Front Matter Page
© 2002 International Monetary Fund
March 2002
IMF Country Report No. 02/43
Belgium: Selected Issues—Regional Labor Markets
This Selected Issues—Regional Labor Markets paper for Belgium was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on February 13, 2002. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government of Belgium or the Executive Board of the IMF.
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Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
BELGIUM
Selected Issues
Regional Labor Markets in Belgium
Prepared by Marcello Estevão
Approved by the European I Department
February 13, 2002
Contents
I. Introduction
II. A Description of Belgian Labor Markets
III. Analyzing Geographical Labor-Market Disparities
A. Unemployment, Employment and the Labor Force
B. Sectoral Effects
C. Wages and Employment
D. Labor-Market Matching
IV. Estimating the Dynamics of Labor-Market Adjustment
V. Conclusions
References
Tables
1. Latest Labor Market Statistics, 2000
2. Decomposing Changes in the Unemployment Rate
3. Decomposition of Employment Growth into Sector Performance and Structural Components, 1983-2000
4. Wages and Costs per Hour, 1996
Figures
1. Geographic Dispersion in Unemployment Rates Within Selected Countries
2. Unemployment Rates
3. Unemployment Rates in Provinces
4. Labor Force Participation Rates
5. Labor Force Participation Rates in Provinces
6. Unemployment Rates by Gender Across Countries
7. Unemployment Rates by Gender
8. Unemployment Rates Among Men
9. Unemployment Rates Among Women
10. Labor Force Participation Rates by Gender
11. Men’s Labor Force Participation Rates in Provinces
12. Women’s Labor Force Participation Rates in Provinces
13. Youth Unemployment Rates
14. Youth Unemployment Rates in Provinces
15. Youth Labor Force Participation Rates
16. Youth Labor Force Participation Rates in Provinces
17. Labor Force Participation Rates of Older Workers
18. Labor Force Participation Rates of Older Workers in Provinces
19. Long-Term Unemployment
20. Long-Term Unemployment in Provinces
21. Some Determinants of “Poverty Traps”
22. Regional Beveridge Curves
23. Response of Employment, Unemployment and Labor Force Participation to an Employment Shock of 1 percent
Appendix: Schematic Summary of Belgium’s Geographical Organization