Evaluating Labour Market Flexibility Using the TOPSIS Method: Sustainable Industrial Relations

Anna Galik, Monika Bąk, Katarzyna Bałandynowicz-Panfil and Giuseppe T. Cirella
Additional contact information
Anna Galik: Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Monika Bąk: Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Katarzyna Bałandynowicz-Panfil: Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: This study evaluates labour market flexibility using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. TOPSIS is employed by comparing spatial (i.e., different countries) and temporal (i.e., long-time horizon) terms. Sustainable industrial relations processes are considered in shaping the flexibility of the labour market in 15 European Union Member States from 2009 to 2018. Countries are grouped into classes to provide a basis for benchmarking results against social and employment policies implemented at the national level. A five-step quantitative MCDA method is formulated using published data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results indicate that the TOPSIS method is an appropriate approach for measuring labour market flexibility internationally. Moreover, in relation to workforce phenomena, the findings show that the method offers the possibility of examining the impact of particular factors related to social and employment policies of a country in terms of sustainable development and socioeconomic growth. The lack of precision tools to forecast the development of national and transnational labour markets—particularly during the COVID-19 era—highlights the importance of such a method for workforce planners and policymakers. Developing sustainable industrial relations in terms of associated national externalities is the motivation of the research.

Keywords: economic development; sustainable economy; multi-criteria decision analysis; labour policy; benchmarking; COVID-19 reset; EU-15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/1/526/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/1/526/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:1:p:526-:d:717452

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().