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Incentives and complementarities of flexicurity

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  • Brown, Alessio J. G.
  • Snower, Dennis J.

Abstract

This paper analyses how and to which degree the Danish flexicurity concept and its various elements achieve the renowned Danish miracle by evaluating their unemployment and inequality effects and their complementarities. We develop a microfounded model of searching workers and firms, calibrate it to Germany and perform the policy experiment of implementing the full Danish flexicurity set of policies (low employment protection, high unemployment benefits and workfare). Our results show that implementing the Danish flexicurity concept in Germany would reduce unemployment and earnings inequality substantially. Furthermore our analysis illustrates that the Danish flexicurity policies have some apparent complementarities in Germany - the reduction of unemployment effect is nearly 40% greater when the policies are implemented in conjunction than in isolation.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, Alessio J. G. & Snower, Dennis J., 2009. "Incentives and complementarities of flexicurity," Kiel Working Papers 1526, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1526
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Davoine, Thomas, 2015. "A theoretical rationale for flexicurity policies based on education," Economics Series 311, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    2. Christian Keuschnigg & Thomas Davoine, 2010. "Flexicurity and Job Reallocation," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2010 2010-11, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    3. Torben M. Andersen, 2016. "Incentives versus insurance in the design of tax-financed unemployment insurance," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 12(2), pages 127-150, June.
    4. Alessio Brown & Johannes Koettl, 2015. "Active labor market programs - employment gain or fiscal drain?," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-36, December.
    5. Andersen, Torben M, 2010. "Incentive and Insurance Effects of Tax Financed Unemployment Insurance," CEPR Discussion Papers 8025, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2010. "Labour Market Status, Transitions and Gender: a European Perspective," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00616799, HAL.
    7. Torben Andersen, 2012. "A Flexicurity Labour Market in the Great Recession: The Case of Denmark," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 117-140, June.
    8. Favero, Fausto, 2022. "Political economy of labor market policies for current labor market transformations in Europe," IPE Working Papers 180/2022, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    9. Brown, Alessio J. G. & Merkl, Christian & Lechthaler, Wolfgang, 2009. "Firing costs and the business cycle: Policy implications in light of the financial crisis," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 32947, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    10. Thomas Davoine & Christian Keuschnigg, 2015. "Flexicurity, Taxes and Job Reallocation," CESifo Working Paper Series 5302, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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