Do financial education programs work?

In this paper we provide a comprehensive critical analysis of research that has investigated the impact of financial education programs on consumer financial behavior. In light of the evidence, we recommend that future programs be highly targeted towards a specific audience and area of financial activity (e.g. homeownership or credit card counseling, etc.), and that this training occurs just before the corresponding financial event (e.g. purchase of a home or use of a credit card, etc.).Financial literacy

Did the financial sector profit at the expense of the rest of the economy? Evidence from the United States

The crisis which originated in the US financial sector in 2007 and subsequently spread to the real economy caused severe economic and social damage around the world. Governments have responded by providing fiscal support to the economy, undertaking exceptional monetary policy measures and introducing programmes targeted to vulnerable groups. In addition, considerable efforts have been made to recapitalise banks. Important as they are, these measures do not tackle the deeper influence of financial markets and institutions in the operation of the real economy. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for reforms in this neglected area. The paper confirms the finding of the World of Work Report 2009 that the financial sector has grown beyond reasonable boundaries and its practices have spread to the nonfinancial economy. For example, in the last 20 years, financial sector’s share of total corporate profits doubled, reaching as high as 44 per cent in 2002. The study also demonstrates that in the United States, the growing influence of the financial sector has led to a reduction in the share of business investment as a percent of value added by as much as 2 percentage points in the last three decades. More research is needed to shed further light on the causal linkages and to identify the reforms that could help ensure that the financial sector encourages investment --thereby growth and employment-- rather than hurting it. However, the finding of this paper is suggestive and important for today’s debate on sustainable crisis responses

Employment protection and collective bargaining during the Great Recession: A comprehensive review of international evidence

In this article, we present information from a unique database of labour market reforms implemented in 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014. We show that the number of reforms implemented each year has gradually increased and that the majority of reforms were passed in advanced economies – with EU member states being particularly active reformers. Moreover, the results show that permanent contracts and collective bargaining were the most popular areas of policy intervention in the labour market domain and that the majority of reforms decreased the strictness of employment protection legislation – although large disparities emerge across world regions in this respect. Finally, the paper compares our database to different indicators of employment regulation in order to check the consistency of our results

Employment protection and collective bargaining during the great recession : a comprehensive review of international evidence

In this article, we present information from a unique database of labour market reforms implemented in 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014. We show that the number of reforms implemented each year has gradually increased and that the majority of reforms were passed in advanced economies – with EU member states being particularly active reformers. Moreover, the results show that permanent contracts and collective bargaining were the most popular areas of policy intervention in the labour market domain and that the majority of reforms decreased the strictness of employment protection legislation – although large disparities emerge across world regions in this respect. Finally, the paper compares our database to different indicators of employment regulation in order to check the consistency of our results

Employment protection and collective bargaining during the great recession: a comprehensive review of international evidence

In this article, we present information from a unique database of labour market reforms implemented in 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014. We show that the number of reforms implemented each year has gradually increased up to 2012 and that the majority of reforms were passed in advanced economies – with some EU member states particularly hit by the crisis being the most active reformers (e.g. Spain, Greece, Italy). Moreover, the results show that permanent contracts and collective bargaining were the most popular areas of labour market policy interventions and that the majority of reforms decreased the strictness of employment protection legislation – although large disparities emerge across world regions in this respect. Finally, the article compares our database to different indicators of employment regulation in order to check the consistency of our results.