This paper studies effects of unemployment and labour market programmes on real wages in the Czech and Slovak Republics using district paneldata for the period 1992-1998. Clear evidence of a wage curve exists in both countries. The estimated unemployment elasticity of pay is, however, higher in...

We evaluate an immigrant workplace introduction program aimed at helping individuals considered employable but at the same time expected to experience substantial difficulties in finding work. Using supported employment methods, the SIN program may influence outcomes through several channels. We...

After the start of transition, in Central European Economies the restructuring process of large state enterprizes was accompanied by high unemployment all through the '90s. Social policy expenditures, particularly targeted to the non-employed, grew faster than expected due to the need to finance...

This study provides an assessment of the features that, operating "inside the black box", shape the evolution of the Italian economy. In the first section the focus is placed on the functioning of the labour market at the aggregate level. The picture described suggest that the Italian labour...

This paper uses an administrative dataset to analyze to what extent active labor market policies in the Slovak Republic have been beneficial for unemployed workers. The focus is on two types of temporary subsidized jobs and on training. Short-term subsidized jobs seem to be the most efficient...

In this paper we study the structure of labor market flows in Spain and compare them with France and the US. We characterize a number of empirical regularities and stylized facts. One striking result is that the job finding rate is slightly higher than in France, while the job loss rate is much...

In the second part of the 1990?s Switzerland conducted an ambitious active labour market policy (ALMP) encompassing a wide variety of programmes. We evaluate the effects of these programmes on the individual employment probability of potential participants. Our econometric analysis uses...

In view of the demographic trends, most EU countries face the problem of a declining work force in the future. Understanding the interaction between income support systems (such as unemployment benefits, social assistance, early retirement and pension systems) and total labor supply is of...

This paper considers the issue of unemployment one of the most pressing issues facing the UK and other governments, as the current recessions deepens. It begins by trying to accurately date the beginning of the current downturn in the British economy, arguing that it is clear that the recession...