Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America
Journal of Economic Perspectives
(pp. 55–74)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
The received wisdom tells us that the rigidity and inflexibility of European job markets relative to that in the United States is the reason why Europe has high unemployment. This paper argues that this broad brush analysis is simply too vague to be useful. Indeed it is probably positively misleading. Many labor market institutions that conventionally come under the heading of rigidities have no observable impact on unemployment and may otherwise serve a useful purpose.Citation
Nickell, Stephen. 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America." Journal of Economic Perspectives 11 (3): 55–74. DOI: 10.1257/jep.11.3.55JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital
- J21 Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
- J64 Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search