD, 2) Central-East Europe and the Former Soviet Union; and 3) East and South Asia. Section 1 notes the presence of various public social protection programs including pensions, work injury insurance,...

One of the most conspicuous consequences of the transition of former socialist economies has been the emergence of large-scale, open unemployment - a phenomenon unheard of before the transition. These economies have thus been confronted with the difficult task of protecting the unemployed while...

This paper uses data from the Bulgarian Integrated Household Surveys, and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) to examine the multiple aspects of vulnerability in the labor market in Bulgaria, in the late 1990s. The paper starts by examining the links between poverty, and labor...