We live in an age of economic paradox. The dynamism of America's economy is astounding--the country's industries are the most productive in the world and spin off new products and ideas at a bewildering pace. Yet Americans feel deeply uneasy about their economic future. The reason, Paul Osterman...

This chapter, prepared for the Handbook of Labor Economics, presents a comprehensive overview of how labor economists understand job search among the unemployed and how job search is shaped by unemployment insurance (UI) and active labor market policies (ALMP). It focuses on synthesizing key...

This book examines unemployment insurance policy through a survey, taking stock of the theoretical work in the field of labor economics. It closely follows and assesses developments in the modelling of optimal unemployment insurance (UI) policies, beginning with the initial analytical findings...

Severance pay, a program that provides compensation to workers on termination of employment, is the most widely used income protection program for the unemployed-yet it is often blamed for creating economic inefficiencies such as reducing employment and limiting access to jobs for disadvantaged...

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Conceptual Issues -- Objectives of Income Support Programs for the Unemployed -- Accounting for Interactions among Social Risk Management Mechanisms -- Establishing Evaluation Criteria -- Why Should the Public Sector...

Intro -- Contents -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Welfare State and the Unwaged: Past, Present and Future -- 3 Globalisation, Welfare and Labour -- 4 The Role of the European Union -- 5 Benefi ts Enforcing Work -- 6 Flexploitation and the Unemployed -- 7 Labour Market Deregulation: Debates and...