This paper develops a model with multiple steady states (low tax and unemployment rate versus high tax and unemployment rate) in which equilibrium selection is not conditioned on a sunspot variable. Instead, large enough shocks initiate unavoidable transitions from one regime to the other. The...

We quantify the degree of persistence in unemployment rates of transition countries using a variety of methods benchmarked against the EU. In part of the paper, we work with the concept of linear u0093Hysteresisu0094 as described by the presence of unit roots in unemployment. Since this is...

This study poses the question about whether labour market institutions can explain unemployment rates in the ten new European Union member states. In five out of the ten new member states, unemployment rates lie above the average in the 15 member states of the European Union (EU-15) that...

Website with information about the enlarged European Union.

The paper argues that the familiar pro-enlargement arguments deserve a critical examination. It investigates the impact of enlargement on British business; on the prospects for EU reform; and on the accession states themselves. From each perspective, the study finds that the supposed benefits of...

On the face of it, Austria’s labour market performs very well, which is reflected in one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU. However, while many of the euro area members have recently succeeded in reducing unemployment, the Austrian jobless rate has been on a clearly rising path since...

In the recent debate on the response to the challenges of globalisation, the so-called Nordic model has received much praise. While the three Nordic countries are often lumped together, their performance has not been the same. A notable feature of the Finnish economy compared with that of Sweden...