The paper proposes a method to speed up the transition toward the notional contributions pension system in Italy. It seems the most appropriate manner to combine and pursue employment and financial sustainability goals. The method computes percentages for abating the old retributive pensions...

The analysis provides a new explanation for two widespread problems concerning European unemployment policy: the disappointingly small effect of many past reform measures on unemployment, and the political difficulties in implementing more extensive reform programs. We argue that the heart of...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between welfare expenditure by government and unemployment outcomes. Using a panel of 34 OECD countries from 1980 to 2010 and a two-way fixed effect model for panel data subject to endogeneity test and persistence test, the results of the...

The paper looks at the experience of advanced economies in dealing with employment volatility. It examines in detail the impact of labour market institutions on equilibrium unemployment and the possible lessons for emerging market economies trying to design policy for dealing with unemployment...

In order to explore the optimal taxation of low-skilled labor, we extend the standard model of optimal non-linear income taxation in the presence of quasi-linear preferences in leisure by allowing for involuntary unemployment, job search, an exogenous welfare benefit, and a non-utilitarian...

This paper examines the effectiveness of active labour market policies (ALMP) in improving labour market outcomes, especially of low-skilled individuals. The empirical analysis consists of an aggregate impact approach based on a pooled cross country and time-series database for 31 advanced...

In many countries, the government pays almost identical nominal wages to workers living in regions with notable economic disparities. In most cases this is the result of highly centralized pay systems. By developing a two-region general equilibrium model with unions and search frictions in the...

Many welfare schemes discourage low skilled individuals from working. In the same time, there is widespread support for the welfare state among the highly educated. We suggest a model which explains these seemingly contrasting observations. In our approach, intergenerational social mobility is...

The proposal involves the establishment of ?welfare accounts? for every person in a country. There are to be four accounts: a retirement account (covering pensions), an unemployment account (covering unemployment support), a human capital account (covering education and training), and a health...

All developed economies have unemployment benefit programs to protect workers against major income losses during spells of unemployment. By enabling unemployed workers to meet basic consumption needs, the programs protect workers from having to sell their assets or accept jobs below their...