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Europe > Ireland

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 39 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes in Europe: Landscape and Design
Mr. David Coady
,
Samir Jahan
,
Baoping Shang
, and
Riki Matsumoto
This paper provides an overview of the design of means-tested Guaranteed Minimum Income schemes, which constitute an important component of social protection systems in European countries. It discusses how key design features differ across countries, including how countries balance the primary objective of poverty alleviation against the desire to both manage the work disincentives inherent in such programs and contain fiscal cost. The analysis finds a clear trade-off between both concerns in practice, with many countries combining low generosity with low benefit withdrawal rates (BWRs) thus prioritizing employment incentives over the primary objective of poverty alleviation. Many countries can reduce this trade off by combining higher generosity with higher BWRs. Countries with very high BWRs should consider reducing these, including through allowing income disregards and time dependent (rather than income-dependent) benefit withdrawal. The work disincentives associated with higher BWRs can also be attenuated through strengthening complementary activation policies that incentivize and support participation in the labor market.
Keywords:
work disincentive; activation policy; Labor disincentive; Guaranteed Minimum Income scheme; benefit generosity; GMI scheme; Income; Employment; Wages; Labor markets; Tax allowances; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Structural Determinants of the Labor Share in Europe
Dilyana Dimova
The labor share in Europe has been on a downward trend. This paper finds that the decline is concentrated in manufacture and among low- to mid-skilled workers. The shifting nature of employment away from full-time jobs and a rollback of employment protection, unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits have been the main contributors. Technology and globalization hurt sectors where jobs are routinizable but helped others that require specialized skills. High-skilled professionals gained labor share driven by productivity aided by flexible work environments, while low- and mid-skilled workers lost labor share owing to globalization and the erosion of labor market safety nets.
Keywords:
WP; skilled worker; import penetration; employment share; further labor share erosion; labor market; labor share erosion; labor share shrinkage; labor share stagnation; share data; share decline; wage share; labor share; technology; employment policies; globalization; shift share analysis; labor share contraction; labor share growth; labor share shrink; labor share stem; self-employment share; labor share come; labor share tend; labor share fluctuation; Employment; Employment protection; Unemployment benefits; Global; Baltics; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of the Netherlands - Netherlands: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the wage moderation in the Netherlands. Wage growth has been subdued in the Netherlands despite tighter labor market conditions in recent years. Besides various cyclical factors, rising labor market flexibility may have contributed to the wage moderation in the Netherlands. Like other advanced economies, slower productivity growth and lower expected inflation are important drivers to the wage moderation in the recent years. In addition to that, remaining slack in the labor market also weighed on wage growth. Going forward, wages are expected to grow faster given higher expected inflation, foreign wage spillovers, and tightening labor market.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; cost; pay; Netherlands; wage growth; ETS price; cost containment toolkit; containment challenge; Phillips curve; house price; agreement law; housing supply; Housing prices; Housing; Wages; Health care; Health care spending; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Estonia: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the drivers of wage growth and inflation in Estonia. The analysis reveals that the role played by the inflation and inflation expectations in Estonia is different from those of the EU15. The impact of inflation on wage formation is smaller than in larger and richer countries with lower inflation volatility. This has limited the downward pressure on wages during the period of very low inflation in 2014–16. Although there has been an episode of wage growth leading inflation before the global financial crisis, the current simultaneous acceleration in prices and wages is not evidence of a developing wage-price spiral, as a significant share of the increase in inflation is owing to exogenous factors.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; pay; state; wage growth; minimum wage; EU average; spiral emerging; IMF staff calculation; gender pay gap; Wages; Public investment spending; Budget planning and preparation; Labor markets; Baltics; Western Europe; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Kingdom: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper on the United Kingdom finds that the main factors behind the slowdown include weak productivity growth, labor market slack, and low inflation. Recent labor market developments in the United Kingdom appear to point to disconnect between unemployment and wages. Although the unemployment rate has fallen to a 40-year low, wage growth continues to growth at a subdued pace. The analysis in this paper suggests that this puzzle is explained by persistent weak productivity growth and well-anchored inflation expectations, as well as by greater effective labor market slack than suggested by the headline unemployment rate. Broader measures of underemployment—accounting for involuntary part-time unemployment, inactive and self-employed people seeking regular jobs—suggest that slack in the labor market was higher than implied by the unemployment rate in recent years. Persistent tightness of the labor market should prompt some firming of wage growth in the coming year, everything else equal. A mild increase in unit labor costs would help bring domestically generated inflation in line with the inflation target.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; wage; productivity growth; labor market; wage pressure; labor market condition; wage dynamics; frontier firm; labor market slack; Wages; Labor markets; Productivity; Unemployment rate; Self-employment; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Where Does Multinational Investment Go with Territorial Taxation? Evidence from the UK
Ms. Li Liu
In 2009, the United Kingdom changed from a worldwide to a territorial tax system, abolishing dividend taxes on foreign repatriation from many low-tax countries. This paper assesses the causal effect of territorial taxation on real investments, using a unique dataset for multinational affiliates in 27 European countries and employing the difference-in-difference approach. It finds that the territorial reform has increased the investment rate of UK multinationals by 15.7 percentage points in low-tax countries. In the absence of any significant investment reduction elsewhere, the findings represent a likely increase in total outbound investment by UK multinationals.
Keywords:
WP; gross investment; tax rate; UK affiliate; retained earnings; foreign direct investment; corporate tax policy; multinational firms; UK multinational; investment by UK; tax country; investment response; Dividend tax; Corporate income tax; Wages; Private investment; Currencies; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ireland: 2017 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights Ireland’ continued position among the euro area’s top growth performers. Real GDP expanded by 5.2 percent in 2016, supported by a healthy expansion of private consumption and buoyant investment, including construction. Strong broad-based job creation brought unemployment down to 6.4 percent in May, its lowest level in a decade, while inflation remained low as the recent pickup in energy prices and upward pressure from services were partly offset by the impact of weakness in the British pound. The outlook remains positive, but with substantial, mainly externally driven, downside risks. Real GDP is projected to grow at 3.9 percent in 2017, propelled by strong domestic demand.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; IMF staff; holding; Q4; market; money market rate; economic statistics; liability positions vis-à-vis nonresident; potential GDP; Wages; Income; Housing; Global
Cover World Economic Outlook, April 2017
World Economic Outlook, April 2017
Gaining Momentum?
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global economic activity is picking up with a long-awaited cyclical recovery in investment, manufacturing, and trade, according to Chapter 1 of this World Economic Outlook. World growth is expected to rise from 3.1 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. Stronger activity, expectations of more robust global demand, reduced deflationary pressures, and optimistic financial markets are all upside developments. But structural impediments to a stronger recovery and a balance of risks that remains tilted to the downside, especially over the medium term, remain important challenges. Chapter 2 examines how changes in external conditions may affect the pace of income convergence between advanced and emerging market and developing economies. Chapter 3 looks at the declining share of income that goes to labor, including the root causes and how the trend affects inequality. Overall, this report stresses the need for credible strategies in advanced economies and in those whose markets are emerging and developing to tackle a number of common challenges in an integrated global economy.

Keywords:
WEO; economy; emerging market; labor share; developing economy; commodity exporter; core inflation dynamics; market expectation; advanced economy; Labor share; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Commodity prices; Personal income; Global; Middle East; North Africa; Asia and Pacific; Caribbean; commodity price; income share; core inflation; commodity terms of trade; Inflation; Global value chains; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ireland: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Ireland enjoyed strong growth in 2014, at about 5 percent year over year, led by exports and investment. Solid job creation has brought the unemployment rate down to 10.5 percent, from a peak of 15 percent three years ago. These positive economic developments drove higher than expected growth in revenues, helping bring the fiscal deficit down to an estimated 3.9 percent of GDP in 2014 despite some spending overruns. Looking to 2015, Ireland’s growth is expected to remain robust, at about 3.5 percent, bolstered by the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing. Consumption is beginning to support activity, aided by the impact of falling energy prices on real incomes.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank bond bond yield; market; benchmark bond; revenue gain; benchmark; financial market condition; government benchmark; Mortgages; Credit; Loans; Nonperforming loans; Europe; article IV of the IMF's article; staff supplement
Cover IMF Working Papers
Public Employment and Compensation Reform During Times of Fiscal Consolidation
Lorenzo Forni
and
Natalija Novta
This paper compiles and compares recent and past measures introduced to contain the public wage bill in a number of emerging and advanced economies to assess their effectiveness in bringing down expenditure in a sustained way. In the aftermath of the Great Recession a number of countries have approved measures on the wage bill as part of fiscal consolidation efforts. These recent episodes are compared to past cases implemented in advanced economies over the period 1979–2009. Findings suggest that public wage bill consolidation episodes pre and post 2009 are similar in many respects. Moreover, typically countries that were able to achieve more sustained reductions in the wage bill have implemented to larger extent structural measures, and/or these measures were accompanied with substantial social dialogue and consensus.
Keywords:
WP; wage; wage bill; bill; employment; Public sector; fiscal consolidation; public reform; bill reduction; indexation rule; bill consolidation; consolidation episode; bill measure; Government wage bill; Wages; Public employment; Wage adjustments; Labor share; Europe; Global