IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/cesifo/v50y2004i2p255-278..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency and Equality in the Labour Market

Author

Listed:
  • Jonas Agell

Abstract

I review theoretical arguments suggesting that certain labour market institutions can be justified for economic efficiency reasons. In models with intrinsic market failures, "rigidities" like employment protection legislation and institutional wage compression may push the economy closer to the efficient frontier. I discuss recent empirical evidence on income inequality, poverty and income mobility in OECD countries, and I conclude that the welfare states of Northern Europe score relatively well on all counts. Finally, I discuss labour market reforms that may improve efficiency without violating European voters' preference for equality.(JEL H30, J30, J50)

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Agell, 2004. "Efficiency and Equality in the Labour Market," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 50(2), pages 255-278.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cesifo:v:50:y:2004:i:2:p:255-278.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cesifo/50.2.255
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hans-Werner Sinn, 1994. "A Theory of the Welfare State," CESifo Working Paper Series 65, CESifo.
    2. Bruce D. Meyer & Dan T. Rosenbaum, 2001. "Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 1063-1114.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Robert Shimer, 1999. "Efficient Unemployment Insurance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(5), pages 893-928, October.
    4. Agell, Jonas, 1999. "On the Benefits from Rigid Labour Markets: Norms, Market Failures, and Social Insurance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(453), pages 143-164, February.
    5. Timothy Smeeding, 2002. "Globalization, Inequality and the Rich Countries of the G-20: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study," LIS Working papers 320, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    6. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 1-33, March.
    7. Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1999. "The Structure of Wages and Investment in General Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 539-572, June.
    8. Bertola, Giuseppe & Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence, 2001. "Comparative Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes: Lessons for the US from International Long-Run Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 3023, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Nickell, Stephen & Bell, Brian, 1996. "Changes in the Distribution of Wages and Unemployment in OECD Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 302-308, May.
    10. Bruce Bradbury & Markus Jantti, 1999. "Child Poverty across Industrialized Nations," Papers iopeps99/70, Innocenti Occasional Papers, Economic Policy Series.
    11. Stephen Nickell, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer.
    12. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Hans-Werner Sinn, 1996. "Social insurance, incentives and risk taking," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 3(3), pages 259-280, July.
    14. Peter Gottschalk & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1997. "Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 633-687, June.
    15. Anthony Atkinson & Timothy Smeeding & Lee Rainwater, 1994. "Income Distribution in European Countries," LIS Working papers 121, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    16. Holmlund, Bertil & Lundborg, Per, 1988. " Unemployment Insurance and Union Wage Setting," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(2), pages 161-172.
    17. Ernst Fehr & Simon Gächter, 2002. "Altruistic punishment in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6868), pages 137-140, January.
    18. Sandmo, Agnar, 1991. "Economists and the welfare state," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2-3), pages 213-239, April.
    19. Lawrence Summers & Jonathan Gruber & Rodrigo Vergara, 1993. "Taxation and the Structure of Labor Markets: The Case of Corporatism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(2), pages 385-411.
    20. Jonas Agell, 2002. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent Seeking vs. Social Insurance," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 107-135, May.
    21. Alan B. Krueger, 2002. "Inequality, Too Much of a Good Thing," Working Papers 845, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    22. Cahuc, Pierre & Michel, Philippe, 1996. "Minimum wage unemployment and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1463-1482, August.
    23. Nickell, Stephen & Layard, Richard, 1999. "Labor market institutions and economic performance," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 46, pages 3029-3084, Elsevier.
    24. Gary Solon, 2002. "Cross-Country Differences in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 59-66, Summer.
    25. Rafael Lalive & Jan C. van Ours & Josef Zweimüller, 2005. "The Effect Of Benefit Sanctions On The Duration Of Unemployment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(6), pages 1386-1417, December.
    26. repec:pri:cepsud:87krueger is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Ravn, Morten O & Sorensen, Jan Rose, 1995. "Minimum Wages: Curse or Blessing?," CEPR Discussion Papers 1212, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    28. Agell, Jonas & Lommerud, Kjell Erik, 1992. "Union Egalitarianism as Income Insurance," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 59(235), pages 295-310, August.
    29. Rolf Aaberge & Anders Björklund & Markus Jäntti & Mårten Palme & Peder J. Pedersen & Nina Smith & Tom Wennemo, 2002. "Income Inequality and Income Mobility in the Scandinavian Countries Compared to the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 48(4), pages 443-469, December.
    30. Alan Krueger, 2002. "Inequality, Too Much of a Good Thing," Working Papers 845, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    31. A. B. Atkinson, 1999. "The Economic Consequences of Rolling Back the Welfare State," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011719, December.
    32. Dani Rodrik, 1998. "Why Do More Open Economies Have Bigger Governments?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 997-1032, October.
    33. Alan B. Krueger, 1999. "From Bismarck to Maastricht: The March to European Union and the Labor Compact," Working Papers 803, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    34. Alan B. Krueger, 2002. "Inequality, Too Much of a Good Thing," Working Papers 845, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    35. Richard V. Burkhauser & John G. Poupore, 1997. "A Cross-National Comparison Of Permanent Inequality In The United States And Germany," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(1), pages 10-17, February.
    36. Sinn, Hans-Werner, 1995. " A Theory of the Welfare State," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 495-526, December.
    37. Chris Heady, 1993. "Optimal taxation as a guide to tax policy: a survey," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 15-41, February.
    38. Duncan, Greg J & Gustafsson, Bjorn & Hauser, Richard & Schmauss, Gunther & Messinger, Hans & Muffels, Ruud & Nolan, Brian, 1993. "Poverty Dynamics in Eight Countries," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 6(3), pages 215-234.
    39. Aaberge, Rolf, et al, 2002. "Income Inequality and Income Mobility in the Scandinavian Countries Compared to the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 48(4), pages 443-469, December.
    40. J. A. Mirrlees, 1971. "An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(2), pages 175-208.
    41. Timothy M. Smeeding, 2002. "Globalization, Inequality, and the Rich Countries of the G-20: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 48, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    42. Bjorklund, Anders & Jantti, Markus, 1997. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in Sweden Compared to the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 1009-1018, December.
    43. Pissarides, Christopher A., 2001. "Employment protection," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 131-159, May.
    44. Agell, Jonas & Lommerud, Kjell Erik, 1997. "Minimum wages and the incentives for skill formation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 25-40, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Juan A. Correa & Francisco Parro & Loreto Reyes, 2014. "The Effects of Vouchers on School Results: Evidence from Chile's Targeted Voucher Program," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(4), pages 351-398.
    2. Friedhelm Pfeiffer & Henrik Winterhager, 2006. "Selektivität und direkte Wirkungen von Vermittlungsgutscheinen: Empirische Befunde aus der Einführungsphase," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(3), pages 395-415, August.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "How much do educational outcomes matter in OECD countries? [‘Accountability and flexibility in public schools: Evidence from Boston’s charters and pilots’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(67), pages 427-491.
    4. Ludger Wößmann, 2006. "Bildungspolitische Lehren aus den internationalen Schülertests: Wettbewerb, Autonomie und externe Leistungsüberprüfung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(3), pages 417-444, August.
    5. John Östh & Eva Andersson & Bo Malmberg, 2013. "School Choice and Increasing Performance Difference: A Counterfactual Approach," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(2), pages 407-425, February.
    6. Anxo, Dominique, 2006. "The Swedish Model and the Patterns of Labour Market Intergration and Income Developments over the Lifecourse," CAFO Working Papers 2006:8, Linnaeus University, Centre for Labour Market Policy Research (CAFO), School of Business and Economics.
    7. Ludger Wößmann, 2008. "Efficiency and equity of European education and training policies," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 15(2), pages 199-230, April.
    8. Woessmann, Ludger, 2004. "How Equal Are Educational Opportunities? Family Background and Student Achievement in Europe and the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 1284, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Sangheon Lee & Deirdre McCann & Nina Torm, 2008. "The World Bank's “Employing Workers” index: Findings and critiques – A review of recent evidence," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 147(4), pages 416-432, December.
    10. Josep-Oriol Escardíbul & Nehal Helmy, 2015. "Decentralisation and school autonomy impact on the quality of education: the case of two MENA countries," Working Papers 2015/33, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    11. Kieron J. Barclay & Dalton Conley, 2022. "The influence of cousin order and cousin group size on educational outcomes," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-013, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. John Bennett, 2008. "Early Childhood Services in the OECD Countries: Review of the literature and current policy in the early childhood field," Papers inwopa08/50, Innocenti Working Papers.
    13. Mörk, Eva & Ahlin, Åsa, 2007. "Effects of decentralization on school resources: Sweden 1989-2002," Working Paper Series 2007:9, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    14. Ahlin, Åsa & Mörk, Eva, 2008. "Effects of decentralization on school resources," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 276-284, June.
    15. Lundin, Martin & Öberg, PerOla, 2012. "Towards reason: political disputes, public attention and the use of expert knowledge in policymaking," Working Paper Series 2012:4, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    16. Gunther Tichy, 2003. "Die Risikogesellschaft – Ein vernachlässigtes Konzept in der europäischen Stagnationsdiskussion [The Risk Society - An under-researched concept in the European debate on stagnation ]," ITA manu:scripts 03_02, Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA).
    17. Orsetta Causa & Catherine Chapuis, 2009. "Equity in Student Achievement Across OECD Countries: An Investigation of the Role of Policies," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 708, OECD Publishing.
    18. Gunther Tichy, 2005. "Die ,Neue Unsicherheit‚ als Ursache der europäischen Wachstumsschwäche," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 6(3), pages 385-407, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James J. Heckman & Jonas Agell & Florian Gertser & Merz Friedrich, 2003. "The Labour Market and the Job Miracle," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 4(02), pages 29-48, October.
    2. James J. Heckman & Jonas Agell & Florian Gertser & Merz Friedrich, 2003. "The Labour Market and the Job Miracle," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 4(2), pages 29-48, October.
    3. Jonas Agell, 2002. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent Seeking vs. Social Insurance," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 107-135, May.
    4. Jonas Agell, 2000. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent-Sharing vs. Social Insurance," CESifo Working Paper Series 384, CESifo.
    5. Tito Boeri & Jan van Ours, 2013. "The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10142.
    6. Jonas Agell, 2001. "Warum haben wir rigide Arbeitsmärkte? Rent‐seeking versus Soziale Sicherung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 2(4), pages 363-381, November.
    7. Gayle Allard & Peter H. Lindert, 2006. "Euro-Productivity and Euro-Jobs since the 1960s: Which Institutions Really Mattered?," NBER Working Papers 12460, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Gayle Allard & Peter H. Lindert, 2006. "Euro-Productivity and Euro-Jobs since the 1960s: Which Institutions Really Mattered?," NBER Working Papers 12460, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Alfonso Arpaia & Gilles Mourre, 2012. "Institutions And Performance In European Labour Markets: Taking A Fresh Look At Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-41, February.
    10. Alfred Stiglbauer, 2006. "The (New) OECD Jobs Study: Introduction and Assessment," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 3, pages 58-74.
    11. Markus Jäntti & Juho Saari & Juhana Vartiainen, 2006. "Growth and Equity in Finland," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2006-06, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Andrea Bassanini & Danielle Venn, 2008. "The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 17, pages 3-15, Fall.
    13. Anna Lo Prete, 2016. "Labour Market Institutions and Household Consumption Insurance within OECD Countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 755-771, June.
    14. David R. Howell & Miriam Rehm, 2009. "Unemployment compensation and high European unemployment: a reassessment with new benefit indicators," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 25(1), pages 60-93, Spring.
    15. Kim, Jaewon, 2006. "The Determinants of Labor Market Institutions: A Panel Data Study," Research Papers in Economics 2006:10, Stockholm University, Department of Economics, revised 06 Dec 2006.
    16. Anders Björklund & Richard B. Freeman, 2010. "Searching for Optimal Inequality/Incentives," NBER Chapters, in: Reforming the Welfare State: Recovery and Beyond in Sweden, pages 25-56, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Daniele Checchi & Claudio Lucifora, 2002. "Unions and labour market institutions in Europe," Departmental Working Papers 2002-16, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    18. Salverda, Wiemer & Checchi, Daniele, 2014. "Labour-Market Institutions and the Dispersion of Wage Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 8220, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Schmid, Günther, 2006. "Sharing risk: on social risk management and the governance of labour market transitions," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment SP I 2006-101, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. Sunde, Uwe, 2001. "Human Capital Accumulation, Education and Earnings Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 310, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:cesifo:v:50:y:2004:i:2:p:255-278.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.