Employment and policies in Europe: a regional perspective

The aim of the paper is to compare the employment performance at different levels of “regional” (dis)aggregation and to analyse the effectiveness of the European Employment Strategy in favouring net job creation and employment performance convergence. In the first part, the (quantitative) differences in “regional” labour market performances are highlighted and briefly discussed. In particular, using the main employment indicators, we compare the United States and the European Union, Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean EU countries, “old” and “new” EU members, the Italian macro-Regions, Regions, Provinces and, finally, some local labour systems. In the second part, the characteristics (method, instruments and final goals) and effectiveness of the European Employment Strategy (a complex “open method of co-ordination” of employment policies) are briefly analysed.Multi-level policies, Regional employment performance.

Growth and employment: comparative performance, convergences and co-movements

As well-known, starting from the EU White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment (1993), and continuing with the launch of the European Employment Strategy (1997) and the Lisbon Strategy (2000), two crucial objectives indicated by the European level emerged: (i) the increase of the GDP growth rates and (ii) the improvement of the employment intensity of growth. The aim of the paper is to discuss and investigate the compared performance, convergence and relationship of the following real variables: per-capita GDP (level and growth) and employment rate (level and growth). In the last decades an increasing part of the theoretical and empirical economic literature has been dedicated to the real convergence process. In order to better investigate the more recent period, in this paper we first present a brief review of the theoretical and empirical literature on real convergence (Section 2) and of the relationship between growth and (un)employment (Section 3). In Section 4, using Eurostat (regio) database for the period 1995-2003, a compared investigation of the (levels and changes in) per capita GDP and employment rates in EU-25 countries is followed by a convergence analysis for European aggregations (EU-25, EU-15, EMU-12 and 8-new-EU-members) at the following two (statistical) regional level: Nuts I (?- and Lowess ?-convergence) and Nuts II (?-, absolute and conditional ?-convergence). Besides, a preliminary comparative analysis for EU-15 countries has been dedicated to the co-movements between GDP and employment, and the employment intensity of growth, during the same period 1995-2003. Some of the main results of the paper highlighted (i) a high heterogeneity in European performance (in terms of GDP level, GDP growth, employment level and employment changes), (ii) the existence of complex “club convergence/divergence” across EU countries and regions, (iii) remarkable differences in the correlation between GDP growth and employment changes, and in the employment intensity of growth.GDP growth, employment, convergence, comparative performance

China and India: Openness, Trade and Effects on Economic Growth

The paper has two objectives. Firstly, we wish to evaluate whether a greater economic integration has effects, and of what type, on migration flows from Central and Eastern Europe (New Member States of the EU, NMS) towards the fifteen countries of the European Union (EU-15). Secondly, we wish to understand what effect the migration flows from the NMS have on the labour market of the receiving countries in the EU-15. The most suitable theoretical context that seems to summarise European labour market characteristics is that of the insider/outsider model by Layard, Nickell and Jackman (Layard et al., 1991). We have modified the above mentioned model by introducing two innovations. Firstly, we constructed three measures that act as a proxy for economic integration: the Intra Regional Trade Index (IRTI), Global Trade Index (GTI) and Financial Market Integration (FMI). Then we placed the three indicators into the insider/outsider model to arrive at a modified version of Layard, Nickell and Jackman (Layard et al., 1991). The second innovative contribution was the introduction of an equation modelling migration flows. The creation of this equation is inspired by the neo-classical approach to migration theory (Harris-Todaro, 1970). The theoretical model, based on rational expectations, has been solved to find the equilibrium solution and the impact multipliers. We then carried out an empirical analysis, which involved estimating a Structural Vector Autoregression Model (SVAR). The aim of this estimation was to evaluate, on the one hand, the effect that greater European integration (a positive shock to the integration indicators) has on migration flows, and, on the other, to measure the type of effect that migration flows could have on the labour market of the EU-15 countries, considered as a single entity. The results of our empirical evidence show that economic integration does generate significant effects on migration flows from the enlargement countries towards the EU-15 countries. It also emerges that migration flows do generate an effect on the European labour market.China and India, economic growth, trade opening, trade specialisation, trade and growth

Comparing European Regions

Guest Editors' introduction to the special issue on "European Regions"European regions

University-to-work transitions: the case of Perugia

The paper investigated on job transitions of graduates at the University of Perugia into the territory of the province of Perugia. In short, the paper has the following structure: after a review of the literature on university-to-work transition, original empirical results - adopting different statistical and econometric instruments - are presented and, finally, some policy implications are highlighted. University administrative information and data from the job centres of the province of Perugia are matched to reconstruct the timing of the university to job transitions of graduates at the University of Perugia since January 2004 to July 2009. Non-parametric Kaplan-Meier (KM) method and Cox proportional hazard model with competing risk are used, respectively, to estimate the survival functions and to determine the role of individual and studying characteristics in affecting the employment probabilities of graduates from a supply side point of view. Notwithstanding the paper is in a preliminary version, some key results are useful for deriving crucial considerations and policy implications.University-to-Work Transition, Perugia University and Province, Cox proportional hazard model.

Employment Differences, Convergences and Similarities in Italian Provinces.

The objective of the paper is to provide some empirical evidence on the differences in the employment performance and dynamics of the Italian provinces. In the first part of the paper, after a having recalled the most recent empirical literature about regional labour market performance, we carry out a convergence (of s- and ß-type) analysis of the provincial employment rates (total and female) over the period 1995-2002. In the second part of the paper, using a wide set of employment indicators, a cluster analysis is implemented in order to draw some provincial labour market profiles. Our outcomes confirm a deep diversification of labour market performance across the country but also some signs of a weaker persistence of it: the generalised improvement of labour market performances is indeed accompanied by a clear (even though weak) convergence dynamic of the employment rates.provincial labour markets, employment performance and convergence

Institutional change, regional features and aggregate performance in eight EU’s transition countries

The aim of this paper is to throw some light on the main differences/similarities and dynamics in institutional frameworks, regional/sectoral features and aggregate performances in the eight transition countries that became EU members in May 2004 (8-CEECs). In the second section, a partial review of the main theoretical and empirical literature on the "great transformation" (Kornai, 2006) is presented, with a particular attention to the researches focusing on the relationship between institutional change and economic/employment performance and to the studies considering some regional features of the transition processes. Some stylized facts for the eight CEECs are presented in the third section, by distinguishing (i) initial conditions, (ii) institutional changes and progress in transition and (iii) economic/employment performance (GDP growth, unemployment and employment rates, etc.). In the forth section, the empirical results on some regional (NUTS 3) features (convergence, concentration and specialisation) of the 8-CEECs are discussed. Finally, an attempt to econometrically investigate some determinants of regional income convergence and national GDP and employment dynamics is presented in the fifth section, by highlighting the role of institutional change and some regional features. The main policy implications, concerning both European and national economic policies, are presented in the conclusive section.Transition countries, institutional change, regional features, aggregate performance

The Impact of Crises on Youth Unemployment of Russian Regions: An Empirical Analysis

The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the influence of the 1998 and 2008 crises on the youth unemployment rates (age class 20-29) in Russian regions. The investigation is founded on the panel data for 78 Russian regions during 1997–2008 provided by ROSSTAT (the main Russian State statistical organization). We compare the level and dynamics of the youth unemployment in various Russian regions and try to solve three main questions. Are there any special features of the youth unemployment in comparison with overall unemployment? How the 1998 crisis did change - and how the 2008 crisis is going to change - the youth unemployment dynamics? What can we learn from the impact of 1998 crisis and what is the main difference with the impact of the 2008 crisis? With the help of the obtained results we define some preliminary policy suggestion.financial crises, regional youth unemployment, Russian labour market.

Employment Performance and Convergence in the European Countries and Regions

This paper analyzes the national and regional (NUTS-2) employment performance and convergence for various aggregations of 27 European countries (EU-25, plus Romania and Bulgaria), mainly using the three employment rates (total, female, older worker) adopted by the European Employment Strategy (EES). At the national level, this analysis confirmed the existence of considerable differences in employment performance between and within the various country aggregations. Empirical analysis highlighted the remarkable net job creations in the EU-15 (and EMU-12) for the period 1997-2003, accompanied by a (national) convergence for all three employment indicators. As regards total employment rates, significant converging trends also emerge at the regional level for both EU-15 and EMU-12 aggregations. In the eight Central European Countries, new EU members (8 CEC-NM), a diverging trend in the total employment rate began in 1999, whereas converging dynamics were limited to the employment rate of older workers in the period 1998-2001. Regional analyses showed significant diverging dynamics in the total employment rates (1999-2003) for the eight CEC-NM regions. At the national level of analyses, the relationship between "progress in transition" and employment performance was also briefly examined. Results show that a simple, stable correlation does not exist. However, a weak U-shaped relationship existing in 1998 shifted downward and evolved toward a positive link in 2003. The main results of cluster analysis of the 53 regions of the ten CECs confirmed a high level of regional labour market diversification, and the fact that sector structure affects employment performance significantlyEmployment performance; employment convergence; regional labour markets

FDI, R&D and Human Capital in Central and Eastern European Countries

The recent literature dealing with the determinants of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has increasingly emphasised the importance of technological aspects, as both attractive factors and FDI-related technological transfer effects. Focusing on the second perspective, this paper explores the theoretical and empirical relationships between innovative inputs (particularly FDI) and innovative outputs in the EU-27 countries, focusing in particular on the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). Findings provide evidence of strong East/West specificities, but also of marked heterogeneity within the CEECs, thus supporting our approach, which emphasises complexity and the specificities of productive and economic conditions.FDI, Technological spillovers, Knowledge complementarity, Innovative inputs and outputs