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Europe > Iceland

You are looking at 1 - 8 of 8 items for :

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  • Labor Economics: General x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Information and Inequality in the Time of a Pandemic
Allan Dizioli
and
Roberto Pinheiro
We introduce two types of agent heterogeneity in a calibrated epidemiological search model. First, some agents cannot afford staying home to minimize their virus exposure, while others can. Our results show that these poor agents bear most of the epidemic’s health costs. Moreover, we show that having more agents who do not change their behavior during the pandemic could lead to a deeper recession. Second, agents are heterogeneous in developing symptoms. We show that diseases with higher share of asymptomatic cases, even if less lethal, lead to worse health and economic outcomes. Public policies such as testing, quarantining, and lockdowns are particularly beneficial in economies with a larger share of poor agents. However, lockdowns lose effectiveness when part of the agents take precautions to minimize virus exposure independent of government actions.
Keywords:
WP; infection rate; asymptomatic infection; unconstrained agent; Bellman equation; time allocation; flow utility; arrival rate; infected agent; Labor supply; Public expenditure review; COVID-19; testing; asymptomaticity; inequality
Cover Finance & Development
Finance & Development, March 2019
International Monetary Fund. Communications Department
This issue of Finance & Development discusses need of empowering women, which is critical for the world’s economy and people. Unequal or unfair treatment can marginalize women and hinder their participation as productive individuals contributing to society and the economy in invaluable ways. The rich tapestry of organizations and individuals who can make a difference to ensure women have equal opportunities; there is a crucial role for policymakers. They can use their positions to design policies that help women and girls’ access what they need for a fulfilling life—including education, health services, safe transportation, legal protection against harassment, finance, and flexible working arrangements. The IMF recommends these kinds of policy measures to its member countries—and works with many governments to examine how policies affect women. The IMF’s 189 member countries face many different challenges, but empowering women remains a common denominator and a global imperative for all those who care about fairness and diversity, but also productivity and growth of societies and economies that are more inclusive.
Keywords:
FD; F&D; economy; worker; gender equality; gender wrong; garment factory workforce; authorities in Africa; IMF's expertise; citizenship law; AI skill; Women; Gender inequality; Minimum wages; Gender diversity; Income inequality; Global; Africa; South Asia; Europe; Middle East; North Africa; Labor force participation; class AnalystIn; gender DiversityThe; costs of Unpaid CaregivingBanking
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Economic Gains From Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence
Mr. Jonathan David Ostry
,
Mr. Jorge A Alvarez
,
Mr. Raphael A Espinoza
, and
Mr. Chris Papageorgiou
While progress has been made in increasing female labor force participation (FLFP) in the last 20 years, large gaps remain. The latest Fund research shows that improving gender diversity can result in larger economic gains than previously thought. Indeed, gender diversity brings benefits all its own. Women bring new skills to the workplace. This may reflect social norms and their impact on upbringing and social interactions, or underlying differences in risk preference and response to incentives for example. As such, there is an economic benefit from diversity, that is from bringing women into the labor force, over and above the benefit resulting from more (male) workers. The study finds that male and female labor are imperfect substitutes in production, and therefore gender differences in the labor force matter. The results also imply that standard models, which ignore such differences, understate the favorable impact of gender inclusion on growth, and misattribute to technology a part of growth that is actually caused by women’s participation. The study further suggests that narrowing gender gaps benefits both men and women, because of a boost to male wages from higher FLFP. The paper also examines the role of women in the process of sectoral reallocation from traditional agriculture to services and the resulting effect on productivity and growth. Because FLFP is relatively high in services, sectoral reallocation along development paths serves to boost gender parity and productivity.
Keywords:
SDN; labor force; capital stock; comparative advantage; Gender diversity; female labor force participation; production function; structural transformation; FLFP barrier; labor force participation; male-to-female employment ratio; employment growth; services employment share; Women; Gender inequality; Employment; South Asia; Middle East; North Africa; Central Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IEO Evaluation Report
IEO Evaluation Report
The IMF and Social Protection
International Monetary Fund. Independent Evaluation Office

Abstract

This paper analyzes that the IMF has moved beyond its traditional fiscal-centric approach to recognize that social protection can also be macro-critical for broader reasons including social and political stability concerns. Evaluating the IMF’s involvement in social protection is complicated by the fact that there is no standard definition of social protection or of broader/overlapping terms such as social spending and social safeguards in (or outside) the IMF. In this evaluation, social protection is understood to include policies that provide benefits to vulnerable individuals or households. This evaluation found widespread IMF involvement in social protection across countries although the extent of engagement varied. In some cases, engagement was relatively deep, spanning different activities (bilateral surveillance, technical assistance, and/or programs) and involving detailed analysis of distributional impacts, discussion of policy options, active advocacy of social protection, and integration of social protection measures in program design and/or conditionality. This cross-country variation to some degree reflected an appropriate response to country-specific factors, in particular an assessment of whether social protection policy was macrocritical, and the availability of expertise from development partners or in the country itself.

Keywords:
IEOR; IEO; protection; staff; evaluation; policy; country; IMF staff; social protection; core area; IMF-ILO stocktaking; protection policy; IMF's mandate; Social assistance spending; Social protection spending; Pension reform; Energy subsidies; Global; Africa; Europe; Asia and Pacific
Cover Policy Papers
The Fund's Capacity Development Strategy--Better Policies Through Stronger Institutions
International Monetary Fund
This paper outlines reforms to increase the effectiveness of the Fund’s capacity development (CD) program. It builds on the 2008 and 2011 reviews of technical assistance (TA) and the 2008 review of training, which set in motion important changes to make CD more valuable to member countries. Reforms will involve Board endorsement in a few areas and implementation by staff of related next steps.
Keywords:
PP; TA review; TA evaluation program; donor financing; TA department; assessment report; Cd activity; member country; monetary policy; TA advice; TA strategy paper; policy statement; planning process; employment growth; donor-financed CD activity; policy advice; program context; area department; IT RBM platform; Budget planning and preparation; Strategic planning for revenue administration; Employment; Monetary policy frameworks; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Allocating Business Income between Capital and Labor under a Dual Income Tax: The Case of Iceland
Ms. Thornton Matheson
and
Mr. Pall Kollbeins
In contrast to most Scandinavian countries, Iceland allocates the income of closely held businesses (CHBs) between capital and labor based on administratively set minimum wages rather than an imputed return to book assets.  This paper  contrasts the relative tax burdens of the current minimum wage system with asset-based allocation methods, and finds that switching to an asset-based method could increase tax revenues from CHBs in a generally progressive manner.  Predictably, the shift would also raise the tax burden of skilled labor-intensive industries more than it would that of capital-intensive industries.
Keywords:
WP; wage; minimum wage; CHB owner; Dual income tax; small business taxation; wage income; capital income; CHB income; business owner; Income; Capital income; Personal income tax; Minimum wages
Cover The Role and Governance of the IMF
The Role and Governance of the IMF
Further Reflections on Reform
International Monetary Fund

Abstract

This paper reports the second event organized by the Per Jacobsson Foundation in 2008 that took place on Sunday, October 12, in the auditorium of the International Finance Corporation in Washington, DC, in the context of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. From time to time—usually every two years—an additional event is organized in conjunction with the Bank for International Settlements and held in the context of its Annual General Meeting in Switzerland. The Per Jacobsson Foundation was established in 1964 to commemorate the work of Per Jacobsson, the third Managing Director of the IMF (1956–1963) and prior to that, the head of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements (1931–1956). The main purposes of the Foundation are to foster and stimulate discussion of international monetary problems, to support basic research in this field, and to disseminate the results of these activities.

Keywords:
MISC PUBS; Misc.; IMF's role; Fund assistance; lending resource; governance of the IMF; Fund; fund's ineffectiveness; Exchange rates; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Impact of the EC's Internal Marketon Nonmember Countries: The Case of EFTA
International Monetary Fund
This paper presents an overview of the impact of the EC’s Internal Market on the EFTA countries. It starts by examining the history of EC-EFTA relations; the institutional and legal changes that closer cooperation may require; and the general implications of the Internal Market Program for EFTA countries. This is followed by an exploration of specific issues relating to the goods trade, transport services, labor mobility, financial services and capital flows. Subsequent chapters focus on the potential impact of the EC’s proposed monetary unification on EFTA countries and the implications of the EC’s efforts in the area of tax harmonization.
Keywords:
WP; EFTA country; EFTA member; EC country; EC-EFTA relation; exchange rate; EFTA firm; terms of trade; EC-EFTA cooperation; EC firm; EC standard; trading partner; Transportation; Competition; Monetary unions; Western Europe; Europe