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Why is Unemployment in France so High?
Author:
Mr. Reza Moghadam
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Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 1994: Issue 058
Language:
English
Publication Date:
01 May 1994
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451966589.001
ISBN:
9781451966589
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
84
Keywords:
WP; labor market; structural unemployment; family allowance; replacement ratio; pressure variable; contribution exemption; price dynamics; participation rate; Unemployment; Employment; Labor markets; Wages; Minimum wages; Southern Europe
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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High and persistent unemployment, as well as its composition, e.g., high youth unemployment, suggests underlying structural problems in the French labor market. Comparisons with other industrial countries, as well as time series and cross-section empirical evidence, point to a number of potential causes of structural unemployment in France. These Include the generosity of long-term relative to short-term unemployment benefits, the minimum wage, the level of employers’ tax wedge, skills mismatch, and the cost of capital. The paper assesses recent labor market measures in France that are considered, on the whole, as a step in the right direction, and puts forward a number of additional possible measures which could help to ensure that when the economic recovery gathers pace, unemployment will decline more quickly and more substantially than in the past.
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Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund