The most popular explanation for greater job creation in the US than in Germany is that greater dispersion of wages coupled with less regulations governing the labour market and the product market in the US has induced firms to employ many less skilled workers. While popular, these explanations...

Over the last 15 years, the Netherlands has experienced a tremendous jobs boom, mainly in services and female employment. This has often been related to changes in the Dutch institutional environment. Using a model which allows for direct utility of work, we find that institutional arrangements...

Nahezu alle Institutionen -Kündigungsschutz, Gewerkschaften, Lohnspreizung, Arbeitslosenversicherung etc.- wurde verdächtigt und schuldig gesprochen die tragische Entwicklung der Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa verursacht zu haben. US-amerikanische Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen wurden zum Benchmark...

In the long history of rising and persistent unemployment in Europe almost all institutions - employment protection legislation, unions, wages, wage structure, unemployment insurance, etc. - have been alleged and found guilty to have caused this tragic development at some point in time. Later,...