This paper contributes to the literature that highlights the role of trading partners' institutions for a country's unemployment rate. The objective is to study whether the results established in the minimum wage setting of Davis (1998) hold when unemployment is driven by search frictions. This...

This paper studies how cross-country differences in labor market institutions shape the pattern of international trade, focusing on workers' skill acquisition. I develop a model in which workers undertake non-contractible activities to acquire firm-specific skills on the job. In the model,...

This paper investigates the effects of different labor market structures on the level of unemployment. A theoretical interpretation of an open economy version of the Calmfors and Driffill framework with traded good sector and sheltered non traded good sector is presented, in which different...

Trade liberalization is often met with sharp opposition. Recent examples include the so-called "Bolkestein" directive, which allows service providers from a given EU member to temporarily work in another member country. One way to view such a reform is that it simply widens the range of goods...

This paper focuses on the links between labor market institutions and offshoring, with specific reference to the role of codetermination in shaping the international operations of German firms. We use case studies to illustrate how works councils deal with three important aspects of offshoring...

The paper extends the literature on the political economy of labor market institutions by developing a framework in which owners of capital can benefit from both greater labor market flexibility and better rule of law. Their choice of location of manufacturing centres can, therefore, by...