This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of sector-level bargaining systems and their role for labour market performance. We compare two countries with seemingly similar collective bargaining systems, the Netherlands and Portugal, and document a number of features that may affect labour...

Collective bargaining has come under renewed scrutiny, especially in Southern European countries, which rely predominantly on sectoral bargaining supported by administrative extensions of collective agreements. Following the global financial crisis, some of these countries have implemented...

Over the last decades, Dutch households have seen a strong growth in both their pension savings and equity in their homes. At the same time, their mortgage debts have also increased. On balance, their net wealth grew while their balance sheets also expanded. In view of the ageing population, the...

It is well documented that the public is often poorly informed about economic facts and mechanisms. In the domain of fiscal policy, this may make voters susceptible to favour spending, while underestimating its costs (fiscal illusion). While politicians typically have a comparative advantage in...

It is well documented that the public is often poorly informed about economic facts and mechanisms. In the domain of fiscal policy, this may make voters susceptible to favour spending, while underestimating its costs (fiscal illusion). While politicians typically have a comparative advantage in...

Governments often find it hard to pursue economic reforms, even if they will eventually benefit a majority of voters. The literature is inconclusive about the drivers of public acceptance of reforms. While some scholars stress the role of economic interests, dividing the young and the old in the...

This paper studies the employment and wage effects of contract staggering, i.e., the staggered nature in which wages adjust to changes in the economic environment. Our analysis is based on a large matched employers employees dataset merged to collective agreements in the Netherlands, a country...

Between the start of the economic and financial crisis in 2008, and early 2010, almost four million jobs were lost in the euro area. Employment began to rise again in the first half of 2011, but declined once more at the end of that year and remains at around three million workers below the...