European unemployment
Subtitle: the evolution of facts and ideas
By: Olivier Blanchard
Contributors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics
Series: Working paper series / Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics -- working paper 05-24; Working paper (Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics) -- no. 05-24.
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 59
Description: In the 1970s, European unemployment started increasing. It increased further in the 1980s, to reach a plateau in the 1990s. It is still high today, although the average unemployment rate hides a high degree of heterogeneity across countries. The focus of researchers and policy makers was initially on the role of shocks. As unemployment remained high, the focus has progressively shifted to institutions. This paper reviews the interaction of facts and theories, and gives a tentative assessment of what we know and what we still do not know. Keywords: unemployment, institutions, shocks, hysteresis, labor market. JEL Classifications: E4, J6.
Notes: "October 10, 2005."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-59).

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