Using a sample of 97 countries spanning the period 1980?2008, we estimate that financial crises have a large negative impact on unemployment in the short term, but that this effect rapidly disappears in the medium term in countries with flexible labor market institutions, whereas the impact of financial crises is less pronounced but more persistent in countries with more rigid labor market institutions. These effects are even larger for youth unemployment in the short term and long-term unemployment in the medium term. Conversely, large upfront, or gradual but significant, comprehensive labor market policies have a positive impact on unemployment, albeit only in the medium term.

This book looks at the impacts of the Asian economic crisis on the labor market, examining how various countries respondedIt identifies the labour policy reforms needed in areas of unemployment benefit, active labour market programs, support for vulnerable groups and social dialogue.

This book reviews the experience of workers in developing countries during the global financial crisis of 2009, asseses the recovery, and provides new evidence on the policy response that countries undertook in response to the crisis.

This paper does two things. First, it articulates what are the main implications of theoretical and empirical research for design of labor market policies and labor market institutions. Second, in this light, the paper analyzes the IMF’s labor market recommendations since the beginning of the crisis, both in general, and more specifically in program countries

The human cost of the recent global crisis is reflected in its impact on the labor market. Explaining why economies with similar downturns had very different employment trends can help design policies to reduce such costs and improve labor markets. This paper analyzes the recent employment experiences of six economies: Germany, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and Sweden. These economies represent a wide range of labor market institutions, policy responses, and outcomes to the crisis. The divergence of labor market outcomes and of the effectiveness of policies during the crisis can be explained by the interaction between the nature of the shocks and differences in the structure and institutions of each country’s economy. The worst job losses compared to the drop in output followed permanent shocks, particularly in dual labor markets and in the presence of wage rigidities. Policies to avoid job cuts were much more effective when they were well-targeted and responded to temporary shocks. In contrast, policies to facilitate labor movements were more appropriate following permanent shocks.

This is a fully revised and updated version of the author's undergraduate textbook on unemployment, previously titled "Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market". The authors question the inevitability of present levels of unemployment in the Western world.

This book offers a close examination of current labor market and unemployment policies throughout Europe from 2010, when post-crisis austerity became the norm, to the present. Expert contributors present detailed national case studies, showing how policies have changed--or, in some cases, remained largely the same--in this period; taken together, the case studies enable researchers to make fruitful comparisons across the continent and determine what direction policy has been moving and whether those policy changes have been effective.