IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wii/bpaper/049.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Unemployment and Labour Market Rigidities in Southeast Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Maja Micevska

Abstract

This paper presents new data that describe employment protection legislation (EPL) and other labor market institutions and policies preva iling in seven Southeast European (SEE) countries in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The main contribution has been the construction of EPL indices for the SEE countries. The paper finds that, despite significant liberalization efforts, the SEE countries still stand out for having relatively strict EPL. However, this rigidity mainly stems from their strict legislation on temporary employment and collective dismissals, while the SEE legislation on regular employment is quite flexible. Preliminary empirical results indicate that stricter temporary employment legislation is associated with higher unemployment for women and youths as well as with lower employment and labor force participation rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Maja Micevska, 2004. "Unemployment and Labour Market Rigidities in Southeast Europe," wiiw Balkan Observatory Working Papers 49, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    • Handle: RePEc:wii:bpaper:049
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://wiiw.ac.at/unemployment-and-labour-market-rigidities-in-southeast-europe-dlp-3259.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adriana Kugler, 2000. "The Incidence of Job Security Regulations on Labor Market Flexibility and Compliance in Colombia: Evidence from the 1990 Reform," Research Department Publications 3094, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    2. Bertola, Giuseppe, 1990. "Job security, employment and wages," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 851-879, June.
    3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 1995. "The Wage Curve," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026202375x, December.
    4. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 1-33, March.
    5. Pedro Portugal & Olivier Blanchard, 2001. "What Hides Behind an Unemployment Rate: Comparing Portuguese and U.S. Labor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 187-207, March.
    6. Nickell, Stephen & Layard, Richard, 1999. "Labor market institutions and economic performance," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 46, pages 3029-3084, Elsevier.
    7. Carmen Pagés-Serra, 2000. "The Cost of Job Security Regulation: Evidence from Latin American Labor Markets," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2000), pages 109-154, August.
    8. Giuseppe BERTOLA & Tito BOERI & Sandrine CAZES, 2000. "Employment protection in industrialized countries: The case for new indicators," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 139(1), pages 57-72, March.
    9. Mincer, Jacob, 1976. "Unemployment Effects of Minimum Wages," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 87-104, August.
    10. Edward P. Lazear, 1990. "Job Security Provisions and Employment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(3), pages 699-726.
    11. Samuel Bentolila & Giuseppe Bertola, 1990. "Firing Costs and Labour Demand: How Bad is Eurosclerosis?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 57(3), pages 381-402.
    12. Stephen Nickell, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer.
    13. Alvaro Forteza & Martín Rama, 2000. "Labor Market "Rigidity" and the Success of Economic Reforms Across more than One Hundred Countries," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0600, Department of Economics - dECON.
    14. Stefano Scarpetta & Philip Hemmings & Thierry Tressel & Jaejoon Woo, 2002. "The Role of Policy and Institutions for Productivity and Firm Dynamics: Evidence from Micro and Industry Data," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 329, OECD Publishing.
    15. Richard B. Freeman, 2000. "Single Peaked Vs. Diversified Capitalism: The Relation Between Economic Institutions and Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 7556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Nickell, Stephen J, 1987. "Why Is Wage Inflation in Britain So High?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 49(1), pages 103-128, February.
    17. Rutkowski, Jan, 2003. "Does strict employment protection discourage job creation? Evidence from Croatia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3104, The World Bank.
    18. World Bank, 2002. "Labor Market in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina : How to Encourage Businesses to Create Jobs and Increase Worker Mobility," World Bank Publications - Reports 15333, The World Bank Group.
    19. Adriana Kugler, 2000. "The Incidence of Job Security Regulations on Labor Market Flexibility and Compliance in Colombia: Evidence from the 1990 Reform," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 43042, Inter-American Development Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Muravyev, Alexander, 2010. "Evolution of Employment Protection Legislation in the USSR, CIS and Baltic States, 1985-2009," IZA Discussion Papers 5365, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Valerija Botric, 2011. "Structural Unemployment And Its Determinants In Southeast Europe," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 20(1), pages 81-100, june.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pierre, Gaëlle & Scarpetta, Stefano, 2004. "Employment Regulations through the Eyes of Employers: Do They Matter and How Do Firms Respond to Them?," IZA Discussion Papers 1424, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Parsons, Donald O., 2011. "Mandated Severance Pay and Firing Cost Distortions: A Critical Review of the Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 5776, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Can, Raif, 2015. "The Impact of Employment Protection Legislation on the Unemployment Rate in Selected OECD Countries," MPRA Paper 63329, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Tito Boeri & Jan van Ours, 2013. "The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10142.
    5. Carmen Pagés-Serra, 2000. "The Cost of Job Security Regulation: Evidence from Latin American Labor Markets," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2000), pages 109-154, August.
    6. Jahn, Elke J., 2005. "Wie wirkt der Kündigungsschutz? (What are the effects of employment protection?)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 284-304.
    7. James J. Heckman & Carmen Pagés, 2004. "Introduction to "Law and Employment: Lessons from Latin American and the Caribbean"," NBER Chapters, in: Law and Employment: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean, pages 1-108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Jahn, Elke J., 2005. "Wie wirkt der Kündigungsschutz? (What are the effects of employment protection?)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 284-304.
    9. Jahn, Elke J., 2005. "Wie wirkt der Kündigungsschutz? (What are the effects of employment protection?)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 284-304.
    10. Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski & Przemysław Włodarczyk, 2012. "Wpływ prawnej ochrony zatrudnienia na rynek pracy w warunkach negatywnego szoku ekonomicznego," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 11-12, pages 1-23.
    11. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2004. "Job protection laws and agency problems under asymmetric information," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1027-1046, October.
    12. Alejandro Micco & Carmen Pagés-Serra, 2004. "Protección del empleo y flujo bruto de puestos de trabajo: un enfoque de diferencias en diferencias," Research Department Publications 4366, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Gaetano Perone, 2018. "Produttività del lavoro, dinamica salariale e squilibri commerciali nei Paesi dell'Eurozona: un'analisi empirica," Economia & lavoro, Carocci editore, issue 3, pages 61-98.
    14. Alejandro Micco & Carmen Pagés-Serra, 2004. "Employment Protection and Gross Job Flows: A Differences-in-Differences Approach," Research Department Publications 4365, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    15. Micco, Alejandro & Pagés, Carmen, 2006. "The Economic Effects of Employment Protection: Evidence from International Industry-Level Data," IZA Discussion Papers 2433, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Luca Nunziata, 2005. "Institutions and Wage Determination: a Multi‐country Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(4), pages 435-466, August.
    17. Amine Samir, 2015. "Reflections On Employment Protection Legislation: An International Comparison," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 119-130, March.
    18. Carmen Pagés-Serra & James J. Heckman, 2000. "El costo de la regulación de la estabilidad laboral: elementos de juicio de los mercados laborales latinoamericanos," Research Department Publications 4228, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    19. Floro Ernesto Caroleo, 2000. "Le politiche per l'occupazione in Europa: una tassonomia istituzionale," STUDI ECONOMICI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2000(71).
    20. Paulo Mota & José Varejão & Paulo Vasconcelos, 2015. "A hysteresis model-based indicator for employment adjustment rigidity," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 547-569, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wii:bpaper:049. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Customer service (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wiiwwat.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.