ECB/CEPR Labour Market Workshop
About
"Recent trends in European employment"
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) will hold their fifth joint labour market workshop in December 2008. On this occasion the workshop will focus on "Recent trends in European employment".
In Europe, the past decade has been marked by relatively strong employment growth, while labour productivity and labour shares have experienced a decline in a number of countries, in particular in the euro area. Understanding the patterns, sources and implications of employment dynamics is important for the effective conduct of monetary policy, since they play a central role in conjunctural developments, long-term growth prospects and inflationary pressures emerging from labour markets. To this end, the workshop organisers would particularly welcome papers that address any of the following issues:
The link between employment and productivity developments. Patterns of employment and productivity growth raise several intriguing questions: is there an employment-productivity trade-off and if so, how has it evolved in European countries? What is the evidence for skill-biased technological change and to what extent can it account for the developments in labour productivity? An important issue here relates to the effectiveness of policies in improving labour force skills and productivity.
The link between employment and wage developments. This includes consideration of the factors behind wage and labour share development in European countries and across sectors and occupations: to what extent has wage moderation led to employment creation? What contributions do globalisation, technology, specialisation and/or changes in labour market institutions make towards the decline in the wage share? What are the cross-country spillovers of wage moderation?
Labour supply and employment of women, older people and the young. Although labour force participation has been on the rise in Europe in recent years, employment rates for women and older workers remain relatively low, and youth unemployment levels high. This raises the question of what shapes the participation decision and employment opportunities of women, older people and the young. Have national government polices been successful and sufficient in facilitating the combination of family and work life? How important are part-time and temporary work arrangements in this respect?
The impact of reforms on employment. A series of structural reforms has been implemented in European countries over the last decade, and this has substantially reshaped some labour market structures. To what extent have labour and product market reforms contributed to employment growth? Have reforms strengthened dualism in labour markets? How long will it take before such reforms become fully effective? How helpful is the modelling of reforms for forecasting employment, output growth and inflation?
Programme
Where, when
Room CIV, 2nd floor, Eurotower, 11-12 December 2008
European Central Bank (ECB), Kaiserstrasse 29, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
Thursday 11 December
08h30 Security clearance and registration
09h00 Opening Remarks
Frank Smets (European Central Bank and CEPR)
09h15 Key note speech: Labour Economics and the Current Crisis
Richard Layard (London School of Economics)
Session A) Reforms Chair: Frank Smets (European Central Bank and CEPR)
10h00 Beyond Eurosclerosis
Tito Boeri (Università Bocconi, Fondazione Rodolfo DeBenedetti and CEPR)
*Pietro Garibaldi (Univeristà di Torino, Fondazione Collegio Carlo Alberto and CEPR)
Discussant: Ekkehard Ernst (International Labour Organization)
11h00 Coffee Break
11h15 A Dynamic General Equilibrium Model for the Analysis of Labour Market Reforms across Euro Area
*Agostino Consolo (Bocconi University and European Central Bank)
Matthias Hertweck (University of Basel)
Discussant: Kónya István (Magyar Nemzeti Bank)
12h15 Distance to Retirement and Older Workers' Employment: The Case for Delaying the Retirement Age
*Jean-Olivier Hairault (Université de Paris 1)
François Langot (MAD Université Paris I Bureau)
Thepthida Sopraseuth (Université d’Evry and CEPREMAP)
Discussant: Salvador Ortigueira (European University Institute)
13h15 Lunch Break
14h15 Employment Outcomes and the Interaction between Product and Labour Market Deregulation: Are They Substitutes or Complements?
Giuseppe Fiori (Boston College)
*Giuseppe Nicoletti (OECD)
Fabio Schiantarelli (Boston College)
*Stefano Scarpetta (OECD)
Discussant: Christian Haefke (HIS - Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna)
Session B) Mobility
Chair: Rolf Strauch (European Central Bank)
15h15 Local Social Capital and Geographical Mobility: Some Empirics and a Conjecture on the Nature of European Unemployment
Quentin David (ECARES-Université Libre de Bruxelles)
*Alexandre Janiak (Universidad de Chile)
Etienne Wasmer (Sciences-Po Paris, OFCE and CEPR)
Discussant: John Haisken DeNew (RWI Essen)
16h15 Coffee Break
16h30 The Labour Market Impact of Immigration in Western Germany in the 1990's
*Francesco D'Amuri (Banca d’Italia)
Gianmarco I P Ottaviano (Università di Bologna and CEPR)
Giovanni Peri (University of California, Davis)
Discussant: David Jaeger (City University of New York)
17h30 Assimilation of Immigrants in Spain: a Longitudinal Analysis
*Mario Izquierdo (Banco de España)
Aitor Lacuesta (Banco de España)
Raquel Vegas (Banco de España)
Discussant: Julian Messina (University of Girona)
19h30 Conference Dinner
Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof Hotel, Festsaal,
Am Kaiserplatz, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
(Dinner Speech by Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB)
Friday 12 December
08h30 Security clearance
Session C) Labour Supply and Working Time
Chair: Hans-Joachim Klöckers (European Central Bank)
09h00 The Effects of Labour Market Conditions on Working Time: The US-EU Experience
*Claudio Michelacci (CEMFI and CEPR)
Josep Pijoan-Mas (CEMFI and CEPR)
Discussant: Monika Merz (University of Bonn)
10h00 A Life Cycle Model of Trans-Atlantic Employment Experiences
Sagiri Kitao (New York University)
*Lars Ljungqvist (Stockholm School of Economics and CEPR)
Thomas J. Sargent (New York University)
Discussant: Francis Kramarz (CREST-INSEE)
11h00 Coffee Break
11h15 Labour Force Participation in the Euro Area: A Cohort Based Analysis
*Almut Balleer (University of Bonn)
Ramon Gomez-Salvador (European Central Bank)
*Jarkko Turunen (European Central Bank)
Discussant: Guido Schwerdt (Ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung)
12h15 Lunch Break
Session D) Matching and job flows
Chair: Gabriel Fagan (European Central Bank)
13h15 Unemployment and Worker-Firm Matching: Theory and Evidence from East and West Europe
Daniel Munich (CERGE-EI)
*Jan Svejnar (University of Michigan and CEPR)
Discussant: Gregory De Walque (European Central Bank)
14h15 Macroeconomic Implications of Downwards Wage Rigidity
*Mirko Abbritti (The Graduate Institute, Geneva)
Stephan Fahr (European Central Bank)
Discussant: James Costain (Banco de España)
15h15 Concluding Remarks
Lars Ljungqvist (Stockholm School of Economics and CEPR)
* Indicates the speaker(s)