Active labor market programs continue to receive high priority in wealthy countries despite the fact that the benefits appear small relative to the costs. This apparent discrepancy suggests that the programs may have a broader purpose than simply increasing employment - for instance, preventing...

This is a study of the link between taxes and youth self-employment, using a Swedish reform implemented in 2007–09 which suddenly made the payroll tax and the self-employment tax vary by age. The results suggest that youth self-employment is insensitive to tax reductions, both in the short run...

In Belgium school-leavers are entitled to unemployment benefits after a waiting period and eligible to intensified counselling and training in the Youth Work Plan (YWP) if a job is not found within three months. The length of the waiting period and eligibility to the YWP are sharply determined...

In Belgium school-leavers are entitled to unemployment benefits after a waiting period and eligible to intensified counselling and training in the Youth Work Plan (YWP) if a job is not found within three months. The length of the waiting period and eligibility to the YWP are sharply determined...

As with many other addictions and risk behaviours, smoking initiation is an early affair: most who adopt it at all do so early on during adolescence, rarely beyond their mid-20s. It is known that the cumulative health and mortality effects of smoking take a long time to unfold (Gajalakshmi et...