This book, prepared under the auspices of the European Unemployment Program, uses a compact econometric model to identify the sources of the unemployment problem and to suggest remedies.Since 1974 Europe has been burdened with steadily persistent and increasing unemployment. This book, prepared under the auspices of the European Unemployment Program, uses a compact econometric model to identify the sources of the unemployment problem and to suggest remedies. Focusing on ten European countries, with a chapter on the United States for comparative perspective, the studies are unique in adopting a single theoretical model to guide empirical research. The common framework allows for sharply focused investigation and produces findings whose significance does not end at national boundaries. The in-depth country studies are preceded by an overview that includes a detailed description of the theoretical model, a summary of findings, and policy recommendations and a chapter by Olivier Blanchard that discusses different approaches to the analysis of the unemployment problem and relates this work to earlier efforts.ContributorsTorbert M. Anderson, Javier Andrés, Charles R. Bean, Olivier Jean Blanchard, Michael C. Burda, Jean J. Dolado, Jacques H. Drèze, Wim Driehuis, H. Entorf, Wolfgang Franz, Frédéric Gagey, Andrea Gavosto, Heinz König, Jean-Paul Lambert, Fati Mehra, Cesar Molinas, Peter Neudorfer, Benoit Ottenwaelter, Per B. Overgaard, Karl Pichelmann, Miguel Sebastian, Henri R. Snessens, Werner Smolny, Fiorella Padoa Schioppa, Michael Wagner, Antonio Zabalza. The Countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, The United Kingdom, The United States

The book is the first major study to examine the implications of differences in welfare regimes for the experience of unemployment in Europe. It is concerned with three central questions about the way such regimes affect the experience of unemployment. The first is how far they protect the quality of life of unemployed people with respect to living standards and the experience of financial hardship. The second is their role in mediating the impact of unemployment on the individual's longer-term position in the labour market, addressing the issue of how far they help to prevent progressive marginalization from the employment structure as a result of motivational change, skill loss or the growth of discriminatory barriers. The third is how far such regimes mediate the impact of unemployment on social integration in the community, for instance with respect to the maintenance (or rupture) of social networks and the degree of psychological distress experienced by the unemployed. The book is the product of a major cross-cultural research programme, funded by the European Union (TSER), bringing together teams from eight countries. The emphasis has been on rigorous comparison rather than the all-too-frequent separate country analyses, which usually provide data which differs in format from one country to another. In addition to a systematic comparison of national data sources, it has been able to make use of a new important data source (the European Community Household Panel) produced by Eurostat which provides directly comparable information for all EU countries. The study shows that institutional and cultural differences have vital implications for the experience of unemployment. While welfare policies affect in an important way the pervasiveness of poverty, it is above all the patterns of family structure and the culture of sociability in a society that affect vulnerability to social isolation. The book concludes by developing a new perspective for understanding the risk of social exclusion.

The author considers the evolution of the rate of unemployment. Stockhammer provides a framework that compares the features and implications of the New Keynesian NAIRU model with those of the closely related post Keynesian theory of conflict inflation.

The recent euro crisis and the dramatic increase of unemployment in some euro countries have triggered a renewed interest in a fiscal capacity for the European Union to stabilize the economy of its member states. One of the proposed instruments is a common European unemployment insurance. In this book Sebastian Dullien from the HTW Berlin provides and evaluates a blueprint for such a scheme. Building on lessons from the unemployment insurance in the United States of America, he outlines how a European unemployment benefit scheme could be constructed to provide significant stabilization to national business cycles, yet without strongly extending social protection in Europe. Macroeconomic stabilization effects and payment flows between countries are simulated and options, potential pitfalls and existing concerns discussed.

In Youth Policies and Unemployment in Europe Paola Giannoni analyses the situation of the European youth regarding the changes in the job market dynamics and the strategies implemented by the EU for the social inclusion of young people.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.Policymakers throughout Europe are enacting policies to support youth labour market integration. However, many young people continue to face unemployment, job insecurity, and the subsequent consequences.Adopting a mixed-method and multilevel perspective, this book provides a comprehensive investigation into the multifaceted consequences of social exclusion. Drawing on rich pan-European comparative and quantitative data, and interviews with young people from across Europe, this text gives a platform to the unheard voices of young people.Contributors derive crucial new policy recommendations and offer fresh insights into areas including youth well-being, health, poverty, leaving the parental home, and qualifying for social security.

Increasing labour market flexibility is at the top of the European agenda. A new and challenging view is that lack of mobility in the labour market may arise from rigidities in the housing market. This book brings together top European economists to analyse the interaction between housing and labour markets and provides clear policy messages.

Labour, the most widely used and valued input in Canadian production, is exchanged in a market best described as being in a constant state of flux. Recent estimates suggest that approximately 2.5 million workers secure employment each year while a somewhat larger number become unemployed or leave the labour market. This document looks at labour market developments and examines the following points: labour supply growth and composition; labour demand; unemployment; quarterly review; and parliamentary action.