Explaining Unemployment in Spain
Explaining Unemployment in Spain

Author: Mr.Jeffrey R. Franks

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1994-09-01

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 1451852576

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Spain has the most serious and persistent unemployment problem in Europe, with an unemployment rate that reached 24.6 percent in early 1994. This paper explores the characteristics of this unemployment problem, its causes, and provides a brief discussion of recent labor market reform measures and their likely Impact. A demographic shift in recent years has produced a large rise in female labor force participation and a decrease in agricultural jobs to which the economy has been unable to adjust. The effects of generous unemployment benefits and the large underground economy may explain 6–12 percentage points of the resulting unemployment, but the remainder must be explained by failures and rigidities in the labor market. The paper presents econometric evidence that unemployment displays hysteresis, and that wages are not responsive to changes in the unemployment rate. This evidence supports the claim that insider-outsider factors and rigidities in the legal structure of the labor market are responsible for much of the high unemployment rate. Recent reforms have improved the functioning of the labor market, but they are unlikely to be sufficient to reduce unemployment to single digit rates without further action.

Monetary Policy and the German Unemployment Problem in Macroeconomic Models
Monetary Policy and the German Unemployment Problem in Macroeconomic Models

Author: Jan Gottschalk

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-04-29

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 3540376798

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Having the high unemployment in Germany in mind, this book discusses how macroeconomic theory has evolved over the past forty years. It shows that in recent years a convergence has taken place, with modern models embodying a Keynesian transmission mechanism, monetarist policy implication, and modeling techniques inspired by new classical economics and real business cycle theory. It also probes in which direction models may be extended from here. Empirically, the book uses different econometric techniques to investigate the relevance and implications of different macroeconomic theories for German data. A key question this book investigates is the role of demand and supply side conditions for the increase in the German unemployment rate. On a policy level, the book relates the implications of the different theories to the ongoing debate on the appropriate roles of demand and supply side policies for curing the German unemployment problem.

Spanish Unemployment
Spanish Unemployment

Author: Olivier J. Blanchard

Publisher:

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13:

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Is there a solution to Spanish unemployment? This report contends that reducing Spain's current unemployment rate of 25% to 5% within 10 years should be the primary focus of Spain's economic policy.

Unemployment and Labour Market Flexibility
Unemployment and Labour Market Flexibility

Author: Juan Jimeno

Publisher: International Labour Organization

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 9789221087410

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Estudio donde se examinan las razones para la gran persistencia e incremento del desempleo en España a partir de los primeros años de la década de los setenta, centrándose particularmente en la flexibilidad como principal razón para la ineficacia del mercado laboral.

Spain
Spain

Author: International Monetary Fund

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1998-06-22

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 1451812019

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This Selected Issues paper analyzes the sources of the persistence of geographical unemployment imbalances and low speed of adjustment to regional labor demand shocks in Spain. The paper argues that, under present labor market arrangements, these imbalances are unlikely to be corrected in the near future. In particular, the current wage bargaining system appears to be excessively centralized and to result in nationally set wages that are too high to reduce unemployment in high-unemployment areas. The paper also analyzes the May 1997 labor market reform.

Perspectives on Regional Unemployment in Europe
Perspectives on Regional Unemployment in Europe

Author: Mr.Paolo Mauro

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1999-05-17

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9781557758002

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The third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was implemented in January 1999 against the specter of persistently high unemployment in many of the participating countries. While the high European unemployment has received considerable attention, this new IMF staff study analyzes an equally important issue: the extent of regional unemployment disparities in certain countries. The paper focuses on large and persistent differences in regional unemployment rates within several European countries. The paper includes detailed case studies of two euro area countries where regional disparities in unemployment are striking- Italy and Spain. The studies emphasize that wages are unresponsive to local labor market conditions.