Using a panel of 17 countries for 1978–2009, we find that tax-driven consolidations increase unemployment by 0.25 percentage points. Labour market flexibility mitigates this: a one-point rise in the flexibility index reduces youth (long-term) unemployment by 0.6–0.7 (1.8–2.2) percentage...

Using a panel of 62 countries for 1973–2005, we assess the impact of financial reforms on income inequality. We find that removal of policies towards directed credit and excessively high reserve requirements, and improvements in the securities market reduce inequality.