Migrants are among the groups most vulnerable to economic fluctuations. As predicted by the "welfare magnet" hypothesis, migrants can therefore be expected to - ceteris paribus - prefer countries with more generous welfare provisions to insure themselves against labour market risks. This paper...

Socio-economic transformations associated with the shift to post-industrial societies have not only created new opportunities and prosperity, but have also given rise to the emergence of new social risks occurring at different stages of life. This paper examines the situation of children, who...

The growth performance of countries proved to be very different during the recent crisis. We apply principal component analysis to derive a single ordinal indicator on growth performance and to analyse whether initial conditions of economies or structural characteristics can explain the...

This paper investigates the performance of labour markets during the recent crisis for 28 industrialised countries, specifically the reaction of employment and unemployment indicators relative to output changes. We construct a composite indicator for output as well as labour market performance....

The relationship between government size and growth has received an enormous attention in the economics literature, and the recent financial crisis has forced this topic back on the agenda. A highly controversial debate in this respect is whether large governments are harmful for growth....

Are people happier if they experience freedom from regulation, and how do individual attitudes towards liberalisation influence personal life satisfaction? Based on data from European and World Values Surveys and the Economic Freedom of the World project we find evidence for positive effects of...