IMF Working Papers

This paper studies net employment growth across 21 OECD economies in 1980-97, focusing on experiences within the European Union. It finds that sectoral effects can only partially account for differences in job creation. By contrast, it shows that a policy package including low taxation and flexible employment protection legislation is associated with high job creation and can account for most of the observed differences. The Netherlands’ success is largely accounted for by the creation of part-time jobs for women aged 25-49 in the services sector, but in most EU countries the substitution of part-time jobs for full-time jobs is considerable.