Does labor regulation reduce total and youth employment?

This paper examines the impact of labor regulation on total and youth employment of 108 countries over the timespan, 1996–2013. The methodology used is the dynamic panel data technique which distinguishes between short-run and long-run effects of legal change and takes into account dynamic interactions between legal and economic variables. It is observed that laws protecting the interests of labor do not hamper the long-term employment prospects of the general work force and the youth population. By and large this result holds in the two sub-samples: one consisting of 23 developed countries and the other consisting of 85 less-developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]