NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Labour Market Institutions Without Blinders: The Debate over Flexibility and Labour Market Performance

Richard B. Freeman

NBER Working Paper No. 11286*
Issued in May 2005
NBER Program(s):   LS

The debate over the influence of labour market flexibility on performance is unlikely to be settled by additional studies using aggregate data and making cross-country comparisons. While this approach holds little promise, micro-analysis of workers and firms and increased use of experimental methods represent a path forward. Steps along this path could help end the current 'lawyer's case' empiricism in which priors dominate evidence.

*Published: Richard Freeman, 2005. "Labour market institutions without blinders: The debate over flexibility and labour market performance," International Economic Journal, Korean International Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 129-145, June.

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