Unemployment is at a low and stable level in Denmark. This achievement is often attributed to the so-called flexicurity model combining flexible hiring and firing rules for employers with income security for employees. Whatever virtues this model may have, a low and stable unemployment rate is...

Of the recent economic developments in Switzerland, the increased unemployment level deserves special attention. In the 1990s Switzerland's long tradition of low (almost nonexistent) unemployment was broken. Although still below the levels experienced in most industrialized countries,...

This paper uses Australian micro-data to test the insider-outsider model. As part of this, the paper also examines whether the distinction between insiders and outsiders has more relevance for males or females. Provisional support for the theory is found. The paper finds that males have more...

Given the labor market challenges that countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are facing (notably high unemployment, prevalence of skills mismatches, low labor market mobility, and lack of formal employment networks), Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) could be a relevant...

This paper sheds new light on the effects of the minimum wage on employment from a two-sided theoretical perspective, in which firms' job offer and workers' job acceptance decisions are disentangled. Minimum wages reduce job offer incentives and increase job acceptance incentives. We show that...

As China implements reforms under the “new normal,” maintaining stability in the labor market is a priority. The country's demography and labor dynamics are changing, after benefitting in past decades from ample cheap labor. So far, the labor market appears to be resilient, even as growth...

Labor markets in the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) are characterized by some of the highest unemployment and low employment rates in Europe. We analyze the poor labor market outcomes in these countries by comparison with the...

The US economy has endured an exceptionally severe recession caused by the measures put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. This occasional paper assesses the impact of this crisis on key labour market variables, such as (un-) employment, wages and productivity, and highlights the...

Job creation has lowered unemployment, but the Belgian labour market still faces many challenges. Employment rates remain low, reflecting barriers to finding a job such as low levels of skills and weak work incentives. In addition, the changing nature of work will require faster adaptation of...

The process of economic globalisation and liberalisation during the last two decades has reshaped the labour norms in India. As a result, the share of the informal workers in total employment has increased tremendously. During this period, a significant part of the incremental employment is...