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Labour Market Flexibility and Decent Work

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  • Gerry Rodgers

Abstract

This paper reviews evidence from both industrialized and developing countries on the re1ationship between labour market flexibility and employment. It is argued that the notion of flexibility and its impact is often oversimplified. The evidence, such as it is, does not provide much support for the view that greater flexibility results in higher employment. There is more evidence for an impact on the distribution of employment among different groups of the population, but also effects which vary widely between countries. Flexibility needs to be considered within a wider framework of policies and institutions to promote decent work.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerry Rodgers, 2007. "Labour Market Flexibility and Decent Work," Working Papers 47, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    • Handle: RePEc:une:wpaper:47
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    File URL: http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2007/wp47_2007.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Schmitt & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2002. "Is the OECD Jobs Strategy Behind US and British Employment and Unemployment Success in the 1990s?," SCEPA working paper series. 2002-06, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    2. Carmen Pagés-Serra & Gustavo Márquez, 1998. "Ties That Bind: Employment Protection and Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4118, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    3. Dean Baker & Andrew Glyn & David Howell & John Schmitt, 2002. "Labor Market Institutions and Unemployment: A Critical Assessment of the Cross-Country Evidence," SCEPA working paper series. 2002-17, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    4. Carmen Pagés-Serra & Gustavo Márquez, 1998. "Ties That Bind: Employment Protection and Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4118, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    5. Stephen Devereux, 2005. "Can minimum wages contribute to poverty reduction in poor countries?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(7), pages 899-912.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Agnese & Pablo Salvador, 2012. "More alike than different: the Spanish and Irish labour markets before and after the crisis," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Ladislao Martínez López, 2013. "Demanda de electricidad y déficit tarifario," Revista de Economía Crítica, Asociación de Economía Crítica, vol. 15, pages 112-127.
    3. Emil Wojčák & Matúš Baráth, 2017. "National Culture and Application of Telework in Europe," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 3(1), pages 65-74.
    4. Alex Gymnopoulos & Thanos Poulakis & Haris Poulakis & Nikolaos Chatzarakis, 2021. "Investigating the Greek Unemployment from a Classical Perspective," Bulletin of Political Economy, Bulletin of Political Economy, vol. 15(1), pages 69-91, June.
    5. Ravi S. Srivastava, 2016. "Myth and reality of labour flexibility in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 59(1), pages 1-38, March.
    6. Ortiz, Isabel, & Cummins, Matthew. & Capaldo, Jeronim. & Karunanethy, Kalaivani., 2015. "The decade of adjustment : a review of austerity trends 2010-2020 in 187 countries," ILO Working Papers 994890453402676, International Labour Organization.
    7. Urbánné Mező, Júlia & Udvari, Beáta, 2016. "Munkapiaci rugalmasság és ifjúsági foglalkoztathatóság [Labour-market flexibility and youth employment]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 431-460.
    8. Keshab Das, 2017. "Labour market resilience in India: conceptual and policy issues," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(2), pages 155-174, June.
    9. Imraan Valodia & Richard Devey, 2012. "The Informal Economy in South Africa: Debates, Issues and Policies," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 6(2), pages 133-157, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labour market flexibility; labour institutions; decent work; employment; unemployment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

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