The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of Great Britain

The paper presents the findings of a comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for immediate comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the British labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the British system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of Spain

The paper presents the findings of a comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the Spanish labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of forms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.) The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides and overall assessment of the Spanish system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of the Netherlands

The paper presents the findings of comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the Dutch labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the Dutch system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of Germany

The paper presents the findings of comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for immediate comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the German labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the German system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Commission.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of Italy

The paper presents the findings of comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the Italian labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the Italian system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of France

The paper presents the findings of comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the French labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the French system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

Benchmarking Labour Market Performances and Policies

The recent EU initiatives on employment policy and the “Luxembourg employment strategy” underscore the relevance of benchmarking as an instrument for improving labour market performance and labour policy effectiveness. This paper presents the major results of a research project aimed at exploring the application of benchmarking techniques to convergence between the European labour markets. After synthetically describing the development of benchmarking techniques in the private and the public sectors, the paper addresses the crucial question of defining labour market performance and presents the possibility of creating labour market performance and policy benchmarks through the construction of efficiency frontiers. A second possibility explored is the radar-chart approach, a presentation technique that allows both for single dimension and overall performance monitoring. The paper then faces the problem of broadening the scope of benchmarking from the identification of benchmarks to the understanding of performance gaps through more comprehensive analytical tools. In this area, useful contributions are provided by the employment systems and the transitional labour markets approaches. The concluding section stresses the role of normative decisions, as well as the possible political challenges implied by a thorough application of benchmarking techniques to labour market convergence.     

Labour Flows as Determinants of the Wage–Price Spiral: An Empirical Analysis for The Netherlands

This study presents an empirical analysis of the influence of labour market flows on wage and price formation. A system of wage, price and employment equations after Nickell (Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 49: 103–128, 1987) is estimated, including labour flows as indicators of labour market tightness in the wage equation. An impulse response analysis using this system shows how changes in the flow of layoffs (flow from employment to unemployment) may be the basis of short‐run Phillips curve effects in The Netherlands     

The Threat Effect of Mandatory Programmes in Finland

This study focuses on the threat effect of the activation reform of the Finnish labour market support system in 2006. Mandatory programme participation may provide the incentive for some individuals to look for work in order to avoid the training programmes. The study examines whether the reform encouraged individuals in the target group to look for employment. According to the results, mandatory programme participation has no effect on the probability of finding a job or of leaving labour market support for some other reason. Conversely, long‐term recipients' participation in the labour market programmes has increased, owing to the activation reform.     

The Implications of Temporary Jobs on the Distribution of Wages in Italy: An Unconditional IVQTE Approach

Using Italian data, this paper investigates the wage implications of temporary jobs across the whole pay profile using unconditional quantile regression (UQR) models. Results clearly indicate that the wage penalty associated to temporary jobs is significantly larger at the bottom of wage profile and is almost absent for high‐wage jobs. This is in line with the sticky floors hypothesis, supporting the idea that the wage gap for temporary employees depends on their position in the wage distribution for low‐paid jobs. To recover a causal interpretation, I employ an instrumental variable (IV) strategy. I adopt the unconditional instrumental variable quantile treatment effects (IVQTE) estimator proposed by Frolich and Melly, which corrects for endogenous selection in temporary contracts. The IVQTE estimates yield similar results to standard UQR, even if the wage penalty is larger in size at the bottom of the wage distribution and disappears at the top quantiles. This evidence highlights that policies aimed at increasing flexibility may reinforce the two‐tier nature of the Italian labour market and the relative wage inequality.     

Evaluating the Dynamic Effects of Active Labour Policies in Italy

Abstract. This paper analyses whether active labour market policies (ALMPs) have differing effects on unemployment and employment dynamics according to the particular region in which they are implemented. To this end, it analyses alternative theoretical and econometric models thought to capture the possible effects of active labour market policies on labour force dynamics. The econometric methodologies implemented are the generalized method of moment (GMM) and the panel vector autoregression (P‐VAR). The evidence yielded by the GMM models suggests that the effects of different ALMPs on unemployment are dissimilar across the Italian regions. It follows that some active programmes are likely to have a greater effect in the South than in the North. The results of the P‐VAR models estimated are synthesized by impulse response analysis and forecast error variance decomposition. The impulse response analysis suggests that an increase in total ALMP gives rise to: (i) a decrease in the unemployment rate; and (ii) a significant increase in labour force participation. More interestingly, the results obtained from the error variance decomposition analysis show that unemployment movements are not driven by shocks in the ALMPs and that, especially in the northern regions, atypical contracts shocks account for a substantial portion of unemployment dynamics.     

How Many Labour Force States? An Analysis Based on the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)

Abstract. The motivation of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of the British labour force, using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). The goal is to examine whether there are statistically significant differences between the unemployed and non‐participants, as well as inside each of the two groups, considering their transitions in the job market. Using logistic regression for a pooled cross‐section time‐series sample of employed as well as non‐employed persons, three different Out of Work subgroups are identified: Seeking Out of Work, Attached Out of Work, and Voluntary Out of Work. The first group can be broadly assimilated to the official definition of unemployment, International Labour Organization unemployment, whereas all the others are usually classified as economically inactive. Nonetheless, the last two groups are characterized by significantly different transition rates, showing a behaviourally distinct attitude in their labour market dynamics. This result points out that the aggregate non‐employment has several dimensions, which are not caught by the distinction between unemployment and economic inactivity, and should be accounted for by policy makers and researchers.     

The Dark,and Independent,Side of the Italian Labour Market

Abstract. This paper presents an empirical investigation of the two faces of the Italian labour market, the dark and the regular. Results from ‘exhaustive’ VAR/VEC models suggest that there are no connections (causal relationships, feedback, contemporaneous correlation) between them. In this sense, we could correctly refer to undeclared work as an ‘independent’ side of the market. I interpret these results as providing empirical support for the ineffectiveness of labour policies in converting black economy employment into regular over the last two decades.     

Labour Markets and Organisational Change: Future Working Structures for an Ageing Work Force

Flexible manufacturing systems, team work with decentralisation of decision-making, integration of tasks and multiple allocation across functional barriers demand a skilled work force prepared for continuous learning and adaptation. It is common to see a younger, well-educated and trained work force as being required for such a production environment. A closer empirical look at most of the internal labour markets in this study shows that existing labour market structures do not match this image. Existing labour markets consist very often of an older (and ageing) labour force with relatively low skills and with resistance to continuous training. These structural features have, over the last ten years — despite the existence of costly early retirement measures and new entries into internal labour markets — not much improved, and in many cases have even deteriorated. While age-related exit measures have contributed to maintaining sound corporate cultures in offering socially cushioned exit options and have also prevented internal labour markets from growing older too rapidly, they have — in the “lean employment environment” of mature industrial sectors — not led to a sustained restructuring of internal labour markets. The ending of many of the age-related exit measures owing to their impact on public and company budgets could lead to a growing mismatch between the structure of demand and the structure of supply in internal labour markets. This could have negative effects on company performance and increase the probability of unemployment for workers if no proactive policies for managing the age problem are introduced. Such proactive policies might consist of appropriate age-related training, age-related flexible working time and work organisation patterns. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Matching Efficiency and Labour Market Reform in Italy: A Macroeconometric Assessment

Abstract. A matching theory approach is used to assess the impact on the Italian labour market of the 1997 Treu Act (legge Treu), which considerably eased the regulation of temporary work and favoured its growth in Italy. We re‐parameterize the matching function as a Beveridge Curve and estimate it as a production frontier, finding huge differences in matching efficiency between the South and the rest of the country. The Treu Act appears to have improved matching efficiency in the North of the country, particularly for skilled workers, but also to have strengthened competition among skilled and unskilled workers, especially in the South.     

Talent management as a management fashion in HRD: towards a research agenda

This paper addresses the effects of corporate change programmes on the emotions and ultimately the performance of the so-called ‘middle managers’ within these organizations. Drawing on empirical data from a recent case study in a large engineering company, the paper addresses the extent to which Hochschild's highly original writing on the commercialization of human feeling (1983) and the concept of emotional labour is applicable to managers in today's organizations. Emotional labour is defined as: ‘the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display’ requiring one ‘to induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others’ (Hochschild 1983: 7). The conclusion reached is that emotional labour appears to be a growing but much ignored phenomenon in organizations today, which is worthy of attention and further research by the HRD community.     

Disaffected Loyalties in a Changing Contractual Environment

In this paper we examine the effects of the changing employee-employer relationship on loyalty – a construct we developed along Hirschman’s model. The impact on perceptions of loyalty during a downsizing is assessed using a design that manipulates HRM policies toward the use of temporary employees, retraining, employee voice, seniority and community coordination. We introduce ideological orientation as a variable that will have direct and indirect affects. Both MBA students and managers (N = 269) participated in the study. All HRM policies and ideological orientations have direct affects; in addition some indirect effects for ideological orientation emerged. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nonparametric Instrumental Regression

The focus of this paper is the nonparametric estimation of an instrumental regression function ϕ defined by conditional moment restrictions that stem from a structural econometric model E[Y−ϕ(Z)|W]=0, and involve endogenous variables Y and Z and instruments W. The function ϕ is the solution of an ill‐posed inverse problem and we propose an estimation procedure based on Tikhonov regularization. The paper analyzes identification and overidentification of this model, and presents asymptotic properties of the estimated nonparametric instrumental regression function.     

Comparison of Subsidy Schemes for Reducing Waiting Times in Healthcare Systems

This study analyzes subsidy schemes that are widely used in reducing waiting times for public healthcare service. We assume that public healthcare service has no user fee but an observable delay, while private healthcare service has a fee but no delay. Patients in the public system are given a subsidy s to use private service if their waiting times exceed a pre‐determined threshold t. We call these subsidy schemes (s, t) policies. As two extreme cases, the (s, t) policy is called an unconditional subsidy scheme if t = 0, and a full subsidy scheme if s is equal to the private service fee. There is a fixed budget constraint so that a scheme with larger s has a larger t. We assess policies using two criteria: total patient cost and serviceability (i.e., the probability of meeting a waiting time target for public service). We prove analytically that, if patients are equally sensitive to delay, a scheme with a smaller subsidy outperforms one with a larger subsidy on both criteria. Thus, the unconditional scheme dominates all other policies. Using empirically derived parameter values from the Hong Kong Cataract Surgery Program, we then compare policies numerically when patients differ in delay sensitivity. Total patient cost is now unimodal in subsidy amount: the unconditional scheme still yields the lowest total patient cost, but the full subsidy scheme can outperform some intermediate policies. Serviceability is unimodal too, and the full subsidy scheme can outperform the unconditional scheme in serviceability when the waiting time target is long.