In all continental European countries there exist non-market mechanisms that determine or "regulate" wage rates for the low-paid. We consider the experience of three countries that have national minimum wages - France, Belgium, and the Netherlands - and three where low wage rates are determined...

This paper analyses the relationship between education, gender and earnings in France and Germany. The model chosen here enables one to estimate the impact of education not only on the expected earnings level but also on their dispersion, taking gender-specific sample selectivity into account....

Earning an income is probably the best way of avoiding poverty and social exclusion, hence the recent trend of promoting employment through in-work transfers in OECD countries. Yet, the relative consensus on the need for 'making work pay' policies is muddied by a number of concerns relative to...

Earning an income is probably the best way of avoiding poverty and social exclusion, hence the recent trend of promoting employment through in-work transfers in OECD countries. Yet, the relative consensus on the need for "making work pay" policies is muddied by a number of concerns relative to...

The paper compares employment structures in five Continental welfare states. These countries feature broad similarities in their reliance on a more dualised model of labour market flexibility, particularly in service occupations with low skill requirements. However, a closer look also reveals...