labour market

April 1, 2017

Skill Mismatch: the New Challenge for Spain

As the Spanish economy recovers, rethinking education reform should be a top priority. Spanish workers are Europe’s most overqualified, but also suffer from the greatest skill mismatch, lacking the skills necessary for their jobs.
March 1, 2017

Regulations and Complexity Harm EU Labour Mobility

Labour market mobility in the European Union is increasing, but it remains too low to provide sufficient internal socio-economic adjustments. This situation reflects non-policy factors, such as linguistic and cultural differences, but also policy barriers. In particular, difficulties in the recognition of skills and professional qualifications and occupational licensing are still major hurdles.
March 1, 2014

The Government Debt Iceberg

Western governments have developed unfunded social insurance programmes where retiree benefits are paid for from the taxes of the working-age population. This means that an ageing population leads to 
rising expenditures that cannot be covered without increasing taxes on the young.
May 1, 2013

Work Longer, Live Healthier: The Relationship Between Economic Activity, Health, and Government Policy

Higher state pension ages are not only possible (given longer life expectancy) and desirable (given the fiscal costs of state pensions) but later retirement should, in fact, lead to better average health in retirement.