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A Positive Analysis of Targeted Employment Protection Legislation

Author

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  • Dolado Juan

    (Universidad Carlos III)

  • Jansen Marcel

    (Universidad Carlos III)

  • Jimeno Serrano Juan

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

In many countries, Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) establishes less strict dismissal procedures for specific groups of workers. This paper builds a simple matching model with heterogeneous workers in order to analyze this feature of EPL. We use the model to analyze the effects of reforms targeted at lowering the firing costs of a particular group of workers, and compare the results with those stemming from a comprehensive reform that reduces firing costs for all workers. The model is calibrated for the Spanish economy, where an important reform of this kind took place in 1997. Overall, our results point out that EPL reforms achieve the largest reduction in unemployment when they are targeted to workers with lower and more volatile productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Dolado Juan & Jansen Marcel & Jimeno Serrano Juan, 2007. "A Positive Analysis of Targeted Employment Protection Legislation," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:7:y:2007:i:1:n:14
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1690.1471
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    3. Jonathan Deslauriers & Benoit Dostie & Robert Gagné & Jonathan Paré, 2021. "Estimating the impacts of payroll taxes: Evidence from Canadian employer–employee tax data," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(4), pages 1609-1637, November.
    4. Samuel Bentolila & Juan Jose Dolado & Juan F. Jimeno, 2008. "Two-tier Employment Protection Reforms: The Spanish Experience," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 6(4), pages 49-56, December.
    5. Marco Leonardi & Giovanni Pica, 2013. "Who Pays for it? The Heterogeneous Wage Effects of Employment Protection Legislation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(12), pages 1236-1278, December.
    6. Dennis Wesselbaum, 2020. "How Large Are Firing Costs? A Cross-Country Study," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot GmbH, Berlin, vol. 66(4), pages 319-328.
    7. Cervini-Plá, María & Ramos, Xavier & Ignacio Silva, José, 2014. "Wage effects of non-wage labour costs," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 113-137.
    8. Gete, Pedro & Porchia, Paolo, 2011. "A real options analysis of dual labor markets and the single labor contract," MPRA Paper 34055, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Andrea Bassanini & Luca Nunziata & Danielle Venn, 2009. "Job protection legislation and productivity growth in OECD countries [Appropriate growth policy: a unifying framework]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 24(58), pages 349-402.
    10. Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2011. "The part-time pay penalty in a segmented labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 591-606, October.
    11. Kameliia Petrova, 2016. "Entrepreneurship And The Informal Economy: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(02), pages 1-21, June.
    12. Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Natalia Nollenberger, 2016. "Labor market integration of new immigrants in Spain," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Dennis Wesselbaum, 2015. "Firing costs in a business cycle model with endogenous separations," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(3), pages 499-518, August.
    14. Makoto Masui, 2020. "Efficiency in a search and matching model with endogenous labor participation and different skill groups," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 2648-2653.
    15. Fernández-Kranz Daniel & Aitor Lacuesta & Núria Rodríguez-Planas, 2013. "The Motherhood Earnings Dip: Evidence from Administrative Records," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(1), pages 169-197.
    16. Héctor Sala & José I. Silva, 2009. "Flexibility at the margin and labour market volatility: The case of Spain," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 33(2), pages 145-178, May.
    17. Rocio Bonet & Cristina Cruz & Daniel Fernández Kranz & Rachida Justo, 2013. "Temporary Contracts and Work—Family Balance in a Dual Labor Market," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 55-87, January.
    18. Moser, Christoph & Stähler, Nikolai, 2009. "Spillover effects of minimum wages in a two-sector search model," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2009,01, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    19. Wesselbaum, Dennis, 2009. "Firing costs in a New Keynesian model with endogenous separations," Kiel Working Papers 1550, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    20. Chiara BROCCOLINI & Marco LILLA & Stefano STAFFOLANI, 2010. "A Search Model in a Segmented Labour Market: the Odd Role of Unions," Working Papers 349, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    21. Ahrens, Steffen & Wesselbaum, Dennis, 2009. "On the introduction of firing costs," Kiel Working Papers 1559, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    22. José Silva & Javier Vázquez-Grenno, 2011. "The ins and outs of unemployment and the assimilation of recent immigrants in Spain," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1309-1330, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    firing costs; unemployment; matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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