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Reforming an Insider-Outsider Labor Market: The Spanish Experience

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Listed:
  • Samuel Bentolila
  • Juan Jose Dolado
  • Juan F. Jimeno

Abstract

This paper presents a case study on reforming a very dysfunctional labor market with a deep insider-outsider divide, namely the Spanish case. We show how a dual market, with permanent and temporary employees makes real reform much harder, and leads to purely marginal changes that do not alter the fundamental features of labor market institutions. While the Great Recession and the start of the sovereign debt crisis triggered two labor reforms, the political economy equilibrium has not allowed them to be transformational enough.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Bentolila & Juan Jose Dolado & Juan F. Jimeno, 2011. "Reforming an Insider-Outsider Labor Market: The Spanish Experience," CESifo Working Paper Series 3670, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3670
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    temporary contracts; dualism; labor market reform; political economy; Great Recession;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H29 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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