IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/nbr/nberch/11253.html
   My bibliography  Save this book chapter

Evaluating the Connection between Social Protection and Economic Flexibility

In: Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off?

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca M. Blank
  • Richard B. Freeman

Abstract

Over the last 10 years, a variety of analysts have blamed high unemployment and stagnant economic growth in Europe on inflexible labor markets and pointed to the US as a more flexible economy, due to its less regulated labor markets and less generous social protection programs. This paper reviews that debate, critiques the arguments about the relationship between social protection programs and labor market adjustment, and reviews the research literature on this topic. In general, we conclude that much less is known about the aggregate effects of social protection programs on the economy than is generally claimed. Within the very limited existing research, there is little evidence of a significant trade-off between social programs and labor market adjustment, although there is also not much evidence to support those who claim that social protection promotes economic growth. The paper ends by suggesting future research directions.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca M. Blank & Richard B. Freeman, 1994. "Evaluating the Connection between Social Protection and Economic Flexibility," NBER Chapters, in: Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off?, pages 21-42, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:11253
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11253.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moffitt, Robert, 1992. "Incentive Effects of the U.S. Welfare System: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 1-61, March.
    2. Katharine G. Abraham & Susan N. Houseman, 1993. "Job Security in America: Lessons from Germany," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number kagsnh1993.
    3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 1995. "The Wage Curve," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026202375x, December.
    4. Steven J. Davis, 1992. "Cross-Country Patterns of Change in Relative Wages," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1992, Volume 7, pages 239-300, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Edward P. Lazear, 1990. "Job Security Provisions and Employment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(3), pages 699-726.
    6. Gottschalk, Peter, 1996. "Is the correlation in welfare participation across generations spurious?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Katz, Lawrence F. & Meyer, Bruce D., 1990. "The impact of the potential duration of unemployment benefits on the duration of unemployment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 45-72, February.
    8. Atkinson, Anthony B & Micklewright, John, 1991. "Unemployment Compensation and Labor Market Transitions: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 1679-1727, December.
    9. Hansen, Gary D & Imrohoroglu, Ayse, 1992. "The Role of Unemployment Insurance in an Economy with Liquidity Constraints and Moral Hazard," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(1), pages 118-142, February.
    10. Freeman, Richard B, 1988. "Evaluating the European View that the United States Has No Unemployment Problem," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 294-299, May.
    11. Peter Kemper & David A. Long & Craig Thornton, 1984. "A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Supported Work Experiment," Mathematica Policy Research Reports e8742cc76cf54d9b961d6b088, Mathematica Policy Research.
    12. W. Steven Barnett, 1992. "Benefits of Compensatory Preschool Education," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(2), pages 279-312.
    13. Robert H. Haveman & Barbara L. Wolfe, 1984. "Schooling and Economic Well-Being: The Role of Nonmarket Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 19(3), pages 377-407.
    14. repec:bla:scandj:v:92:y:1990:i:2:p:279-305 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Susan N. Houseman, 1991. "Industrial Restructuring with Job Security: The Case of European Steel," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number snh1991.
    16. Lawrence F. Katz & Gary W. Loveman & David G. Blanchflower, 1993. "A Comparison of Changes in the Structure of Wages," NBER Working Papers 4297, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Michael Bruno & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1985. "Economics of Worldwide Stagflation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number brun85-1, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agell, J., 2000. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent-sharing vs. Social Insurance," Papers 2000:16, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    2. Olivier Davanne & Thierry Pujol, 1996. "Assurance et échanges de risque sur le marché du travail," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 291(1), pages 151-169.
    3. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "Globalization and Political Trust," Papers 285, World Trade Institute.
    4. Jonas Agell, 2001. "Warum haben wir rigide Arbeitsmärkte? Rent‐seeking versus Soziale Sicherung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 2(4), pages 363-381, November.
    5. Sanders Korenman & David Neumark, 2000. "Cohort Crowding and Youth Labor Markets (A Cross-National Analysis)," NBER Chapters, in: Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries, pages 57-106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Vodopivec, Milan & Raju, Dhushyanth, 2002. "Income support systems for the unemployed : issues and options," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 25529, The World Bank.
    7. Siv Gustafsson & Eiko Kenjoh & Cecile Wetzels, 2001. "Employment Choices and Pay Differences between Non-Standard and Standard Work in Britain, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-086/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Bart COCKX, 2000. "The design of active labour market policies: Building in effective incentives," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 139(4), pages 457-480, December.
    9. Axel Dreher & Noel Gaston, 2008. "Has Globalization Increased Inequality?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 516-536, August.
    10. Alois Guger & Thomas Leoni, 2006. "Teilstudie 15: Arbeitsmarktflexibilität und soziale Absicherung," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 27454.
    11. Agell Jonas, 2002. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent Seeking vs. Social Insurance," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 107-135, May.
    12. Abiodun O. Folawewo, 2016. "Institutions, regulatory framework and labour market outcomes in Nigeria," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 18(1), pages 67-84, October.
    13. Adeola F. Adenikinju & Olugboyega Oyeranti, 1999. "Characteristics and Behaviour of African Factor Markets and Market Institutions and Their Consequences for Economic Growth," CID Working Papers 31A, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    14. Cockx, Bart, 1999. "The Design of Active Labour Market Policies. What Matters and What Doesn't ?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1999035, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    15. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy," Papers 306, World Trade Institute.
    16. Alfonso Arpaia & Gilles Mourre, 2012. "Institutions And Performance In European Labour Markets: Taking A Fresh Look At Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-41, February.
    17. David R. Howell & Margaret Duncan & Bennett Harrison, 1998. "Low Wages in the US and High Unemployment in Europe: A Critical Assessment of the Conventional Wisdom," SCEPA working paper series. 1998-01, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School, revised Aug 1998.
    18. Mares, Isabela, 1996. "Firms and the welfare state: the emergence of new forms of unemployment," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economic Change and Employment FS I 96-308, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    19. Aino Salomäki & Teresa Munzi, 1999. "Net Replacement Rates of the Unemployed. Comparison of various approaches," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 133, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    20. Jeff Borland, 1994. "An Assessment of the Green Paper," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 27(1), pages 11-14, January.
    21. Schettkat, Ronald, 2002. "Institutions in the economic fitness landscape: What impact do welfare state institutions have on economic performance?," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment FS I 02-210, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    22. Muhammad Tariq Majeed & Shamsa Kanwal, 2019. "The Global Integration and Transmission of Social Values: A Case of Family Ties," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 703-729, January.
    23. George C. Bitros & Kyprianos Prodromidis, 2004. "Welfare benefits and the rate of unemployment: some evidence from the European Union in the last thirty years," Macroeconomics 0410004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Noel Gaston & Gulasekaran Rajaguru, 2004. "The Rise (and Fall) of Labour Market Programmes: The Role of Global and Domestic Factors," ISER Discussion Paper 0615, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    25. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy: Extended Version," MPRA Paper 37816, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jørgen Elmeskov, 1993. "High and Persistent Unemployment: Assessment of the Problem and Its Causes," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 132, OECD Publishing.
    2. Milan Vodopivec, 2004. "Income Support for the Unemployed : Issues and Options," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14922.
    3. Horst Siebert, 1997. "Labor Market Rigidities: At the Root of Unemployment in Europe," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 37-54, Summer.
    4. Vodopivec, Milan & Raju, Dhushyanth, 2002. "Income support systems for the unemployed : issues and options," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 25529, The World Bank.
    5. Gangl, Markus, 2002. "Welfare state stabilization of employment careers: Unenployement benefits and job histories in the United States and West Germany," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment FS I 02-207, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. David Card & Richard B. Freeman, 2004. "What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered?," NBER Chapters, in: Seeking a Premier Economy: The Economic Effects of British Economic Reforms, 1980–2000, pages 9-62, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Konstantinos Tatsiramos & Jan C. Ours, 2014. "Labor Market Effects Of Unemployment Insurance Design," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 284-311, April.
    8. Schettkat, Ronald, 2002. "Institutions in the economic fitness landscape: What impact do welfare state institutions have on economic performance?," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment FS I 02-210, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    9. Åsa Rosén & Etienne Wasmer, 2005. "Higher Education Levels, Firms’ Outside Options and the Wage Structure," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(4), pages 621-654, December.
    10. Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert, 2005. "The consequences of labor market flexibility: Panel evidence based on survey data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(5), pages 1225-1259, July.
    11. Acemoglu, Daron & Shimer, Robert, 2000. "Productivity gains from unemployment insurance," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1195-1224, June.
    12. Siebert, Horst, 1997. "Labor market rigidities and unemployment in Europe," Kiel Working Papers 787, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    13. Mares, Isabela, 1996. "Firms and the welfare state: the emergence of new forms of unemployment," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economic Change and Employment FS I 96-308, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Robert Shimer, 1999. "Efficient Unemployment Insurance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(5), pages 893-928, October.
    15. Parsons, Donald O., 2014. "Job Displacement Insurance: An Overview," IZA Discussion Papers 8223, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Patricia M. Anderson & Bruce D. Meyer, 1994. "Unemployment Insurance Benefits and Takeup Rates," NBER Working Papers 4787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Floro Ernesto Caroleo, 2000. "Le politiche per l'occupazione in Europa: una tassonomia istituzionale," STUDI ECONOMICI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2000(71).
    18. Jan Boone & Jan Ours, 2012. "Why is There a Spike in the Job Finding Rate at Benefit Exhaustion?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 413-438, December.
    19. Stephen Nickell, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer.
    20. Fortin, Bernard, 1997. "Dépendance à l’égard de l’aide sociale et réforme de la sécurité du revenu," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 73(4), pages 557-573, décembre.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:11253. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.