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Europe > Montenegro

You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Labor market x
  • Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Labor Taxation in the Western Balkan: Looking Back and Forward
Mr. Alain Jousten
,
Mario Mansour
,
Irena Jankulov Suljagic
, and
Charles Vellutini
This paper examines how labor taxation (personal income taxes and social security contributions) in the Western Balkan contributes to labor market outcomes such as high informality and a significant gender gap in participation rates. We find that limited progressivity combined with high tax wedge on low incomes poses a major twin equity-efficiency challenge in the region, resulting in low redistributive capacity and inadequate incentives to enter the job market. Policy implications are discussed with a view to alleviating the excessively high tax wedges on low incomes, while improving progressivity of income taxation.
Keywords:
Western Balkan; labor taxation; labor tax wedge; personal income tax; corporate income tax; social security contributions; income taxation; SSC reduction; employer SSCs; Labor taxes; Tax wedge; Wages; Labor markets; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Boosting Job Growth in the Western Balkans
Dmitriy Kovtun
,
Alexis Meyer-Cirkel
,
Ms. Zuzana Murgasova
,
Mr. Dustin Smith
, and
Suchanan Tambunlertchai
Labor markets in the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) are characterized by some of the highest unemployment and low employment rates in Europe. We analyze the poor labor market outcomes in these countries by comparison with the New Member States of the European Union and advanced European economies. Our findings suggest that long-lasting labor market weaknesses in the Western Balkans have structural roots: the institutional setup of the labor markets, labor cost factors, and especially the unfinished transition process. Finally, we offer policy recommendations for boosting job creation.
Keywords:
WP; labor market; unemployment benefit; Balkan countries; labor market outcome; labor market problem; Labor markets; The Balkans; natural rate of unemployment; Labor migration; cost factor; labor market challenge; labor market practice; labor market rigidity; practices in the Balkan countries; unemployment spell; labor-leisure decision; labor market performance; Unemployment; Labor costs; Wages; Unemployment rate; Europe