Some Thoughts on Macroeconomic Fluctuations and the Timing of Labor Market Reform In this paper, I analyze the pros and cons of implementing structural reforms of the labor market in booms vs. recessions, in light of considerations of social efficiency, political viability, and macroeconomic fine tuning. While the optimal timing of a reform depends on the relative importance of several conflict...

When considering professionals sports leagues, the common topic of discussion is usually about individual players or favorite hometown teams. Sports enthusiasts are the first to rattle off a laundry list of statistics about teams and players, but do they realize they are openly discussing that player’s efficiency in terms of labor? Although it is a popular form of entertainment there is a marke...

Temporary workers make up a sizeable part of the labor force in many countries, including Korea. This paper uses an extension of a standard efficiency wage model to explain the wage gap between temporary and permanent workers. Temporary workers have a chance to become permanent; this possibility – combined with the existence of an employment rent for permanent workers – gives short-term workers...

By using the UTOPIA-project as an example, this paper highlights the role of the Nordic labor movement in technological change and underlines that there are different incentives for technological change. While corporations developing technology usually pursued increased efficiency in production, the UTOPIA-project aimed at other, alternative goals such as translating social values regarding job...

Uncertainty and its composition can affect the demand for social insurance, and thereby the labor market. This paper shows that small to medium-sized increases in uncertainty or risk aversion are enough to recommend an expansion of the safety net that would be broadly similar to the actual safety net expansions, which significantly depressed the labor market. Labor market effects of uncertainty...