Labor Market Institutions and Public Regulation

The effect of public regulation on the labor market: detailed analyses of a wide range of policy interventions.The six studies collected in this CESifo volume analyze the sometimes unpredictable effects of public regulation on the labor market. Examining a wide range of policy interventions-from subsidized employment to an increased tax on capital-and using a variety of methodologies to analyze them, these contributions by leading scholars of the European labor market will advance the policy debate over regulation at a time of serious labor market problems in Europe and elsewhere. The first three chapters of Labor Market Institutions and Public Regulation present empirical findings, comparing the effects of job training and subsidized employment on the Swedish labor market, analyzing the effect of extended unemployment benefits on unemployment duration for older Austrian workers, and examining poor labor market performance in Spain even after policy reforms. The following chapters take a more theoretical approach, applying the analytical tools of theory to policy issues. These three studies examine the general equilibrium repercussions of public support for both basic and higher education, develop an efficiency wage model to analyze mandated severance pay, and compare different kinds of redistribution to low-skill workers financed by an increased tax on capital.