IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_3558.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment. An International Comparison

Author

Listed:
  • Gebhard Flaig
  • Horst Rottmann

Abstract

This paper deals with the effects of labour market institutions on unemployment in a panel of 19 OECD countries for the period 1960 to 2000. In contrast to many other studies, we use long time series and analyze cyclically adjusted trend values of the unemployment rate. Our novel contribution is the estimation of panel models where we allow for heterogeneous effects of institutions on unemployment. Our main results are that on the average a tighter employment protection, a higher tax burden on labour income and a more generous unemployment insurance system increase, whereas a higher centralization of wage negotiations decreases unemployment. The strength of the effects differs considerably between countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Gebhard Flaig & Horst Rottmann, 2011. "Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment. An International Comparison," CESifo Working Paper Series 3558, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3558
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp3558.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rafael Lalive & Jan Van Ours & Josef Zweimuller, 2006. "How Changes in Financial Incentives Affect the Duration of Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(4), pages 1009-1038.
    2. Caballero, Ricardo J. & Cowan, Kevin N. & Engel, Eduardo M.R.A. & Micco, Alejandro, 2013. "Effective labor regulation and microeconomic flexibility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 92-104.
    3. Stephen Nickell, 2003. "Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment in OECD Countries," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 1(02), pages 13-26, October.
    4. Stephen Nickell, 2003. "Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment in OECD Countries," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 1(2), pages 13-26, October.
    5. Robert J. Gordon, 1997. "The Time-Varying NAIRU and Its Implications for Economic Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 11-32, Winter.
    6. Flaig Gebhard & Rottmann Horst, 2009. "Labour Market Institutions and the Employment Intensity of Output Growth," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(1), pages 22-35, February.
    7. Rachel Griffith & Rupert Harrison & Gareth Macartney, 2007. "Product Market Reforms, Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(519), pages 142-166, March.
    8. Bertola, Giuseppe & Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence, 2001. "Comparative Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes: Lessons for the US from International Long-Run Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 3023, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Lawrence Kahn, 2003. "Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment in OECD Countries," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 1(4), pages 25-32, October.
    10. repec:ces:ifodic:v:1:y:2003:i:2:p:14567946 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Pierre Cahuc & Winfried Koeniger, 2007. "Feature: Employment Protection Legislation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(521), pages 185-188, June.
    12. Eichhorst, Werner & Feil, Michael & Braun, Christoph, 2008. "What Have We Learned? Assessing Labor Market Institutions and Indicators," IZA Discussion Papers 3470, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Winfried Koeniger & Julien Prat, 2007. "Employment Protection, Product Market Regulation and Firm Selection," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(521), pages 302-332, June.
    14. 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.
    15. Summers, Lawrence H, 1989. "Some Simple Economics of Mandated Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 177-183, May.
    16. Fitzenberger Bernd & Franz Wolfgang & Bode Oliver, 2008. "The Phillips Curve and NAIRU Revisited: New Estimates for Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 228(5-6), pages 465-496, October.
    17. Pierre Cahuc & André Zylberberg, 2004. "Labor Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026203316x, April.
    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. Oliver Falck & Siegfried Schönherr, 2016. "An Economic Reform Agenda for Croatia: a comprehensive economic reform package prepared for the Croatian Statehood Foundation," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 70, September.
    2. Åsa Johansson, 2016. "Public Finance, Economic Growth and Inequality: A Survey of the Evidence," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1346, OECD Publishing.
    3. Salverda, Wiemer & Checchi, Daniele, 2014. "Labour-Market Institutions and the Dispersion of Wage Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 8220, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Gebhard Flaig & Horst Rottmann, 2013. "Labour market institutions and unemployment: an international panel data analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 635-654, November.
    2. Flaig Gebhard & Rottmann Horst, 2009. "Labour Market Institutions and the Employment Intensity of Output Growth," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(1), pages 22-35, February.
    3. Gebhard Flaig & Horst Rottmann, 2007. "Labour Market Institutions and the Employment Intensity of Output Growth. An International Comparison," CESifo Working Paper Series 2175, CESifo.
    4. Beissinger, Thomas, 2003. "Strukturelle Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa: Eine Bestandsaufnahme," University of Regensburg Working Papers in Business, Economics and Management Information Systems 389, University of Regensburg, Department of Economics.
    5. H Buscher & C Dreger & R Ramos & J Surinach, 2009. "The Impact of Institutions on the Employment Performance in European Labour Markets," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 14(1), pages 17-34, March.
    6. David R. Howell & Miriam Rehm, 2009. "Unemployment compensation and high European unemployment: a reassessment with new benefit indicators," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 25(1), pages 60-93, Spring.
    7. Eichhorst, Werner & Feil, Michael & Braun, Christoph, 2008. "What have we learned? Assessing labor market institutions and indicators," IAB-Discussion Paper 200822, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Beissinger, Thomas, 2003. "Strukturelle Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa : eine Bestandsaufnahme (Structural unemployment in Europe * an inventory)," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(4), pages 411-427.
    9. Karl Aiginger, 2004. "Labour Market Reforms and Economic Growth. The European Experience in the Nineties," WIFO Working Papers 232, WIFO.
    10. Beissinger, Thomas, 2003. "Strukturelle Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa : eine Bestandsaufnahme (Structural unemployment in Europe * an inventory)," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(4), pages 411-427.
    11. Gebhard Flaig & Horst Rottmann, 2005. "Labour Market Institutions and Employment Thresholds. An International Comparison," ifo Working Paper Series No.15, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    12. repec:jns:jbstat:v:227:y:2007:i:3:p:254-272 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Lachenmaier Stefan & Rottmann Horst, 2007. "Employment Effects of Innovation at the Firm Level," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 227(3), pages 254-272, June.
    14. Rottmann, Horst & Flaig, Gebhard, 2009. "Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen und die langfristige Entwicklung der Arbeitslosigkeit: Empirische Ergebnisse für 19 OECD-Länder," Weidener Diskussionspapiere 17, University of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weiden (OTH).
    15. David Neumark & William Wascher, 2004. "The Influence of Labour Market Institutions on the Disemployment Effects of the Minimum Wage," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(2), pages 40-47, 07.
    16. Mr. Helge Berger & Mr. Stephan Danninger, 2005. "Labor and Product Market Deregulation: Partial, Sequential, or Simultaneous Reform?," IMF Working Papers 2005/227, International Monetary Fund.
    17. Karl Aiginger, 2005. "Labour market reforms and economic growth – the European experience in the 1990s," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 32(6), pages 540-573, October.
    18. Giulia Faggio & Stephen Nickell, 2007. "Patterns of Work Across the OECD," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(521), pages 416-440, June.
    19. Helge Berger & Stephan Danninger, 2007. "The Employment Effects of Labor and Product Market Deregulation and Their Implications for Structural Reform," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 54(3), pages 591-619, July.
    20. Enrico Saltari & Giuseppe Travaglini, 2007. "Sources of Productivity Slowdown in European Countries During 1990s," Discussion Papers 07/24, Department of Economics, University of York.
    21. Gebhard Flaig & Horst Rottmann, 2004. "Erhöht der Kündigungsschutz die Beschäftigungsschwelle?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 57(17), pages 13-17, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment protection; labour market institutions; unemployment; international comparison;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - 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:ces:ceswps:_3558. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.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.