Milanovic, Branko, (2016), “Introducing Kuznets waves: How income inequality waxes and wanes over the very long run“, Voxeu, 24 February. The Kuznets curve was widely used to describe the relationship between growth and inequality over the second half of the 20th century, but it has fallen out of favour in recent decades. This column suggests that the current upswing in inequality can be viewed as a second Kuznets curve. It is driven, …Read More
EU-UK deal must preserve social rights
Prouza, Tomas, (2016), “EU-UK deal must preserve social rights”, EU Observer, 10 February Given the major, interlinked challenges the European Union is facing, such as the migration and eurozone crises, the UK’s proposals for EU reform might seem less significant than they are. But if we don’t find a solution, the consequences of Brexit might negatively influence the future direction of European integration. Now is time to be decisive and take …Read More
How do Average Hours Worked Vary with Development? Cross-Country Evidence and Implications
Bick, Alexander, Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola, Lagakos, David, (2016), “How do Average Hours Worked Vary with Development? Cross-Country Evidence and Implications”, Centre for Economic Policy Research, February. How do average hours worked vary across the world income distribution? To answer this question, we build a new internationally comparable database of hours worked covering countries of all income levels. We document that average hours worked per adult are substantially higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. This pattern …Read More
Asymmetric Labor-Supply Responses to Wage-Rate Changes: Evidence from a Field Experiment
Doerrenberg, Philipp, Duncan, Denvil, Loeffler, Max, (2016), “Asymmetric Labor-Supply Responses to Wage-Rate Changes: Evidence from a Field Experiment”, IZA, Discussion Paper No. 9683, January. The standard labor-supply literature typically assumes that the labor supply response to wage increases is the same as that for equivalent wage decreases. However, evidence from the behavioral-economics literature suggests that people are loss averse and thus perceive losses differently than gains. This behavioral insight may imply that workers respond …Read More
Unemployment: EMU Policymakers Focus On The Wrong Problem
Saraceno, Francesco, (2016), “Unemployment: EMU Policymakers Focus On The Wrong Problem”, Social Europe Journal, 9 February Last week François Hollande lifted the veil on the much-awaited measures for tackling French unemployment (3.6m/10.6%), defined as a “national emergency”. The plan made the news mostly for the pledge to soften the famous 35-hour working week, which nevertheless remains vague. Besides that, the plan consists of two legs: the first is an attempt …Read More
Unemployment, internal devaluation and labour market deregulation in Europe
Myant, Martin, Theodoropoulou, Sotiria, Piasna, Agnieszka, (2016), “Unemployment, internal devaluation and labour market deregulation in Europe”, European Trade Union Institute, January Unemployment rates in the EU rose after the economic crisis of 2008, passing 10% in 2012, but with big variations between countries. The worst afflicted had been subject to so-called policies of internal devaluation, aimed at curing unemployment by reducing wage costs. This book provides a comparative study of countries that to varying degrees …Read More
Collective Bargaining And Rising Inequalities: Do The OECD And IMF Get It?
Janssen, Ronald, (2016), “Collective Bargaining And Rising Inequalities: Do The OECD And IMF Get It?”, Social Europe, 3 February. In a paper published in spring 2015, the IMF’s research department made the case for trade unions and collective bargaining as a powerful tool to keep inequalities in check. Whereas previous literature and statistics were already showing the existence of such a link, the IMF paper went even further by pointing out that …Read More
Chronic material deprivation and long-term poverty in Europe in the pre-crisis period
Papadopoulos, Fotis, Tsakloglou, Panos, (2015), “Chronic material deprivation and long-term poverty in Europe in the pre-crisis period”, Improve, Discussion Paper No. 15/16, November In recent years research on the measurement of deprivation focuses increasingly on indices of multidimensional disadvantage rather than on more traditional uni-dimensional approaches of earlier studies that were focusing on income poverty. Further, the advent of panel survey data led to a large number of empirical studies that have …Read More
Fiscal cost of refugees in Europe
Ruist, Joakim, (2016), “Fiscal cost of refugees in Europe”, Voxeu, 28 January The current inflow of refugees into Europe has left policymakers in disagreement over how to react. A major concern is the perceived financial burden that can result from large intakes. This column discusses the fiscal impact of refugees on the Swedish economy. The current net redistribution from the non-refugee population to refugees (excluding arrivals in 2015) is estimated to …Read More
The Case For Universal Support For European Families
Arendt, Daphne, (2016), “The Case For Universal Support For European Families”, Social Europe Journal, 1 February Austerity measures introduced during the crisis have disproportionately concerned cuts in the measures that are most vital for reducing child poverty: cash and tax benefits, a new Eurofound report shows. Furthermore, there has been a move away from universal coverage towards more targeted support. Of course, it makes good sense for governments to target …Read More