I38; J64; C31 </AbstractSection> Copyright Boockmann et al.; licensee Springer. 2014

This Selected Issues paper investigates the possible contribution of activation strategies—in a broad sense—to improve employment rates in Finland. It summarizes recent labor market developments in Finland, and investigates respectively the limitation of current unemployment and...

The three-point VAT increase is part of a package in which unemployment payroll taxes will be reduced. Risks to the recovery are balanced but the range of forecasts for 2007 is unusually wide. The priority for Germany is to transmit its external strength to the domestic economy, thus further...

Australia's remarkable economic performance during the 1990s has not resulted in a significant convergence of real per capita income, output, and employment levels across the country's states and territories. This paper explores the role of certain economic rigidities that may have contributed...

The nine papers in this volume ask the authors to 'use their analyses to predict what is likely to happen to welfare caseloads, to recipient well-being, and to state budgets and policies when the next recession arrives.