In this paper the effects of institutional variables on unemployment are reinvestigated for nine OECD countries. The used framework allow for country specific estimates. In this case, the impact of the considered institutional variables on unemployment may differ across countries, not only in absolute terms but also in terms of sign. The main results are the following: First, there are remarkable differences across countries with respect to the estimated effects. Most of the considered variables have at least in one of the considered countries an unexpected effect. Secondly, after a careful examination of the results we identify complex interdependencies between the institutional variables, which bear resemblance to the interaction hypothesis. Thirdly, the estimates with respect to the minimum wage do confirm the theory of monopsonistic labour markets. Fourthly, based on a cross country comparison some evidence is found that some of the considered labour market institutions have a hump-shaped or U-shaped relation to the unemployment rate. All things considered, the results make strong distinctions clear, and the different economies should be extremely cautious to make a copy of the level of a certain labour market institution of the neighbours.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Find related papers by JEL classification: J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - General E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: