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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Policy Complementarities: The Case For Fundamental Labor Market Reform, Dennis Snower, David T. Coe
Policy Complementarities: The Case For Fundamental Labor Market Reform, Dennis Snower, David T. Coe
Dennis Snower
The paper analyzes complementarities among a variety of labor market policies. It shows that (a) a wide range of labor market institutions (.e.g unemployment benefits, job security legislation, and payroll taxes) have complementary effects on unemployment and thus (b) policies aimed at reforming these institutions are also complementary. These policy complementarities imply that partial labor market reform (directed at one institution, while leaving the other institutions in place) is unlikely to achieve significant reductions in unemployment. Rather labor market reform becomes particularly effective only once a broad range of institutional rigidities are dismantled simultaneously and the distributional objectives of the …
Expanding The Welfare System, Michael J. Orszag, Dennis Snower
Expanding The Welfare System, Michael J. Orszag, Dennis Snower
Dennis Snower
The proposal involves the establishment of “welfare accounts” for every person in a country. There are to be four accounts: a retirement account (covering pensions), an unemployment account (covering unemployment support), a human capital account (covering education and training), and a health account (covering insurance against sickness and disability). Instead of the current welfare state systems - where welfare services are financed predominantly out of general taxes - people would make ongoing, mandatory contributions to each of these welfare accounts. The balances in these accounts would cover people’s major welfare needs. The government is to set mandatory minimum contribution rates …