IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/sep/wpaper/3_239.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Active and passive labour-market policies: the outlook from the Beveridge curve

Author

Listed:
  • Sergio Destefanis

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno)

  • Matteo Fragetta

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno)

  • Nazzareno Ruggiero

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno)

Abstract

We appraise the impact of various indicators of active and passive labour-market policies within the framework of the Beveridge curve across 14 OECD countries from 1985 to 2013, controlling for a wide spectrum of other factors, both institutional (tax wedge, employment protection legislation) and structural (technological progress, globalisation). We embed the role of all these variables within the specification of the Beveridge curve, avoiding the potential pitfalls of two-step approaches. We find that the generosity of unemployment benefits has a detrimental impact on labour-market matching, with the duration of benefits taking a key role in driving this result. Among active labour-market policies, employment incentives and especially training have a favourable effect on matching. There is also some evidence of a virtuous interaction between active and passive policies. A significantly detrimental role emerges for the tax wedge. These results are consistent across various specifications, and structural relationships are stable throughout the 2008–2013 period.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergio Destefanis & Matteo Fragetta & Nazzareno Ruggiero, 2020. "Active and passive labour-market policies: the outlook from the Beveridge curve," Working Papers 3_239, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno, revised Jun 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:sep:wpaper:3_239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.dises.unisa.it/RePEc/sep/wpaper/3_239.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2020
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diamond, Peter A. & Şahin, Ayşegül, 2015. "Shifts in the Beveridge curve," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 18-25.
    2. Alfonso Arpaia & Aron Kiss & Alessandro Turrini, 2014. "Is unemployment structural or cyclical? Main features of job matching in the EU after the crisis," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 527, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. Pesaran, M Hashem & Smith, Richard J, 1994. "A Generalized R[superscript]2 Criterion for Regression Models Estimated by the Instrumental Variables Method," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(3), pages 705-710, May.
    4. David Card & Jochen Kluve & Andrea Weber, 2010. "Active Labour Market Policy Evaluations: A Meta-Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 452-477, November.
    5. Elva BOVA & João TOVAR JALLES & Christina KOLERUS, 2018. "Shifting the Beveridge curve: What affects labour market matching?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(2), pages 267-306, June.
    6. William T. Dickens & Robert K. Triest, 2012. "Potential effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. labor market," Working Papers 12-9, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    7. Nickell, Stephen & Layard, Richard, 1999. "Labor market institutions and economic performance," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 46, pages 3029-3084, Elsevier.
    8. Bart Hobijn & Aysegul Sahin, 2013. "Beveridge Curve Shifts across Countries since the Great Recession," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 61(4), pages 566-600, December.
    9. Lei Lei Song & Elizabeth Webster, 2003. "How Segmented are Skilled and Unskilled Labour Markets: the Case of Beveridge Curves," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 332-345, September.
    10. Kluve, Jochen, 2010. "The effectiveness of European active labor market programs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 904-918, December.
    11. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Technological change and employment: is Europe ready for the challenge?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(1), pages 13-32, March.
    12. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    13. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 1994. "Growth and Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 61(3), pages 477-494.
    14. Alessia Campolmi & Ester Faia & Roland Winkler, 2011. "Fiscal Calculus in a New Keynesian Model with Labor Market Frictions," MNB Working Papers 2011/5, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary).
    15. Sergio Destefanis & Matteo Fragetta & Giuseppe Mastromatteo & Nazzareno Ruggiero, 2020. "The Beveridge curve in the OECD before and after the great recession," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 411-436, September.
    16. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    17. Pignatti Clemente & Van Belle Eva, 2021. "Better together: Active and passive labor market policies in developed and developing economies," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, January.
    18. Laura Bisio & Filippo Moauro, 2018. "Temporal disaggregation by dynamic regressions: Recent developments in Italian quarterly national accounts," Statistica Neerlandica, Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research, vol. 72(4), pages 471-494, November.
    19. José María ARRANZ & Carlos GARCÍA SERRANO & Virginia HERNANZ, 2013. "Active labour market policies in Spain: A macroeconomic evaluation," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(2), pages 327-348, June.
    20. Michael W. L. Elsby & Bart Hobijn & Ayşegül Şahin, 2013. "Unemployment Dynamics in the OECD," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 530-548, May.
    21. Vanhala, Juuso & Bonthuis, Boele & Jarvis, Valerie, 2013. "What’s going on behind the euro area Beveridge curve(s)?," Working Paper Series 1586, European Central Bank.
    22. Axel Dreher, 2006. "Does globalization affect growth? Evidence from a new index of globalization," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(10), pages 1091-1110.
    23. Van Roy, Vincent & Vértesy, Dániel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "Technology and employment: Mass unemployment or job creation? Empirical evidence from European patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1762-1776.
    24. Michel Dumont & Glenn Rayp & Olivier Thas & Peter Willemé, 2005. "Correcting Standard Errors in Two‐stage Estimation Procedures with Generated Regressands," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(3), pages 421-433, June.
    25. Horst Entorf, 2003. "Do Aggregate Measures Of Mismatch Measure Mismatch?A Time Series Analysis Of Existing Concepts," Labor and Demography 0312006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    26. Richard Jackman & Christopher A. Pissarides & S Savouri, 1990. "Labour Market Policies and Unemployment in the OECD," CEP Discussion Papers dp0011, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    27. Goulas, Eleftherios & Zervoyianni, Athina, 2018. "Active labour-market policies and output growth: Is there a causal relationship?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-14.
    28. Campolmi Alessia & Faia Ester & Winkler Roland, 2011. "Fiscal Calculus and the Labor Market," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, December.
    29. Nickell, Stephen & Bell, Brian, 1995. "The Collapse in Demand for the Unskilled and Unemployment across the OECD," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 40-62, Spring.
    30. Peter Schmidt, 2011. "One-step and two-step estimation in SFA models," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 201-203, October.
    31. Sergio Destefanis & Giuseppe Mastromatteo, 2015. "The OECD Beveridge Curve: technological progress, globalisation and institutional factors," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(1), pages 151-172, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Sergio Destefanis & Matteo Fragetta & Giuseppe Mastromatteo & Nazzareno Ruggiero, 2020. "The Beveridge curve in the OECD before and after the great recession," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 411-436, September.
    2. Sergio Destefanis & Giuseppe Mastromatteo, 2015. "The OECD Beveridge Curve: technological progress, globalisation and institutional factors," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(1), pages 151-172, June.
    3. Miyamoto Hiroaki & Suphaphiphat Nujin, 2021. "Mitigating Long-term Unemployment in Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, May.
    4. Rüdiger Wapler & Daniel Werner & Katja Wolf, 2018. "Active labour market policies in Germany: do regional labour markets benefit?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(51), pages 5561-5578, November.
    5. Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos & Voucharas, Georgios, 2023. "Firm Closures and Labor Market Policies in Europe: Evidence from Retrospective Longitudinal Data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1288, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Elva BOVA & João TOVAR JALLES & Christina KOLERUS, 2018. "Shifting the Beveridge curve: What affects labour market matching?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(2), pages 267-306, June.
    7. Hugo Erken & Eric van Loon & Wouter Verbeek, 2015. "Mismatch on the Dutch labour market in the Great Recession," CPB Discussion Paper 303.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Hugo Erken & Eric van Loon & Wouter Verbeek, 2015. "Mismatch on the Dutch labour market in the Great Recession," CPB Discussion Paper 303, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    9. Sergio Destefanis & Giuseppe Mastromatteo, 2015. "The Beveridge Curve in the OECD Before and After the Crisis," Discussion Papers 4_2015, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    10. Carlo Altavilla & Floro E. Caroleo, 2006. "Evaluating the Dynamic Effects of Active Labour Policies in Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 20(2), pages 349-382, June.
    11. Ayhan, Fatih & Elal, Onuray, 2023. "The IMPACTS of technological change on employment: Evidence from OECD countries with panel data analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    12. Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian & Nordmeier, Daniela, 2016. "Revisiting the matching function," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 350-374.
    13. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2020. "Trade Openness and Diversification of External Financial Flows for Development: An Empirical Analysis," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 9(1), pages 22-57, June.
    14. Mohl, Philipp & Hagen, Tobias, 2011. "Do EU structural funds promote regional employment? Evidence from dynamic panel data models," Working Paper Series 1403, European Central Bank.
    15. Anna Batyra & David de la Croix & Olivier Pierrard & Henri Sneessens, 2016. "Structural changes in the labor market and the rise of early retirement in Europe," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2016022, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    16. Bart Hobijn & Aysegul Sahin, 2013. "Beveridge Curve Shifts across Countries since the Great Recession," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 61(4), pages 566-600, December.
    17. Antonia Asenjo & Verónica Escudero & Hannah Liepmann, 2024. "Why Should we Integrate Income and Employment Support? A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(1), pages 1-29, January.
    18. Luigi Aldieri & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2018. "Green Economy and Sustainable Development: The Economic Impact of Innovation on Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-11, October.
    19. Dosi, G. & Piva, M. & Virgillito, M.E. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "Embodied and disembodied technological change: The sectoral patterns of job-creation and job-destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    20. Gabriele Pellegrino & Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2019. "Beyond R&D: the role of embodied technological change in affecting employment," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 1151-1171, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unemployment; vacancies; training; unemployment benefits;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • F60 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - 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:sep:wpaper:3_239. 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: Maria Rizzo (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dssalit.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.