This paper is focused on the factors which determined the adoption of innovation or imitation strategies on firm performance in seven different industries in China. Firstly, we delineate and distinguish the concepts of innovation and imitation. Secondly, using the structural equation modelling...

Strong macroeconomic foundations have so far largely shielded the Netherlands from recent financial turbulence. Despite a tightening labor market, inflation remains subdued. Employment has grown 1¼–1½ percent in 2007, on par with the rest of the Euro area. The external current...

The Selected Issues paper analyzes how fast Ireland will grow in the future. The approach of this paper is to consider the catch-up in labor utilization productivity and use independent demographic projections and other considerations to make reasonable assumptions about labor productivity and...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the growth prospects of the Greek economy. It is estimated that exceptional factors boosted growth by 1 percentage point per year in recent years and, under current trends and policies, growth is likely to drop to about 3 percent by the end of the decade. The...

This paper describes the developments in the Australian labor market during the 1990s. In 1994, a number of new labor market programs were launched, directed especially at the long-term unemployed, and a further step was taken in the evolutionary reform of the industrial relations system. The...

This study explores the effects of labor and product market deregulation on employment growth. Our empirical results, based on an OECD country panel from 1990-2004, suggest that lower levels of product and labor market regulation foster employment growth, including through sizable interaction...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix analyzes labor market institutions and reforms for Cyprus. The paper describes the legal and institutional framework of the Cypriot labor market, and discusses the voluntary framework for negotiations, the degree of unionization and the system...

This Selected Issues paper on the Republic of Estonia highlights its growth performance relative to other countries in the European Union (EU). Estonia has experienced a period of unprecedented growth since the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2005, Estonia’s real GDP per capita rose by an...

Based on the economic literature, various policy measures and institutions in the product and labor markets that increase growth and employment are studied. From a cross-country approach, this study finds a significant relationship between Vertical Fiscal Imbalances (VFIs) and fiscal performance...

The human cost of the recent global crisis is reflected in its impact on the labor market. Explaining why economies with similar downturns had very different employment trends can help design policies to reduce such costs and improve labor markets. This paper analyzes the recent employment...