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The European unemployment dilemma

Author

Listed:
  • Lars Ljungqvist
  • Thomas J. Sargent

Abstract

Post World War II European welfare states experienced several decades of relatively low unemployment, followed by a plague of persistently high unemployment since the 1980s. We impute the higher unemployment to welfare states' diminished ability to cope with more turbulent economic times, such as the ongoing restructuring from manufacturing to the service industry, adoption of new information technologies and a rapidly changing international economy. We use a general equilibrium search model where workers accumulate skills on the job and lose skills during unemployment.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas J. Sargent, 1995. "The European unemployment dilemma," Working Paper Series, Macroeconomic Issues 95-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhma:95-17
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unemployment - Europe;

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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