There is considerable debate on the methods used to compute composite indicators of well-being. The fact that most of the weights of the principal subcomponents of the composite indicators are equal and that the determinants of well-being are, to a certain extent, connected, makes the use of...

This paper explores whether socio-economic convergence occurs in the EU, at both national and regional level. Using data for NUTS 2 regions for disposable income, unemployment rates, incidence of households with low work intensity, and internal migration, we calculate coefficients of variations...

This paper questions whether the theoretical assumption that unemployment rates are not significantly affected by movements in labor force holds true for Romania. Using quarterly labor force data, we explore the time-series properties of the two variables. We find that unemployment rates and...

This paper attempts to come up with a classification of countries that participated in a survey based on the labour-related values prevalent in their societies. Using data from the World Values Survey, wave 4, an attempt is made to create country clusters based on four classes of values that are...

The paper attempts to determine regional unemployment rates for NUTS 2 regions based on data available on a regular basis from Eurostat and ILO. In the first part it is shown how the evolution of regional unemployment rates is determined by national unemployment rates by industry and the...

This paper analyzes the main determinants of structural unemployment. A discussion of the relative importance of structural unemployment in total unemployment is done using NAIRU estimates for a panel of OECD countries. Then, NAIRU estimates are regressed on economic, institutional and labour...

The paper attempts to do a comprehensive analysis on how spending patterns were affected by the most severe economic crisis since the oil shocks in the 70's. We have attempted to see which services have been significantly affected by the crisis, and whether social spending has risen and managed...

A desired characteristic of composite indicators is sensitivity to major adverse events. This paper explores how major civil wars and the 2004 tsunami have influenced Human Development Index (HDI) and Environmental Performance Index (EPI) index values of the affected countries, respectively. The...

The share of foreign-born workers in the U.S. information technology (IT) industry is much higher than their share of the labor force. In fact, foreign-born workers hold more than half the creative IT jobs located in metropolitan areas where IT innovation clusters are located. Nevertheless,...