Comparative Employment Performance: A Fuzzy-Set Analysis

Abstract

Much of the debate about comparative employment performance in recent decades has focused on the impact of labor market institutions and policies. A number of studies have found that institutions and policies that restrict or regulate market processes — for example, wage compression, employment protection regulations, high taxes, generous unemployment benefits — have adverse effects on employment outcomes (OECD, 1994, 2006; Nickell, 1997; Scharpf, 1997, 2000; Siebert, 1997; Iversen and Wren, 1998; Blanchard and Wolfers, 2000; Blau and Kahn, 2002; IMF, 2003; Kenworthy, 2004, 2008; Kemmerling, 2005; Nickell, Nunziata, and Ochel, 2005; Bassanini and Duval, 2006). Others question this conclusion (Glyn and Salverda, 2000; Esping-Andersen and Regini, 2000; Martin, 2004; Baccaro and Rei, 2005; Baker et al., 2005; Schettkat, 2005; Stephens and Bradley, 2005; Howell et al., 2006).