Demography, Employment and Migration

Demography, Employment & Migration

In a continent beset by ageing populations and a general reluctance to allow more immigration, policymaking must keep a keen eye on the dynamics between population trends, employment patterns, migration flows and the economic consequences and challenges arising from these demographic pressures. This EconPol section examines labor market dynamics, demographic change and its effects, employment trends, job creation, and the impact of technological developments on employment. The various forms of migration are a recurring theme, including international migration, labor migration, internal migration, and refugee movements, and the socio-economic implications for both sending and receiving countries.

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Four-Day-Work-Week

Four-Day Work Week? No Longer in Keeping with the Times!

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Expert Opinion
Debates about the number of working days per week are nothing unusual in Germany. In the 1950s, the six-day week was the norm until the unions pushed through the reduction of working hours with the slogan “On Saturday, daddy belongs to me.” After many decades in which the five-day week was the norm, Germany and other countries are now intensively discussing the introduction of a four-day week.
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Cover of EconPol Policy Brief 52

The Role of Income Support Systems as Income Stabilizers in Times of Crisis

Mathias Dolls, Max Lay

This Policy Brief examines how minimum income support (MIS) schemes contribute to the stabilization of disposable incomes in times of crisis in Europe. MIS systems act as a “safety net of last resort” in many European welfare states, but to varying degrees. The results from the simulation of stylized unemployment shocks hitting labor markets suggest that the tax-transfer system overall contributes to income stabilization in periods of crises. However, the MIS schemes’ individual contribution is relatively small, especially as set against the unemployment insurance system.

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Forum Icon INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD

Discrimination of Sexual Minorities in Emerging Markets: Can the Needle Be Moved?

INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD

Cevat Giray Aksoy, Christopher S. Carpenter, Ralph De Haas, Mathias Dolls, Lisa Windsteiger

Recent advances in rights for lesbians, gay men, and bisexual individuals (LGB) have varied substantially across the world. This article provides new evidence on the determinants of support for sexual minorities in Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine – three emerging markets with some of the lowest rates of social acceptance of sexual minorities in Europe.

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Forum Icon ECONOMIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT

Who Should Bear the Burden of Increasing Fiscal Pressure? An Optimal Income Taxation Perspective

ECONOMIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT

Mehmet Ayaz, Lea Fricke, Clemens Fuest, Dominik Sachs

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global economy, leaving us with a significant stock of additional debt. A widespread view is that the burden of servicing this debt should be distributed fairly, suggesting that tax systems should become more progressive. How should the optimal degree of income tax progression change if governments need to raise more revenues? In this article, the authors use the workhorse model of optimal income taxation to analyze the change in the degree of tax progressivity in response to the fiscal pressure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Cover of EconPol Policy Report 40

Minimum Income Support Systems as Elements of Crisis Resilience in Europe

Werner Eichhorst, Holger Bonin, Annabelle Krause-Pilatus, Paul Marx, Mathias Dolls, Max Lay

The new Policy Report analyses the role of social policies in different European welfare states regarding minimum income protection and active inclusion. It finds consistent differences in terms of crisis resilience across countries and welfare state types. In general, Nordic and Continental European welfare states with strong upstream systems and minimum income support (MIS) show better outcomes in core socio-economic outcomes such as poverty and exclusion risks. However, labour market integration shows some dualisms in Continental Europe. The study shows that MIS holds particular importance if there are gaps in upstream systems or cases of severe and lasting crises.

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