It is widely held that the social-economic context of the US, characterised by labour market flexibility and deregulation of product and capital markets, lies at the basis of the innovative capacity displayed by the country's productive system in the 1990s, thus accounting for the growth...

After two decades of theoretical discussion and application of labour policies aimed at flexibility, ever-spreading unemployment in Europe has compelled some official institutions to admit that the 'rigidity' of the labour market does not suffice to account for the different trends in employment...