What Hides Behind an Unemployment Rate: Comparing Portuguese and U.S. Labor Markets

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2001
Volume: 91
Issue: 1
Pages: 187-207

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Behind similar unemployment rates in the United States and Portugal hide two very different labor markets. Unemployment duration is three times longer in Portugal than in the United States. Symmetrically, flows of workers into unemployment are three times lower in Portugal. These lower flows come in roughly equal proportions from lower job creation and destruction, and from lower worker flows given job creation and destruction. A plausible explanation is high employment protection in Portugal. High employment protection makes economies more sclerotic; but because it affects unemployment duration and worker flows in opposite directions, the effect on unemployment is ambiguous.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:91:y:2001:i:1:p:187-207
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24