Suchergebnisse

"Economists measure the effects of immigration through the yardstick of income. This book offers a broad survey of the conventional approach but in addition, also considers better measures of welfare or well-being, offers a detailed description and evaluation of policies - rules, regulations and implementation. The book offers a long, historical perspective on the development of population density in The Netherlands. It begins with the history of The Netherlands: geological and cultural formation of the land - and water - and population development. The Netherlands is unique in that much of the land is man-made, in particular the western part, which is economically speaking the most developed area. It is also special for its very high population growth rate that took off during the 19th century. The key argument of the book is that population size is irrelevant for income per capita, that land is a binding constraint in The Netherlands and that negative external effects of increasing population size lead to welfare losses from further population growth, whether by natural growth or by immigration. At present, the battle for scarce land is intense and bitter, with a strong clash between developers who want to build houses, farmers who do not want to give up farming and conservationists who increasingly find support in the courts for insufficiently caring for the natural environment. The book combines a general analysis of population density, both theoretical and empirical with an in-depth presentation of actual policies in a country with intense pressure on available land."

This paper examines the size of inter-industry wage dispersion in Portugal and compares with other countries. We find that the country has a high inter-industry wage inequality compared with the European standard. Nevertheless, the dispersion reduced over the 1980s and the early 1990s along a process of centralisation of the wage setting. This finding may add to the emerging notion that centralisation reduces inter-industry wage dispersion.

The 'Dutch model' has widely attracted international attention for its presumed ability to reduce unemployment, introduce market incentives in the former public domain and maintain essential provisions of the welfare state. This paper documents and evaluates policy changes, labour market performance and welfare reform, with emphasis on the institutional framework, its continuity and the reforms.

"Die Terminologie der Über- und Unterqualifikation kann recht irreführend sein, im Hinblick auf Strategien für die Berufsbildung kann sie sich sogar als trügerisch erweisen. Die beiden Begriffe haben eine normative Konnotation, die eine mangelhafte Allokation und ein ineffizientes Bildungswesen signalisiert. Doch die positiven und beachtlichen Renditen der Jahre der Überqualifikation widerlegen diese Auffassung überzeugend." Der Beitrag analysiert Forschungsergebnisse zum Thema Über- und Unterqualifikation und interpretiert den Zusammenhang mit der beruflichen Weiterbildung aus der Perspektive der Such- und Matchingvorgänge (Suche nach der optimalen Qualifikationszuordnung) und der Humankapitaltheorie. (BIBB2)