Labor Market Reforms in Europe: Towards More Flexicure Labor Markets?

Werner Eichhorst, Paul Marx () and Caroline Wehner
Additional contact information
Paul Marx: University of Bonn

No 9863, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Labor market segmentation refers to a salient divide between secure and insecure jobs and is related to problems in important areas, including macro-economic efficiency, workers' wellbeing and repercussions for social cohesion. European countries have started a new wave of labor market reforms in the aftermath of the 2008/09 crisis to tackle a number of issues, including labor market segmentation. This particularly concerns reforms in: (1) employment protection, i.e. dismissal protection and restrictions on fixed-term contracts; (2) unemployment benefit generosity and coverage; and (3) the intensity of active labor market policies. The paper provides an overview of reform patterns and tries to assess whether and to what extent these reforms have led to more or less dualized labor markets in terms of dismissal protection, the provision of unemployment benefits and access to ALMPs. In particular, we will provide some evidence on potential changes in hirings on temporary contracts.

Keywords: employment protection; labor market reforms; unemployment insurance; flexicurity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J42 J48 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2016-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-iue and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: Journal for Labour Market Research, 2017, 51 (3), 1-17.

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Journal Article: Labor market reforms in Europe: towards more flexicure labor markets? (2017)
Journal Article: Labor market reforms in Europe: towards more flexicure labor markets? (2017)
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