Labour market policies in transition economies

Labour market institutions and labour market performance

“…We illustrate this point using data on the dynamics of GDP and unemployment in the transition region, which are presented in Tables A1 and A2 in Appendix I. The data show that a few years after the start of market reforms, the experiences of transition countries, including labour market outcomes, revealed great differences, often comparable with the differences between the USA and Western European labour markets (Rutkowski, 1996). 5 One important point that the data in Tables A1 and A2 seem to suggest is that the divergent labour market outcomes in transition countries cannot be attributed to economic shocks only.…”

“…, 2003) as the governments struggled to keep budget discipline against the background of a considerable and largely unanticipated decline in output (Gomulka, 1998). Unionization rates have been in decline throughout the region (Borisov and Clarke, 2006; Kohl, 2008), although the effectiveness of trade unions in promoting the economic interests of their members may have increased, especially in Central Europe (Rutkowski, 1996). 8 The countries of the region introduced a number of tax reforms: for instance, the switch to the flat personal income tax rate has become a common feature of most countries, following the experience of Estonia in 1994.…”

“…7 These were subject to cuts, sometimes dramatic, in the 1990s (Riboud et al, 2003) as the governments struggled to keep budget discipline against the background of a considerable and largely unanticipated decline in output (Gomulka, 1998). Unionization rates have been in decline throughout the region (Borisov and Clarke, 2006;Kohl, 2008), although the effectiveness of trade unions in promoting the economic interests of their members may have increased, especially in Central Europe (Rutkowski, 1996). 8 The countries of the region introduced a number of tax reforms: 5 Although the precision of these estimates may be an issue as the concept of GDP was, in general, not used in Eastern Europe and Central Asia before the early 1990s (the output in the economy was measured as Gross Material Product, which excluded services), the general pattern definitely holds.…”

Labor Market Institutions and Labor Market Performance: What Can We Learn from Transition Countries?

“…The data show that a few years after the start of market reforms, the experiences of transition countries, including labor market outcomes, revealed great differences, often comparable with the differences between US and Western European labor markets (Rutkowski 1996). 3 One important point that the data in Tables A1 and A2 seem to suggest is that the divergent labor market outcomes in transition countries cannot be attributed to economic shocks only.…”

“…(Gomulka 1998). Unionization rates have been in decline throughout the region (Borisov and Clarke 2006;Kohl 2008), although the effectiveness of trade unions in promoting the economic interests of their members may have increased, especially in Central Europe (Rutkowski 1996). 6 The countries of the region introduced a number of tax reforms, e.g., the switch to the flat personal income tax rate has become a common feature of most countries, following the experience of Estonia in 1994.…”