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Regional unemployment and human capital in transition economies1

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  • Štěpán Jurajda
  • Katherine Terrell

Abstract

Differences in regional unemployment in post‐communist economies are large and persistent. We show that within‐country regional variation in inherited human capital in four such economies explains the bulk of regional variation in unemployment; we explore potential explanations. Our evidence suggests that internal skill‐biased migration and the flow of foreign direct investment are not working as adjustment mechanisms but rather help explain the lack of convergence in regional unemployment rates. Although this capital and labour mobility pattern is consistent with the presence of regional skill spillovers, we find little support for this hypothesis. Instead, the observed migration pattern appears to arise from different skill‐specific adjustments to regional shocks brought about in part by labour‐market institutions such as guaranteed welfare income.

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  • Štěpán Jurajda & Katherine Terrell, 2009. "Regional unemployment and human capital in transition economies1," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 17(2), pages 241-274, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:etrans:v:17:y:2009:i:2:p:241-274
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0351.2009.00351.x
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    2. Simona Ferraro & Jaanika Meriküll & Karsten Staehr, 2018. "Minimum wages and the wage distribution in Estonia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(49), pages 5253-5268, October.
    3. Martin Kahanec & Lucia Mýtna Kureková, 2016. "Did Post-enlargement Labor Mobility Help the EU to Adjust During the Great Recession? The Case of Slovakia," Springer Books, in: Martin Kahanec & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), Labor Migration, EU Enlargement, and the Great Recession, pages 189-218, Springer.
    4. Filer, Randall K. & Münich, Daniel, 2013. "Responses of private and public schools to voucher funding," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 269-285.
    5. Theranda Beqiri, 2016. "Labour Market Trends in Transition Economies with Emphasis on Gender Inequalities," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 12(4), pages 72-85, August.
    6. Kupets, Olga, 2016. "Education-job mismatch in Ukraine: Too many people with tertiary education or too many jobs for low-skilled?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 125-147.
    7. Zehra Bilgen Susanlı, 2017. "Türkiye’de İşgücüne Katılım, İstihdam ve Beşeri Sermaye Dışsallıkları," Yildiz Social Science Review, Yildiz Technical University, vol. 3(1), pages 47-58.
    8. Štěpán Jurajda & Juraj Stančík, 2013. "Organization and Firm Performance in the Czech Republic," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2013(1), pages 85-110.
    9. George Grekousis, 2018. "Further Widening or Bridging the Gap? A Cross-Regional Study of Unemployment across the EU Amid Economic Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Marian Dinga, 2011. "The Role of Investment Incentives in Regional FDI Reallocation: A Regression-Discontinuity Approach," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp438, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.

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