{
  "title": "The Spanish Labor Market in a Cross-Country Perspective",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, January 1, 2011",
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  "summary": "The Spanish labor market is not working: the unemployment rate is structurally very high; wages are not very responsive to labor market conditions, causing a high cyclicality of unemployment; and the labor market is highly dual.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Key findings",
      "content": "- \"The Spanish labor market is not working\": the unemployment rate is structurally very high.\n- Wages are \"not very responsive to labor market conditions,\" causing a high cyclicality of unemployment.\n- The labor market is \"highly dual.\"\n- Compared with the EU15, Spanish labor market institutions and policies stand out by:\n  - the structure of its collective bargaining, which occurs mostly at an intermediate level; and\n  - very high severance payments for permanent workers.\n- Based on a quantitative analysis, the paper shows that moving away from the intermediate level of bargaining would go a long way toward bringing the unemployment rate closer to the EU15 average.\n- The key reform needed to reduce the share of temporary workers is reducing employment protection of permanent workers.\n- \"Substantially reforming the collective bargaining system and reducing the protection of permanent workers are likely to be highly complementary to secure a substantial reduction in the unemployment rate.\"\n- The recent 2010 labor market reform attempts to address these issues, although \"its effects are still to materialize.\""
    },
    {
      "heading": "Quantitative analysis and implications",
      "content": "- The paper bases its conclusions on a quantitative analysis that links:\n  - the level of collective bargaining (intermediate) to the unemployment gap with the EU15; and\n  - employment protection of permanent workers to the share of temporary workers.\n- The quantitative work indicates that reforms in collective bargaining and in employment protection are complementary and jointly important to achieve a \"substantial reduction in the unemployment rate.\""
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations",
      "content": "- Move away from the intermediate level of collective bargaining to help bring Spain's unemployment rate closer to the EU15 average.\n- Reduce employment protection of permanent workers to lower the share of temporary workers.\n- Pursue substantial reform of the collective bargaining system in conjunction with reductions in protection for permanent workers, given their complementarities.\n- Monitor and evaluate the effects of the 2010 labor market reform, since its effects \"are still to materialize.\""
    },
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      "heading": "Subject tags and keywords",
      "content": "- Subject: Commodity markets, Employment protection, Tax wedge, Unemployment benefits, Unemployment rate\n- Keywords: equilibrium unemployment, labor market, share of temporary workers, wage agreement, WP\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- wp1111\n  - wp1111 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - wp1111 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/the-spanish-labor-market-in-a-cross-country-perspective-24569"
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    "Authors: Florence Jaumotte",
    "Published: January 1, 2011",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781455211890.001",
    "\"The Spanish labor market is not working\": the unemployment rate is structurally very high.",
    "Wages are \"not very responsive to labor market conditions,\" causing a high cyclicality of unemployment.",
    "The labor market is \"highly dual.\"",
    "Compared with the EU15, Spanish labor market institutions and policies stand out by:",
    "Based on a quantitative analysis, the paper shows that moving away from the intermediate level of bargaining would go a long way toward bringing the unemployment rate closer to the EU15 average.",
    "The key reform needed to reduce the share of temporary workers is reducing employment protection of permanent workers.",
    "\"Substantially reforming the collective bargaining system and reducing the protection of permanent workers are likely to be highly complementary to secure a substantial reduction in the unemployment rate.\"",
    "The recent 2010 labor market reform attempts to address these issues, although \"its effects are still to materialize.\"",
    "The paper bases its conclusions on a quantitative analysis that links:",
    "The quantitative work indicates that reforms in collective bargaining and in employment protection are complementary and jointly important to achieve a \"substantial reduction in the unemployment rate.\"",
    "Move away from the intermediate level of collective bargaining to help bring Spain's unemployment rate closer to the EU15 average.",
    "Reduce employment protection of permanent workers to lower the share of temporary workers.",
    "Pursue substantial reform of the collective bargaining system in conjunction with reductions in protection for permanent workers, given their complementarities.",
    "Monitor and evaluate the effects of the 2010 labor market reform, since its effects \"are still to materialize.\"",
    "Subject: Commodity markets, Employment protection, Tax wedge, Unemployment benefits, Unemployment rate",
    "Keywords: equilibrium unemployment, labor market, share of temporary workers, wage agreement, WP",
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