Cambios estructurales y discriminación de la productividad laboral en la zona del euro

El bajo crecimiento de la productividad ha estado presente en la zona del euro desde mediados de la década de los noventa. Esto es particularmente llamativo al contractual con las importantes ganancias en productividad observadas en los Estados Unidos durante el mismo período. En el presente trabajo se muestra que la desaceleración de la productividad laboral en la zona del euro fue causada por cambios estructurales en la formación de salarios, que afectaron el precio relativo del trabajo, incrementaron la intensidad del trabajo en el crecimiento y redujeron la profundización del capital. Los choques tecnológicos jugaron un papel menor explorando esta desaceleración. Este puede ser un efecto económico general que puede estar presente en otros países que han tratado de reducción sus tasas de desempleo. Los cambios tecnológicos desempeñaron un papel menor en la explicación de dicha desaceleración.Slow productivity growth has plagued the euro area since the mid-1990s. That is particularly striking in view of the large productivity gains in the United States during the same period. This paper shows that the deceleration in labor productivity in the euro area was caused by structural changes in wage formation that have affected the relative price of labor, increased the labor intensity of growth, and, thus, reduced the rate of capital deepening. Technological shocks seem to have played a minor role in explaining this deceleration. This is a general economic effect that may surface in other countries as they fight to lower unemployment rates

Do Active Labor Market Policies Increase Employment?

Using panel data for 15 industrial countries, active labor market policies (ALMPs) are shown to have raised employment rates in the business sector in the 1990s, after controlling for many institutions, country-specific effects, and economic variables. Among such policies, direct subsidies to job creation were the most effective. ALMPs also affected employment rates by reducing real wages below levels allowed by technological growth, changes in the unemployment rate, and institutional and other economic factors. However, part of this wage moderation may be linked to a composition effect because policies were targeted to low-paid individuals. Whether ALMPs are cost-effective from a budgetary perspective remains to be determined, but they are certainly not substitutes for comprehensive institutional reforms.Unemployment;Consumption;employment, labor market, employment rates, labor market policies, job creation, unemployed, unemployment rate, employment rate, labour, labour market, employment protection, labor force participation, public employment, labor force, labor demand, active labor, public employment services, active labor market, employment services, labor market policy, training programs, unemployment compensation, labor costs, temporary employment, subsidized employment, active labor market policy, direct job creation, unemployment rates, effect on employment, unemployed adults, labour market policy, unemployed workers, jobs, regular employment, unemployment benefits, unemployed persons, job-search, labor market programs, labor market performance, active labour, labour market training, active labor market policies, labor market training, active labour market, labour market policies, total unemployment, employment creation, labor market variables, bargaining system, employment agencies, total employment, aggregate employment, affected employment, labor economics, unemployment insurance, collective agreement, active employment, jobless, public sector employment, employment programs, labor market institutions, active labour market policies, labor utilization, average wages, skilled workers, labor productivity, labor market developments, job creation programs, unemployment insurance system, employment growth, unemployment benefits duration, private employment, female labor force participation, open unemployment, bargaining power, unemployment statistics, average employment, labour market reforms, labor market rigidities, labor force survey, female labor force, active labor market programs, average employment rate, labor market model, labour market institutions, labour market programs, determining employment, rate of unemployment, employment outlook, job-seekers, labor market outcomes, self- employment, unemployment compensation payments, labor market expenditure, combating unemployment, temporary unemployment, labors, active labour market programs, full employment, labor compensation, unemployment benefit, job vacancies, unemployed individuals, jobless workers, labor market flexibility, part-time employment, labor force characteristics, employment equation, employment performance, net job creation

Regional Labor Market Disparities in Belgium

Regional labor market discrepancies have been widening in Belgium in the last two decades and are more evident within particular demographic groups. These developments can largely be accounted for by worse matching of people to jobs in the high-unemployment provinces. Using a structural VAR, it is also shown that labor market dynamics in Belgium produce a strong attenuating effect on employment growth, in contrast to the United States where initial labor demand shocks are expanded in the long run. After the short-run adjustment is over, there is less labor migration in Belgium than in the United States or Europe, corroborating the perception that Belgians move "too little."Labor;unemployment, employment, labor force participation, labor force, unemployment rate, labor demand, unemployment rates, labor market, employment growth, labor force participation rates, labor force participation rate, jobs, labor markets, unemployed, long-term unemployment, labor market performance, labor costs, aggregate employment, beveridge curve, regional unemployment, local total employment, labor market dynamics, labor force survey, employment rates, employment rate, employment performance, unemployed individuals, average unemployment rates, local labor markets, labor migration, labor supply, labor mobility, labor market adjustment, overall employment, total unemployment, labor force growth, average unemployment, aggregate unemployment, aggregate unemployment rates, labor market efficiency, unemployed people, employment increase, employment record, employment level, effect on employment, unemployment level, job vacancies, sectoral employment, employment outlook, job skills, employment creation, employment history, employment data, local unemployment, unemployment benefit, youth unemployment rates, national employment, employability, labor force data, rate of unemployment, youth unemployment, employment experiences, employment goals, total employment growth, training costs

Product Market Regulation and the Benefits of Wage Moderation

Euro-area real wages have decelerated sharply in the last 20 years, but this has not yet translated into visibly lower unemployment or faster growth. Weak output growth after such a cost shock is somewhat puzzling and has led some to question the benefits of wage moderation. By isolating structural from cyclical factors in a panel of industrial countries, I show that structurally slower real wage growth, that is, "wage moderation," does raise output growth and lower unemployment rates. However, I show that the impact on both variables depends crucially on product market regulation: weaker competition and barriers to entry mute the growth effects of structural real wage changes by allowing incumbent firms to appropriate larger rents. In this context, overly regulated product markets in the euro area are undermining the effects of labor market reforms on output and employment.Labor markets;Unemployment;wage, wages, employment, unemployment rate, labor demand, unemployment rates, benefits, labor income, compensation, unemployed, employment protection, low unemployment, unemployment benefits, labor compensation, effect on employment, employment equations, low unemployment rates, employment effects, worker, high unemployment, employment increase, local unemployment, high unemployment rates, wage bargaining

Why is Productivity Growth in the Euro Area so Sluggish?

Slow productivity growth has plagued the euro area since the mid-1990s. That is particularly striking in view of the large productivity gains in the United States during the same period. This paper shows that the deceleration in labor productivity in the euro area was caused by structural changes in wage formation that have affected the relative price of labor, increased the labor intensity of growth and, thus, reduced the rate of capital deepening. Technological shocks seem to have played a minor role in explaining slower productivity growth in the euro area. In addition, a surge in capital deepening and, mainly, TFP growth in key service industries in the United States explain a large part of the productivity growth gap between the two regions in the second half of the 1990s.