Réformes structurelles du marché du travail et politiques macroéconomiques

The labour market is a social institution with features that significantly vary across countries. Econometric investigations of the past decades lead to interesting knowledge about the effect on employment of various labour-market structural reforms. This knowledge is, however, imprecise. Hence, choosing a programme of reforms means taking a decision under uncertainty, and this is too seldom acknowledged. Uncertainty is no reason for remaining passive. In a number of Western European countries it is by now clear that some structural reforms have a good chance of being beneficial, as soon as priority to employment is seriously accepted. The interplay between macroeconomic policies and structural reforms does not seem to be a major part of the challenge faced by OECD countries. A different situation prevails for countries in transition.