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We find firm-level evidence that removing labor market rigidities can harm productivity growth. This holds, in particular, in industries with a high 'cumulativeness' of knowledge, i.e. when accumulation of worker-embodied (and often 'tacit') knowledge from experience is important for innovative competencies. We conclude that there is a trade-off between the efficient allocation of scarce resources in a static neoclassical perspective and dynamic Schumpeterian efficiency, the latter requiring rigidities in labor markets that are valuable for innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the quantity–quality trade‐off on the labor market by estimating an augmented matching function weighting the matches by quality measures. We use the approach to evaluate the German labor market reforms conducted between 2003 and 2005. Indeed, we find a significant quantity–quality trade‐off. However, even after controlling for job quality, a good half of the positive effect of the reforms on matching efficiency remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Introduction of flexible (or non-regular) work has a negative impact on productivity. • This negative impact is strongest under innovation regimes that rely on highly cumulative knowledge. • Supply-side deregulation of labor markets is likely to have contributed to a productivity growth slowdown in major OECD countries after 2004. Due to labor market reforms around 2003–4, Japan has a growing group of 'non-regular' workers who are easy to fire, and have poor carrier perspectives. This marks a break with the traditional Japanese model of life-time employment that allowed for intensive in-company training and commitment of personnel. Drawing from a national wage structure survey, we find indications that employment of non-regular workers has a negative impact on productivity (proxied by wages), this negative impact being largest under innovation regimes that require a high cumulativeness of knowledge. Our findings are consistent with neo-Schumpeterian research in Europe which concluded that certain labor market rigidities, while being un desirable from a neoclassical perspective, can be useful to innovation. Our paper confirms the impression from earlier research that structural reforms of labor markets along supply-side lines are likely to be one of the reasons for a substantial decline of productivity growth in major OECD countries since about 2004/05. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Derecho de la Seguridad Social, Laborum is the property of Ediciones Laborum S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of the set of measures adopted by the labor reform of 2017 on the generation of employment and income in Brazil. The study is based on the literature that highlights the importance of structural change in employment as a key element for economic growth and development, emphasizing that in Brazil, there is still a view that the labor market should take on more flexible work relationships to advance in the improvement of jobs, levels of employment, productivity and income. Subsequently, the article summarizes and critically comments on the main measures of the labor law reforms adopted in post-2017 Brazil. Finally, it presents an analysis of the behavior of the labor market in Brazil between 2012 and 2022 based on data from the PNADC/IBGE survey. The main results of the survey confirm that the labor reform of 2017 has not shown advances in labor market indicators or in the main macroeconomic aggregates of the country. In contrast, the data suggest deterioration in the indicators of employment, income and allocation of workers in occupations with low productivity and income characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this work is to analyze the effects of Brazilian Labor Market Reform (BLMR) in the short run and, based on identified changes in the economy in recent decades, to verify how these changes have affected the labor market. Four methods were used in a complementary way: (i) employment quality index; (ii) panel data estimation method; (iii) synthetic control method and (iv) microdata analysis. We observed that there was no considerable increase in the quality of employment and formal employment and the rate of unemployment did not decrease after the implementation of these changes. Part of this dynamic is cyclical and related to exogenous shocks, such as the COVID pandemic on the Brazilian economy. Finally, according to econometric analysis, the rate of unemployment in Brazil is more responsive to investment rates and the business environment than to unit labor cost and changes in labor legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1994–1998 housing reform in China allowed state employees to buy their rented public houses at considerably subsidized prices. By exploiting housing reform as an exogenous change in homeownership and employing a differences-in-differences framework, this paper examines the effect of housing reform on labor market participation. Using the data from China Health and Nutrition Survey, we find that individuals who are affected by the housing reform are 15.1 percentage points less likely to participate in labor market after controlling for observables. We further find that married women are 18.9 percentage points more likely to drop out of labor market after the housing reform, while their male counterparts are only 10.0 percentage points less likely to participate in labor market after the reform. We also explore mechanisms through which the housing reform may affect married women more greatly. Family division of labor hypothesis suggests that, in an efficient family husband should act as the "breadwinners" and wife be a caregiver and responsible for raising the family. We test this hypothesis and find strong evidence that married women in fact spend more time in family chores after the housing reform. Our findings are robust to alternative estimations and functional misspecifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor market reforms in the direction of "flexicurity" have been widely endorsed as a means to increase an economy's ability to adjust to negative shocks while offering adequate social safety nets. This paper empirically examines how such reforms influence employment's responsiveness to output fluctuations (employment–output elasticity). To address this question, we employ a single equation error correction model with policy interactions on a panel of OECD countries, which also incorporates the period of the Great Recession, and distinguish between passive and active labor market policy types. Flexicurity is represented by three policy measures: unemployment benefit generosity, the flexibility of hiring and firing rules, and spending on active labor market policies. We find that the effects of any single policy change are shaped by the broader existing policy mix within which it takes place. A hypothetical flexicurity reform towards the policy mix of Denmark, a well‐known example of the flexicurity regime, is found to increase or leave unchanged countries' short‐run employment–output elasticities, depending on the initial policy mix. These results are robust to accounting for a large set of additional labor market institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the early 1990s until 2005 the unemployment rate rose in Germany from 7.3 to 11.7%. While the unemployment rate reached its peak in 2005, it decreased steadily in the following years. The fourth stage of the German labor market reform (Hartz IV) was implemented in 2005 with the intent to cut the unemployment rate. This paper investigates the employment and welfare effects of the Hartz IV reform. Moreover, I am interested in the employment impact of German labor market reform due the rise of the East, which is the productivity increase in Germany and Eastern Europe that has fostered joint fast-growing trade. The focus lies on the national and county level (including 402 counties). As the effects on regional labor markets differ and take time, the paper builds on the dynamic and spatial trade model of Caliendo et al. (2019). I find that the Hartz IV reform is responsible for a 25% drop in unemployment, with a particular impact on eastern German counties. The rise of the East leads to an additional positive contribution to the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the driving forces behind the strong decline in German unemployment from 2005 onwards and the exceptionally small increase during the Great Recession. Structural vector autoregressions (VARs) with sign restrictions show that wage moderation in the aftermath of labor market reforms was the dominant factor of the unemployment decline, and that improved matching and shrinking labor supply also contributed to it. The adjustment to business cycle shocks (Great Recession), on the other hand, is to a large extent borne by the intensive margin, which can be explained by institutional aspects of the German labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Relaciones de Trabajo, Laborum is the property of Ediciones Laborum S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research note estimates the causal effects of a cut in the potential duration of regular unemployment benefits for older workers in Germany on the labor market outcomes of individuals with health impairments. The analyzed reform is a natural experiment that allows a difference‐in‐differences strategy with treatment intensity. The results provide evidence for a significant decrease in the number of days in regular unemployment benefits and an increase in the number of days in employment. However, the results also suggest a significant increase in the number of days in unemployment (social) assistance, which are granted upon exhaustion of regular unemployment benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Perspectiva Empresarial is the property of Fundacion Universitaria Ceipa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tendencias: Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas is the property of Universidad de Narino, Facultad de Ciencias Economics y Administrativas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Lan Harremanak - Revista Relaciones Laborales is the property of Lan Harremanak and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tiempo y Economía is the property of La Fundacion Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyzes how firms and workers respond to regulations limiting the use of temporary employment. In 2007, the Korean government introduced a labor market reform that required employers to convert a worker's contract from a temporary to permanent one in order to continue to employ a worker for more than two years. From the perspective of employers, the new regulation can be thought of as a potential increase in firing costs for temporary workers after two years. Thus, employers have an incentive to improve the screening process to establish better matches and weed out bad matches prior to the increase in firing costs. From the perspective of workers, temporary workers have an incentive to provide greater effort after the policy change because the reform offers a potential path to permanent employment. My results show economically and statistically significant decreases in the probability of job separation in the first five months of tenure after the policy change, which implies that firms responded to the increased protection for temporary workers by improving their recruitment practices. However, based on observed overtime, I find no evidence supporting the view that temporary employees provided greater effort after the new regulation was put into effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes statistics on the key aspects of the distribution of earnings levels and earnings changes using administrative (social security) data from Italy between 1985 and 2016. During the time covered by our data, earnings inequality and earnings volatility increased, while earnings mobility did not change significantly. We connect these trends with some salient facts about the Italian labor market, in particular the labor market reforms of the 1990s and 2000s, which induced a substantial rise in fixed-term and part-time employment. The rise in part-time work explains much of the rise in earnings inequality, while the rise in fixed-termcontracts explains much of the rise in volatility. Both of these trends affect the earnings distribution through hours worked: part-time jobs reduce hours worked within a week, while fixed-term contracts reduce the number of weeks worked during the year as well as increase their volatility. We only find weak evidence that fixed-term contracts represent a "stepping-stone" to permanent employment. Finally, we offer suggestive evidence that the labor market reforms contributed to the slowdown in labor productivity in Italy by delaying human capital accumulation (in the form of general and firm-specific experience) of recent cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores diverse effects of an unemployment benefit (UB) reform in Germany on labor market outcomes of individuals with health impairment. The reform induced substantial reductions in potential duration of regular UB for older workers, which is exploited in a difference‐in‐differences setting. The results provide evidence for a decrease in days in UB, an increase in days in employment, and an increase in days in unemployment assistance. The effects on UB and employment are smaller and the effects on unemployment assistance are larger for unemployed and non‐employed individuals than for individuals who were employed before medical rehabilitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two main political economy explanations of the Eurocrisis. The labor market view regards cross-country differences in wage bargaining institutions as the root cause of the crisis. The finance view, instead, emphasizes cross-border financial flows and downplays labor market institutions. For the first time, we attempt to assess these two explanations jointly. We find that financial flows are better predictors of nominal wage growth than labor market institutions. At the same time, we show that wage moderation matters for bilateral export performance in the important case of Germany, but not for other countries. These results suggest that imposing wage moderation and labor market reforms onto the countries of the European periphery was unlikely to improve their plight. In contrast, stimulating wage growth in Germany might have contributed to rebalancing the Eurozone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs sectoral data to draw conclusions on how structural reforms—implemented during the period 1975–2005—affected differences in cross-country aggregate labor productivity growth in developing countries. Most important, it explores how the effects of reforms on productivity growth are distributed between the intrasectoral and intersectoral components of labor productivity growth. The findings indicate that most of the trade, product market, and financial sector reforms have increased productivity growth. Looking at the subcomponents of labor productivity growth, the results show that structural reforms work mainly through the intra-allocative efficiency channel but not through the interallocative efficiency channel. The intrasectoral component is the main driver of the impacts of reforms on productivity growth, with a contribution that ranges from 76 percent to 96 percent depending on the reform measure considered. The paper also examines the role of labor market regulations and finds that labor market rigidity/flexibility matters for how specific reforms induce reallocation of resources within and across sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large productivity gaps across sectors persist and the process of structural transformation is stagnant in many developing economies. This wedge between observed and optimal labor allocations reflects the presence of institutional and market frictions, which impose costs on the optimal reallocation of labor from low- to high-productivity sectors. Using a panel of cross-country sector-level data, I estimate a dynamic panel error correction model that captures the dynamics of sectoral labor flows. The model estimates provide a new set of stylized facts on the dynamics of the structural transformation process and a measure of the magnitude of frictions facing labor flows. In addition, I analyze the contribution of labor regulations and reforms to the pace at which labor flows across economic sectors. Results suggest that policy reforms need to steer between the goal of easing job creation and destruction, while supporting labor supply incentives to reallocate through strong social nets, labor protection, and risk sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a simple model of hukou reform for the transition period (specifically, 1984–2010) when peasants were allowed to migrate to cities for work only. We show that reform recovers some of the deadweight losses from Mao's strict hukou control, but the gains from reform are unevenly distributed. Using the basic model, we illustrate two factors that contribute to China's trade boom and export pattern reversal, namely, the rural–urban migration caused by the institutional reform in the labor market and the demographic dividend China has enjoyed for the past 40 years. We apply the model to examine the impacts of various policies such as special economic zones, export‐tax refund, urbanization, etc., which should provide directions for empirical and quantitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor is a complex social phenomenon that can be analyzed from different angles, i.e., it is a phenomenon that can be read from economic, technological, social, political, anthropological and psychological perspectives. Several countries in Europe and Latin America have carried out a series of labor reforms since the 90's, with the purpose of reducing the high unemployment and in order to promote competitiveness of the production system, by means of a better use of human resources and imprinting more dynamism on economy. However, the results so far have been very controversial in some cases. Therefore, it is essential to know exactly what we mean when we talk about labor fexibility, because in some cases there are many different ideas and positions about its meaning and consequences. Also, it is important to indicate that there are several mechanisms of labor fexibility, which may affect different magnitudes in the labor market and the enterprise. This paper groups various positions about labor fexibility and analyzes the consequences of the use of each mechanism on economy, business and living conditions of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, real GDP per capita in Portugal has nearly stagnated. The conventional account attributes this to the mismanagement of public finances and the lack of structural reforms in labor and product markets prior to the "adjustment program" agreed with the troika in the early 2010s. In the same vein, the neoclassical-inspired interpretation explains the subsequent recovery based on supply-side and fiscal reforms implemented during the troika years, which would account for the reduced fiscal deficits, external equilibrium and employment growth registered in the pre-COVID-19 period. In this article, we challenge this optimistic view, identifying structural weaknesses of the Portuguese economy that would have soon become apparent even if the pandemic had not happened. Addressing these weaknesses requires changes that go beyond the EU and national responses to the pandemic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated temporal changes in factor adjustment of the Japanese manufacturing industry by applying a dynamic factor model, in which labor and capital were quasi-fixed to a panel of industries from 1972 to 2012. Estimations show that the adjustment speeds, with which factors approach their optimum levels, have increased over the period. Particularly, factor adjustment rates have significantly increased since 2000. The estimations suggest that Japanese manufacturers have become more flexible in hiring workers and faster in making investments, which reduces adjustment cost significantly. This dynamic gain is ignored from static analysis, underestimating the benefit of labor market reform. The study suggests that policymakers should consider dynamic factor adjustment in assessing policy impacts accurately when implementing an industrial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economia da UEG is the property of Universidade Estadual de Goias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Within an open economy framework characterized by vertical linkages in production, and search frictions with two-sided heterogeneity in the labor market, raising trade barriers is shown to increase unemployment across skill levels and to reduce labor market participation and aggregate income. These effects are not necessarily moderated by maintaining frictionless mobility of capital across borders. We find that a flexicurity reform of a liberal welfare state can dampen the adverse effects of de-globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to evaluate the political implications of post-crisis governance in the European Union for national gender-equality strategies and policies. It presents a study of recent reforms of the labor market in Italy, where the response to the Eurozone crisis has increased concerns over the low rate of female employment. Through an analysis of policy documents and legislative reforms informed by discursive politics, the article argues that the Italian case provides evidence of the trend toward the further instrumentalization of gender equality, which has been strategically used in order to provide additional legitimation for labor market deregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Britain, employment protection legislation developed in ways far more dynamic, contradictory and toothless than is commonly assumed by conventional theories. Contrary to prevailing understanding, the first job security laws were intended to increase labor market flexibility, encourage mobility and undermine union power. They were introduced by Conservative governments, curiously offering organized labor some benefits, even though both sides of industry opposed legal intervention. Hence, job security could be obtained and extended without capital (and at first labor's) consent. What is more, opposite to the liberalizing pressures one would expect to see in an archetypal market economy, the UK has been characterized by far more protective measures than deregulatory ones. However, the record shows that in many ways they have failed to offer tangible benefits to workers. Thus, there is a significant gap between law in the statute books and law in action. Additionally, two-tier labor market reform has contributed to the growing dualism between insiders and outsiders and might explain why deregulation of temporary employment has been the name of the game in the last couple of decades in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic policies must be subjected to scrutiny to allow successful policies to be reproduced and mistakes to be reversed. In Mexico, legislation that made the labor market more flexible was implemented and sufficient time has now passed to determine the effect this legislation has had on wages. The objective of this article is to estimate the impact of labor legislation on the wage gap between workers with written contracts and workers without written contracts, including both temporary and permanent workers. To this end, the difference-in-differences (DID) method was used to ascertain the causal impact of the labor legislation. Findings are interpreted within a framework described by Jaime Ros (Márquez and Ros, 1990; Ros, 2004 and 2019), one which is relevant to an economy with a labor surplus and the need for large investments to address low growth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: En España se llevaron a cabo dos grandes reformas laborales (2010 y 2012) bajo el supuesto de que la flexibilización del mercado laboral y la descentralización de la negociación colectiva conducirían mecánicamente a reducir el desempleo (hipótesis flexibilizadora). Este artículo destaca la centralidad de la demanda y de la composición sectorial de la economía para explicar el comportamiento de esta variable (hipótesis estructural). Mediante un análisis con datos de panel a escala subnacional, evaluamos la capacidad de ambas hipótesis para explicar la evolución del desempleo. Nuestros resultados cuestionan los supuestos de la hipótesis flexibilizadora y subrayan la importancia de los factores cíclicos y estructurales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The analysis aims to evaluate the new balance of the interests of employers and employees as established in the recently adopted Lithuanian Labour Code. Design/methodology/approach. The analysis considers the main reforms of Lithuanian labour law. The very essence of reforms is presented in the context of the labour market situation and former regulations. Findings. Notwithstanding the results of implementation remaining unclear, the new Labour Code manages to reach a balanced relationship between the employer and the employee. Research limitations/implications. It is focused on the essential changes regarding introduction of flexibility measures, new rights of employees and measures taken to encourage collective labour relations. Originality/value. The analysis contributes to the ongoing debate on labour law reforms in Eastern European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The study presented here consists of an analysis of the latest labour law reform in Brazil as a response to the crisis that affects this country. Design/methodology/approach. The analysis considers some key alterations across in order to highlight the principal scope of the labour law reform, in individual, collective and procedural labour law. Findings. Although the main purpose of the reform was to incentivize the labour market, it is questionable that these particular reforms will be able to fulfill such a scope. Without prejudice, it can be recognizable as an important modernization of the labour law regulations, considering the former law dated from 1943 (notwithstanding the minor alterations along the years). Research limitations/implications. The research is part of a debate adding a perspective from a Southern-American country. Originality/value. The paper consists of further material for an ongoing discussion on the impact of a crisis in the labour market and the adequacy of reforms as a response to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexibility proponents assert that rigid Latin American labour markets impede economic expansion and job growth; they advocate reforming labour codes through increased flexibility. Critics argue that heightened labour flexibility exacerbates inequality without expanding employment. From this perspective, precarious employment and inequality are remedied by strengthening labour’s bargaining power. Chile’s maintenance of flexible labour reforms adopted during the dictatorship make it appropriate for evaluating these competing perspectives. Based on flexibility proponents’ predictions, we should expect increased formal sector employment over time, particularly among the least skilled Chilean workers, as well as reduced wage inequality. Yet, the rate of unemployment among least skilled workers in Chile remains essentially unchanged since the democratic transition as does income inequality. These conditions persist despite a high degree of labour market flexibility. Thus, Chile’s continued adherence to a flexibilised labour market should be understood not in terms of its capacity to reduce inequality or generate employment. Rather, it should be understood as the product of several interrelated factors: (1) the business sector’s ability to protect its interests; (2) the Concertación’s conscious limitation of threats to the business sector’s interests and (3) the weakness of organised labour, resulting from the perpetuation of the Pinochet-era labour regime. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that misalignment between the realities of work in the new economy and the regulations is having negative health and social implications at all levels of Canadian society. Remedying this requires drastic reshaping of policy approaches, but current laws and employment norms presume the labour market is a static entity. Policymakers should focus on improving how labour market data is collected for producing evidence-based recommendations, and on re-evaluating neoclassical economic assumptions underpinning this outdated framework. We argue the expansion of precarious work is reshaping the Canadian economy and society, and provide recommendations for data, policy and administration to address this trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law 3/2012, of 6 July, on urgent measures to reform the labor market, promoting new ways to develop the workforce. In this sense, it accommodates teleworking as being a particular form of work organization that fits perfectly in the productive and economic model pursued by this reform. On the one hand, to promote flexibility of enterprises in the organization of work. Furthermore, increasing employment opportunities and, finally, to optimize the relationship between work and personal and family life. The study focuses on determining whether telecommuting is configured as homeworking or teleworking under the provisions of Article 6 of Law 3/2012, of 6 July, on urgent measures to reform the labor market and promoting permanent contracts and other measures to promote job creation, which gives a new wording of the former Article 13 of Legislative Royal Decree 1/1995 of 24 March, approving the revised text of the Statute Law approved Workers; which is currently governed by Article 13 of Legislative Royal Decree 2/2015 of 23 October, approving the revised text of the Law of the Workers' Statute is approved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The labor reform seeks to increase the level and employment growth by reducing rigidities that have characterized the labor market in recent years. The aim is to achieve a greater generation of formal jobs and higher productivity. In this context, labor reform and its relationship with labor productivity and formal employment are analyzed. In an interesting study of the Bank of Mexico it is estimated that the labor reform will generate an average of 370,000 additional jobs to which would not be created in the absence of a reform such as this over the next five years, from 2013 to 2017; which will give us a total of 1.850 million additional jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent labor reforms implemented in Italy by the so-called "technocratic" Monti Government have challenged the traditional role of trade unions. On one side, the reforms in the pension and labor market have been approved without real consultation or bargaining with social parties, under the pressures from the financial and economic crisis and the austerity demanded by the EU central authorities. On the other side, the Government is urging trade unions to contribute to stimulating labor productivity in order to produce more growth and escape from such a long period of recession. The main aim of this article is to analyze the changing role of trade unions and then the real opportunities to open a new phase of social concertation, also taking into account the historical background of Italian industrial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The labour reforms contained in Law 3/2012 of 6 July on urgent measures to reform the labour market have had a direct impact on collective negotiation by adapting labour conditions to the specific circumstances of the company. In this regard, and among other measures, the legal opt-out regime set out in article 82.3 of the Statute of the Workers has been modified establishing, if no agreement is reached during the consultation period and the dispute is not resolved in any other way, an option for the parties to submit the dispute to a binding arbitration before the National Consultative Commission on Collective Bargaining Agreements (Comisión Consultiva Nacional de Convenios Colectivos) or similar body of the autonomous communities (Comunidades Autónomas). Furthermore, the duration of the extended validity of the collective bargaining agreements has been limited to one year, unless otherwise agreed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]