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Economic reforms and labour markets: policy issues and lessons from Chile

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  • Sebastian Edwards
  • Alejandra Cox Edwards

Abstract

Summary Chilean lessons Labour markets reformsOver the last twenty years sweeping reforms have deeply transformed the labour market in Chile. A visible outcome has been the reduction of Chile’s rate of unemployment from ‘European’ to ‘US’ levels. Even though the political context makes this experiment special, are there economic lessons to be learnt? This paper concentrates on reforms to job security, on the decentralization of the wage bargaining process, and on the reduction in payroll taxes. It concludes that the reduction of payroll taxes (within the context of the social security reform), and the decentralization of bargaining increased labour market flexibility and contributed to the reduction of unemployment. On the other side, the analysis suggests that the reform on job security had no significant effect on the aggregate rate of unemployment.— Sebastian Edwards and Alejandra Cox Edwards

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Edwards & Alejandra Cox Edwards, 2000. "Economic reforms and labour markets: policy issues and lessons from Chile," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 15(30), pages 182-229.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:15:y:2000:i:30:p:182-229.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/1468-0327.00060
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    Cited by:

    1. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Jonathan A. Parker, 2007. "Taxes and Growth in a Financially Underdevelopped Country: Evidence from the Chilean Investment Boom," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2007), pages 1-54, August.
    2. Pierre‐Richard Agénor, 2004. "Macroeconomic Adjustment and the Poor: Analytical Issues and Cross‐Country Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 351-408, July.
    3. Jung, Juergen & Tran, Chung, 2012. "The extension of social security coverage in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 439-458.
    4. Richard B. Freeman, 2009. "Labor Regulations, Unions, and Social Protection in Developing Countries: Market distortions or Efficient Institutions?," NBER Working Papers 14789, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Amil Petrin & Jagadeesh Sivadasan, 2006. "Job Security Does Affect Economic Efficiency: Theory, A New Statistic, and Evidence from Chile," NBER Working Papers 12757, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. repec:ilo:ilowps:462962 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Claudio Montenegro & Carmen Pagés, 2005. "Who Benefits from Labor Market Regulations? Chile 1960-1998," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Jorge Restrepo & Andrea Tokman R. & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Series Edi (ed.),Labor Markets and Institutions, edition 1, volume 8, chapter 4, pages 077-114, Central Bank of Chile.
    8. Willmore, Larry, 2007. "Universal Pensions for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 24-51, January.
    9. Norbert Fiess & Marco fugazza & William Maloney, 2002. "Exchange Rate Appreciations, Labor Market Rigidities, and Informality," Working Papers 2005_15, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    10. Lay, Jann & Wiebelt, Manfred, 2001. "Towards a dual education system - a labour market perspective on poverty reduction in Bolivia," Kiel Working Papers 1073, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Ansgar Belke & Daniel Gros, 2003. "The Cost of Financial Market Variability in the Southern Cone," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 54(5), pages 1091-1115.
    12. Jeffrey Frankel, 2012. "What Small Countries Can Teach the World," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 97-103, April.
    13. Jeffrey Frankel, 2013. "A Solution to Fiscal Procyclicality: The Structural Budget Institutions Pioneered by Chile," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Luis Felipe Céspedes & Jordi Galí (ed.),Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Performance, edition 1, volume 17, chapter 9, pages 323-391, Central Bank of Chile.
    14. Tejada, Mauricio M., 2017. "Dual labor markets and labor protection in an estimated search and matching model," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 26-46.
    15. Zhongmin Wu, 2003. "Regional Unemployment in Transitional China: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 297-314, December.
    16. Kaiji Chen & Alfonso Irarrazabal, 2015. "The Role of Allocative Efficiency in a Decade of Recovery," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(3), pages 523-550, July.
    17. Alberto Naudon D. & Andrés Pérez M., 2018. "Unemployment dynamics in Chile: 1960-2015," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 21(1), pages 004-033, April.
    18. Veldkamp, Laura, 2009. "Learning about reform: Time-varying support for structural adjustment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 192-206, March.
    19. Belke, Ansgar & Gros, Daniel, 2002. "Monetary integration in the Southern Cone," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 323-349, December.
    20. Kaiji Chen & Alfonso Irarrazabal, 2015. "The Role of Allocative Efficiency in a Decade of Recovery," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(3), pages 523-550, July.
    21. Puyana, Alicia., 2011. "Economic growth, employment and poverty reduction : a comparative analysis of Chile and Mexico," ILO Working Papers 994629623402676, International Labour Organization.
    22. Frankel, Jeffrey, 2011. "A Solution to Overoptimistic Forecasts and Fiscal Procyclicality: The Structural Budget Institutions Pioneered by Chile," Working Paper Series 11-012, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    23. Zhongmin Wu, 2003. "The persistence of regional unemployment: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(12), pages 1417-1421.
    24. Barr, Abigail & Packard, Truman, 2002. "Revealed preference and self-insurance - Can we learn from the self-employed in Chile?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2754, The World Bank.
    25. Mr. Martin Schindler & Ms. Mariya Aleksynska, 2011. "Labor Market Regulations in Low-, Middle- and High-Income Countries: A New Panel Database," IMF Working Papers 2011/154, International Monetary Fund.

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