In this paper we analyse the employment implications of firing restrictions. We find that when a recession is expected and the trend rate of productivity growth is small, a rise in firing costs affects mainly the hiring decision. Thus there is a negative effect on average employment. When, on...

Populism embeds truth in a welter of lies. Populism erodes trust in mainstream political parties, institutions, ideas, and ideologies. Stagnating productivity, large trade imbalances, and waves of immigration have contributed to increased discontent in the West and eroded trust. Inclusive growth...

OECD unemployment rates show long swings which dominate shorter business cycle components and these long swings show a range of common patterns. Using a panel of 21 OECD countries 1960-2002, we estimate the common factor that drives unemployment by the first principal component. This factor has...