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Working Paper
The European unemployment dilemma
Journal Article
How natural is the natural rate of unemployment in Europe?
European economic performance has been disappointing in the 1980s. High unemployment has been a dominant policy issue, but in order to react properly, government authorities had to determine the causes of this unemployment. If inadequate aggregate demand were the source, expansionary fiscal or monetary policy could help to solve the problem; on the other hand, if movements in labor supply were to blame, traditional macro policy would be ineffective. European officials clearly leaned toward the labor supply explanation, as aggregate deman policy remained conservative throughout the decade. ; ...
Journal Article
Curbing unemployment in Europe: are there lessons from Ireland and the Netherlands?
Since the mid-1980s, unemployment rates in Ireland and the Netherlands have plummeted, while the average rate for the European Union has maintained its longtime high level. Ambitious labor market reforms_including wage moderation and the tightening of unemployment benefits_have helped to bring the Irish and Dutch rates down. Other European countries would benefit from adopting similar reforms, but they are unlikely to see the same dramatic improvement in their unemployment numbers.
Journal Article
A supply-side explanation of European unemployment
This article offers a supply-side explanation of striking patterns in unemployment rates and duration of unemployment in European countries, compared with other member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The rise in long-term unemployment in Europe is attributed to the adverse incentive effects of generous welfare programs in times of economic turbulence.