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Book part
Publication date: 18 October 2011

Lennart Erixon

The new economic-policy regime in Sweden in the 1990s included deregulation, central-bank independence, inflation targets and fiscal rules but also active labour market policy and…

Abstract

The new economic-policy regime in Sweden in the 1990s included deregulation, central-bank independence, inflation targets and fiscal rules but also active labour market policy and voluntary incomes policy. This chapter describes the content, determinants and performance of the new economic policy in Sweden in a comparative, mainly Nordic, perspective. The new economic-policy regime is explained by the deep recession and budget crisis in the early 1990s, new economic ideas and the power of economic experts. In the 1998–2007 period, Sweden displayed relatively low inflation and high productivity growth, but unemployment was high, especially by national standards. The restrictive monetary policy was responsible for the low inflation, and the dynamic (ICT) sector was decisive for the productivity miracle. Furthermore, productivity increases in the ICT sector largely explains why the Central Bank undershot its inflation target in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The new economic-policy regime in Sweden performed well during the global financial crisis. However, as in other OECD countries, the moderate increase in unemployment was largely attributed to labour hoarding. And the rapid recovery of the Baltic countries made it possible for Sweden to avoid a bank crisis.

Details

The Nordic Varieties of Capitalism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-778-0

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2022

Corrado Andini

The aim is to assess how a policy of tertiary education for all affects the shape of the unconditional earnings distribution.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim is to assess how a policy of tertiary education for all affects the shape of the unconditional earnings distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the quantile-regression literature looking at the link between education and wage inequality, also proving new evidence based on unconditional quantile regressions.

Findings

The findings support the idea that a policy of tertiary education for all increases the overall level of wage inequality.

Research limitations/implications

The research has implications for public policy and administration. Among the limitations, the paper does not deal with distributional aspects related to other outcomes (e.g. health outcomes) of the policy of interest.

Practical implications

The analysis highlights a series of potential government interventions aimed at reducing the wage-inequality externalities of the policy of interest.

Social implications

A policy of tertiary education for all, by itself, is not useful to fight wage inequality.

Originality/value

This paper belongs to the small group of studies using unconditional quantile regressions to study the link between education and wage inequality. It is the first study specifically looking at the distributional effects of a policy of tertiary education for all.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 50 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1988

Anthony Clunies Ross

The assignment of targets to instruments in developing countries cannot satisfactorily follow any simple universal rule. Which approach is appropriate is influenced by whether the…

273

Abstract

The assignment of targets to instruments in developing countries cannot satisfactorily follow any simple universal rule. Which approach is appropriate is influenced by whether the economy is dominated by primary exports, by the importance of the domestic bond market and bank credit, by the extent of existing restriction in foreign exchange and financial markets, by the presence or absence of persistent high inflation, and by the existence or non‐existence of an active international market in the country's currency. Eighteen observations and maxims on stabilisation policy are tentatively drawn (pp. 64–8) from the material reviewed, and the maxims are partly summarised (pp. 69–71) in a schematic assignment, with variations, of targets to instruments.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 December 2004

John P. Formby, John A. Bishop and Hoseong Kim

Labor markets for unskilled and low-wage workers in the United States stagnated in the last quarter of the 20th century. The collapse in the low-wage labor market has been well…

Abstract

Labor markets for unskilled and low-wage workers in the United States stagnated in the last quarter of the 20th century. The collapse in the low-wage labor market has been well documented1 and numerous research initiatives have investigated the causes. Despite some geographical mismatches between buyers and sellers low-paying jobs are generally available but forces are at work on both the demand and supply sides of unskilled labor markets that make it increasingly difficult for working families at or near the bottom of the income distribution to earn enough to meet basic needs. Welfare reform effectively increased the supply of unskilled workers, which placed added pressures on wages and earnings of low-income families.

Details

Studies on Economic Well-Being: Essays in the Honor of John P. Formby
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-136-1

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Francesca Sgobbi

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the employer’s wage policy on the wage dynamics of vulnerable groups of employees at large firms, including younger…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the employer’s wage policy on the wage dynamics of vulnerable groups of employees at large firms, including younger employees, employees on fixed-term contracts, and employees who take parental leave.

Design/methodology/approach

The first step of the analysis identifies the wage policy models adopted by a sample of large Italian companies by means of a cluster analysis based on firm-level variables that describe the wage level, wage structure, and wage dynamics. The second step estimates the impact of the employer’s wage policy on the wage growth path of matched employees, paying particular attention to groups of vulnerable workers.

Findings

The cluster analysis identifies four clusters whose characteristics reflect ideal types suggested by the literature. The 2SLS wage regressions that examine the impact of the employer’s wage policy model on a matched employee’s wage five years later confirm that the initial employer’s wage policy is a significant determinant of wage dynamics. However, the observed patterns significantly differ between the whole sample and the examined groups of vulnerable employees.

Originality/value

Despite consistent evidence of negative labour market outcomes for vulnerable employees, the impact of firm characteristics on segregation into disadvantaged groups is still under-researched. This paper provides new evidence of how the employer’s wage policy impacts the wage growth path of disadvantaged employees and highlights critical dimensions to reduce the risk of segregation into less favourable segments of the labour market.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 April 2012

Arnab K. Basu, Nancy H. Chau and Zahra Siddique

We study the impact of tax and minimum wage reforms on the incidence of informality. To gauge the incidence of informality, we use measures of the extent of tax evasion, the…

Abstract

We study the impact of tax and minimum wage reforms on the incidence of informality. To gauge the incidence of informality, we use measures of the extent of tax evasion, the extent of minimum wage noncompliance, and the size of the informal workforce. Our approach allows us to examine (i) the distinction between determinants of firm-level reported wage distribution and actual wage distribution, (ii) the complementarity of tax and minimum wage enforcement, (iii) the impact that a minimum wage reform has on tax and minimum wage compliance, and (iv) the impact that a tax policy reform has on tax and minimum wage compliance. We conclude with the design of optimal minimum wage and tax policies (even in the complete absence of minimum wage enforcement). We do so based on two objectives derived from popular concerns associated with an unchecked expansion of informality: tax revenue maximization, and poverty alleviation among workers.

Details

Informal Employment in Emerging and Transition Economies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-787-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1980

P.B. Beaumont, A.W.J. Thomson and M.B. Gregory

I. INTRODUCTION In this monograph we point out and analyse various dimensions of bargaining structure, which we define broadly as the institutional configuration within which…

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION In this monograph we point out and analyse various dimensions of bargaining structure, which we define broadly as the institutional configuration within which bargaining takes place, and attempt to provide some guidelines for management action. We look at the development, theory, and present framework of bargaining structure in Britain and then examine it in terms of choices: multi‐employer versus single employer, company versus plant level bargaining, and the various public policy issues involved.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2000

Jonathan C. Morris

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…

31535

Abstract

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 23 no. 9/10/11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2021

Svitlana Tsymbaliuk and Tetiana Shkoda

High European standards of life quality are declared in a set of legislative documents in Ukraine, but the rewarding policy for the healthcare employees because of the coronavirus…

Abstract

Purpose

High European standards of life quality are declared in a set of legislative documents in Ukraine, but the rewarding policy for the healthcare employees because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease remains not fully implemented. The purpose of the study is to develop indicators, standards and methods of assessing rewarding policies for healthcare employees in terms of providing decent labour remuneration that are useful for all stakeholders of the healthcare sector in Ukraine.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proposes the methodical foundations of developing evaluation tools of rewarding policies for implementing the decent work concept at the sectoral level.

Findings

The findings identify the complex indicator of decent labour remuneration in the healthcare sector in Ukraine, which is 0.185. It proves that the level of the decent labour remuneration of the healthcare employees in Ukraine is at the low level.

Practical implications

The study provides the important recommendations for all policymakers in the healthcare sector in different countries in the context of diagnosing the problems in the rewarding policies and determining the directions for improvement in terms of implementation of the decent work principles.

Originality/value

By proposing and calculating the main methodical foundations of evaluation tools development of rewarding policies in the context of realisation of the decent work concept at the sectoral level, the study fills a void in the decent labour remuneration and the labour economics theory literature.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1974

Mahmood A. Zaidi

1. INTRODUCTION The recent proliferation of literature on the problems inherent in inflation, unemployment and incomes policy does not lag far behind the rate of inflation that…

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION The recent proliferation of literature on the problems inherent in inflation, unemployment and incomes policy does not lag far behind the rate of inflation that initially prompted it. Before we get into the discussion of incomes and prices policies, it will be advisable to (a) present some evidence on the wage‐price‐unemployment behaviour in selected industrialised countries and (b) discuss theoretical and empirical results which have led to the conclusion that monetary and fiscal policies will not be adequate to meet the current inflationary problems. The first should provide substance to the claim that inflation has increased over time and has now become a more critical problem; the second should throw some light on the nature of current controversy on inflation and why mixed economies should need to supplement monetary and fiscal policies by other policies to provide themselves with a better trade‐off between inflation and unemployment. Accordingly, we will (1) describe recent wage‐price‐unemployment experience in selected industrialised countries, (2) discuss theoretical and empirical issues involved in the study of wage‐price‐unemployment behaviour, and (3) present the rationale advanced for an incomes policy, and discuss the past experiences of countries which have experimented with incomes policies and conclude with the suggestion that incomes policy and manpower policy be considered as complementary.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

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