The CEP-OECD institutions data set (1960-2004)

This dataset contains information about the evolution of labour market institutions in twenty OECD countries from 1960 to 2004. The countries in the sample are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. Where possible the data refers to West Germany throughout. Note that the temporal coverage of these data differs from series to series and country to country. The accompanying data can be downloaded at the link below

The Unemployment Challenge in Europe

Arbeitslosigkeit; Arbeitsmarktpolitik; Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit; Ungelernte Arbeitskräfte; EU-Politik; EU-Staaten

The CEP-OECD Institutions Data Set (1960-2004)

This dataset contains information about the evolution of labour market institutions in twenty OECD countries from 1960 to 2004. The countries in the sample are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States Where possible the data refers to West Germany throughout. Note that the temporal coverage of these data differs from series to series and country to country. The accompanying data can be downloaded at the link aboveOECD Institutions, Data

Employment and Taxes

This paper considers the impact of taxation policy on market work. On the basis of theevidence, we find that a 10 percentage point rise in the tax wedge will reduce overall labourinput provided via the market by around 2 per cent of the population of working age. The taxwedge is the sum of the payroll, income and consumption tax rates.This only explains a minority of the market work differentials across count ries. Muchof the remainder is probably down to the differences in the social security systems supportingthe unemployed, the sick and disabled and the early retired.Employment, Taxation, Labour Supply

Employment and Taxes

This paper considers the impact of taxation policy on market work. On the basis of the evidence, we find that a 10 percentage point rise in the tax wedge will reduce overall labour input provided via the market by around 2 per cent of the population of working age. The tax wedge is the sum of the payroll, income and consumption tax rates. This only explains a minority of the market work differentials across countries. Much of the remainder is probably down to the differences in the social security systems supporting the unemployed, the sick and disabled and the early retired.employment, taxation, labour supply

Poverty and Worklessness in Britain

Relative poverty in the UK has risen massively since 1979 mainly because of increasing worklessness, rising earnings dispersion and benefits indexed to prices, not wages. So poverty is now at a very high level. The economic forces underlying this are the significant shift in demand against the unskilled which has outpaced the shift in relative supply in the same direction. This has substantially weakened the low-skill labour market which has increased both pay dispersion and worklessness, particularly among low-skilled men. The whole situation has been exacerbated by the very long tail in the skill distribution, so that over 20 per cent of the working age population have very low skills indeed (close to illiterate). Practical policies discussed include improving education and overall well-being for children in the lower part of the ability range, raising wage floors, New Deal policies, tax credits and benefits for the workless. Overall, I would argue that without reducing the long tail in the skill distribution, there is no practical possibility of policy reducing relative poverty to 1979 levels.Poverty, Worklessness, Wage dispersion, Disability

Employment Patterns in OECD Countries

This paper studies the dynamics of labour demand and the determinants of employment rates across the OECD. We find: (i) labour demand adjusts less rapidly when employment protection is more strict and union density is higher; (ii) there is no evidence that overall job turnover is influenced by employment protection; (iii) union density and coverage are negatively related to employment/population ratios, although this effect can be entirely offset by coordination; (iv) strict employment protection laws are strongly associated with lower employment rates for women and young people but have no impact on the rates for prime age men.Employment, wages, inactivity

How Does Financial Pressure Affect Firms?

How does monetary policy work? While one aspect of the investigation has focused on the behaviour of consumers, another has concentrated on the behaviour of companies faced with the kind of financial pressures associated with tight monetary policy. The general focus in this area is on the impact of financial constraints on investment expenditures including fixed capital and inventories. Our purpose is to shift this focus somewhat and to concentrate on the impact of financial pressure on other aspects of company behaviour. We first discuss briefly the theoretical background and the empirical formulation. Then, using panel data on a large number of UK companies, we derive a number of results.