Le politiche per l'occupazione in Europa: una tassonomia istituzionale

Le politiche per l'occupazione in Europa: una tassonomia istituzionale (di Floro Ernesto Caroleo) - ABSTRACT: The recent employment strategy of the EU seems in line with the policy suggestions of Oecd Jobs Study. The idea leading Oecd consensus is that the high European unemployment is owed to the rigidities of the norms and rules operating in the labour market and they are responsible both of the increase and the persistence of the equilibrium unemployment. This entails a radical reform of the institutions aimed to restore flexibility in labour market. The paper analyses the empirical evidence and theoretical and policy implications of this position and, in particular, the statement that there is no alternative European strategy. The conclusion is that the great institutional variability of European labour market makes it difficult to think the simple restoration of the law of market as the only solution of the unemployment problem, as it is argued by the Oecd consensus. Alternatively, the reform should identify the best arrangement by keeping the idiosyncratic feature of institutions and reaching the highest level of policy consent. JEL Classification: E24, E42, J31, J60