This paper studies the impact of an increase in the enforcement of labor regulations on unemployment and inequality, using city level data from Brazil. We find that stricter enforcement (affecting the payment of mandated benefits to formal workers) leads to: higher unemployment, less income...

In this paper, we present evidence on how employers perceive labor regulations and react when these are perceived to constrain the operation of their firm. The paper draws from harmonized surveys of (up to) 17,000 firms around the world, and compares employers' responses with actual labor...

Over the past decade, the share of jobs not controlled by the state has increased considerably, whilst employment in agriculture has declined, against the backdrop of ongoing urbanisation. Over 200 million people have been drawn into urban areas through official or unofficial migration, despite...

Many governments extend the coverage of collective agreements to workers and employ- ers that were not involved in their bargaining. These extensions may address coordination issues but may also distort competition by imposing sector-specific minimum wages and other work conditions that are not...

Licensed workers could be shielded from unemployment during recession since occupational licensing laws are asymmetric--making unlicensed workers an illegal substitute for licensed workers but not the reverse. We test our hypothesis using a difference-in-differences event study research design...

Wide agreement over the need to reform the personal scope of the application of labour law has emerged at a national and supranational level. Great ideas are only the beginning of any law reform process, however. As labour law scholars we often act as if change is driven by ideas, even as we...

This article explores a series of Supreme Court decisions making it more difficult for disabled individuals to assert rights under the employment discrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court first held that ADA claimants must have their disabilities considered in...

In this paper, we present evidence on how employers perceive labor regulations and react when these are perceived to constrain the operation of their firm. The paper draws from harmonized surveys of (up to) 17,000 firms around the world and compares employers' responses with actual labor...

I study the effects of state-level differences in labor regulation on labor market outcomes of women in India. Using a representative sample of urban households from 2005, I find that labor regulation has a large negative effect on women’s economic activity, mainly employment. My estimates...

Temporary agency employment has grown steadily in most European countries over the past three decades as part of the general trend towards increased employment flexibility. Yet to this day, it remains an open question what drives the demand for temporary agency workers. The paper examines,...