European Cohesion Policy and Evaluating the Impact of Evidence-Based Policy

In the 2014–2020 programming period, the cohesion policy focuses more on results and evaluation of programs based on facts. Due to the Commission policies, an expansion of cohesion policy counterfactual impact evaluation of programmes with new approaches can be expected in the future. In this paper, the focus is on the calculation of the impact of received European cohesion funds on the revenue of companies in Slovenian municipalities one/two years after the receipt of cohesion funds for the 2007–2013 period. Two development priorities that affect company revenue – Enterprise competitiveness and research excellence and Promoting entrepreneurship and adaptability are considered. The effect of the use of the European cohesion funds on company revenue in Slovenian municipalities is positive for 2009 and 2010 and negative for all other years examined. The results of the research can serve to policy-makers to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities in less developed European countries and regions therefore reaching balanced regional development

Exploring Underlying Dimensions of Unemployment Benefits in Slovenia and Enterprise-Level Implications

This paper aims to define the underlying dimensions of unemployment benefits in Slovenia using the principal component approach. We identified three determinants of unemployment benefits: the general economic environment, social protection, and the functioning of the labour market. Results of the research show that the poorer the general economic environment, the greater the pressure on unemployment benefits. Second, the more generous the social protection on the labour market is, the higher the pressure on unemployment benefits. Third, poor functioning of the labour market increases the pressure on unemployment benefits, although the last effect was found not to be statistically significant

Paradoks slovenskega trga dela: fleksibilnost ob hkratni zaščiti delavcev

The aim of this paper is to assess the strictness of employment protection legislation and its actual enforcement in particular transition countries with special knowledge to Slovenia. For transition countries the calculated employment protection legislation index is close to the average of EU15, where law legislation is well aligned with EU regulations. The most regulated are regular forms of employment and the least regulated are temporary forms of employment. Evident problem is the actual enforcement of law legislation by which flexibility is increased.Namen tega dela je oceniti togost zaščitne delovne zakonodaje in upoštevanje delovne zakonodaje v praksi v nekaterih izbranih tranzicijskih državah, s poudarkom na Sloveniji. Izračunani indeks varovanja zaposlitve je za opazovane tranzicijske države blizu povprečja za EU15, pri čemer je delovna zakonodaja v teh državah usklajena z evropskimi predpisi. Najbolj so regulirane redne oblike zaposlitve, najmanj pa začasne oblike zaposlitve. Problem predstavljajo kršitve delovne zakonodaje v praksi, s čimer pa se fleksibilnost še povečuje

Sodobna zaposlitvena razmerja

Modern working arrangements are often connected with the phenomena of atypical employment, which has become a central issue for labour market policy in the EU. On the one hand, it is interpreted as a positive development, in the sense that it indicates greater labour market flexibility. On the other hand, it is a matter of growing concern for policymakers as it reflects further weakening of the labour market position of groups of workers whose position is already weak.This article focuses on the two major forms of atypical employment that is part-time and temporary employment. In our empirical analysis we try to answer whether is there convergence or divergence between the EU member states in the prevalence of atypical employment in the various occupational groupsSodobna zaposlitvena razmerja se pogosto povezujejo s pojavom atipičnih oblik zaposlitve, ki je postal osrednja tema politike trga dela v EU. Na eni strani lahko ta pojav razumemo kot pozitiven razvoj, saj označuje večjo fleksibilnost trga dela. Na drugi strani pa je ta pojav skrb vzbujajoč za nosilce ekonomske politike, saj se na ta način poslabšuje položaj določenih skupin delavcev, katerih položaj na trgu dela je tako ali tako že slab. V članku se osredotočamo na dve glavni obliki atipičnih zaposlitev, in sicer zaposlitev s krajšim delovnim časom ter začasna zaposlitev. V naši empirični analizi poskušamo odgovoriti na vprašanje, ali prihaja do konvergence ali divergence atipičnih oblik zaposlitve v različnih poklicnih skupinah in med državami članicam

The Effects of Expenditures for Labour Market Policy on Unemployment Rate

Background: Labour market policy aims to fight against unemployment and to raise employment. With this study we attempt to contribute to the evidence of the effectiveness of active labour market policy. Objectives: In the empirical part of the paper we aim to research the relations between the labour market policies and macroeconomic variables. Methods/Approach: In order to distinguish the effects of expenditures for labour market policies on unemployment rate, we separately analysed the effects of expenditures for active labour market policies and the effects of expenditures for passive labour market policies on unemployment rate using panel regression analysis. Results: The expenditures for active labour market policies have negative and statistically significant effect on unemployment rate, whereas the expenditures for passive labour market policies have positive and statistically significant effect on unemployment rate. Conclusions: Not only the activation strategies with benefit conditioning, but also encouraging and enabling unemployed person to actively approach in searching for a job should be implemented. The implementation of activation strategies which create favourable conditions for unemployed people to develop their skills, fulfil their potential, continuously maintain contacts with the employers and actively participate in the society should be supported

The relationship between tourism and employment: evidence from the Alps-Adriatic country

Overlooking the importance of non-stationarity and normally distributed models in previous studies, this paper aims to fill the gap in literature based on time series between 2000 and 2019 for an Alps Adriatic country on tourism-led employment. Before implementing the Granger Causality Test, the vector autoregressive model is applied. The results confirmed that tourist arrivals significantly impact the hospitality labour market in Slovenia as employment in the lodging industry was driven in bi-causal directions to overall tourist arrivals. The demonstrated validity of substantial tourism-led employment has implications for job creation and economic growth, focusing on domestic tourists

Innovation and wages constrained with budgetary deficit and unemployment in the European Union countries

This paper aims to research the driving forces of wages across the countries of the European Union (EU-28) during the period 2006-2018. We apply structural equation modelling to analyse relationships between observed variables and latent variables, focusing on factors explaining wages. Based on the literature review, we hypothesized that innovation, budgetary deficit and the rate of unemployment predict wages across EU-28 countries. Our results suggest that innovation is a significant factor in explaining wages. The budgetary deficit has a significant negative impact on wages, while the effect of rate of unemployment is insignificant. The findings of our research underline the importance of policies that accelerate the growth in labour productivity, particularly those which boost innovation and ensure macroeconomic stability, efficient markets, and an adaptable and skilled workforce

Contributions of small and medium enterprises to employment in the European Union countries

The main aim of the research is to investigate whether small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employment affects total European Union (EU-28) employment using panel data models during the 2005–2016 period. The panel econometric results con- firm the significant association between SMEs employment in ser- vice sectors and overall economy employment, whereas the effect of SMEs industry sectors employment was found insignificant. The results are robust in a spite of the fact that during the studied period the EU-28 countries experienced economic crisis suggest- ing the important role that SMEs can play in job creation and in reduction of unemployment even when macro-economic enabling environment might be less favourable