Sixteen years into the transition, the problem of high joblessness has not been solved. Of the three explanations commonly discussed (i.e. ongoing reallocation; finished reallocation with redundant labour; wrong choice of institutional framework), we concentrated on the ongoing reallocation...

This paper studies patterns of gross job creation and destruction in Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania. To this end a unique data set of more than 1600 Bulgarian, 350 Estonian and 3700 Romanian firms in various sectors and located in various regions is used. We find that gross job destruction...

Market work per person of working age differs widely across the OECD countries and there have been some significant changes in the last forty years. How to explain this pattern? Taxes are part of the story but much remains to be explained. The story favoured by <link rid="b1">Alesina "et al." (2005) </link> is that...

It is often argued that countries with more flexible labor markets are better placed in attracting inward investment from multinational firms (MNEs). This is an issue when there is uncertainty in the marketplace and the firm faces some risk of closure of its branch plant. We study the MNE's...

There has been a remarkable increase in wage inequality in the US, UK and many other countries over the past three decades. A significant part of this appears to be within observable groups (such as age-gender-skill cells). A generally untested implication of many theories rationalizing the...

Inactivity rates among prime-age men in the UK have risen by at least five times since the early 1970s whereas unemployment rates are much the same. Furthermore, inactivity is strongly concentrated among the unskilled and those suffering from a limiting long-term illness or disability. In our...

There has been a remarkable increase in wage inequality in the US, UK and many other countries over the past three decades. A significant part of this appears to be within observable groups (such as age-gender-skill cells). A generally untested implication of many theories rationalizing the...