Purpose. This paper analyzes how financial system turmoil affected unemployment in industrial countries during the period 1982 to 2003. Design/methodology/approach. The paper uses annual data on 17 industrial countries. It employs the IMF’s financial stress index and a large number of...

Using data on 78 countries over 1980 to 2008 and a host of controls, this paper finds that switching from a floating regime to a pegged or an intermediate regime is likely to substantially reduce unemployment. Using a three-way regime classification, the estimated effect of switching to a pegged...

Using annual data on 21 industrial countries from the period 1985 to 2009 and a large number of controls, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of technological change on unemployment. As proxy for technological change, it uses the ratio of triadic patent families to population. According...

Using data on 53 countries, this paper studies the unemployment effects of the far-reaching banking liberalization that many countries engaged in between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. According to the regression results, this liberalization substantially decreased unemployment,...

Using data from 58 countries and the period 1980 to 2003, this paper analyzes how the size of government affects unemployment in developing countries. According to the regression results, a large government sector is likely to increase unemployment. A large share of government consumption in...

In order to smooth the transition from a planned to a market economy, labour market policies were applied to an unprecedented extent in East Germany. This paper analyses the effects of these policies. As it turns out, labour market policies not only were largely unsuccessful; in many cases they...

Using data from 19 industrial countries for 5 years in the period 1990-2002, this paper analyzes to what extent anticompetitive business regulations, like price controls and administrative obstacles to start a new business, affect labor force participation and employment rates. According to the...

Using data from 45 countries for six years in the period 1995 to 2003, the author analyses whether the quality of industrial relations affects unemployment in developing countries. To measure the quality of industrial relations, the author uses the results of surveys in which senior business...