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Macroeconomic Fluctuations and the Timing of Labour-Market Reform

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Abstract

It is commonly heard that expansionary times are more favourable than recessions for implementing structural reforms in the labour market. Behind this belief is the intuition that structural reforms are ‘painful’ and that such pain is likely to be lighter in a boom. In this chapter, I try to discuss these issues from a more precise and analytical perspective and conclude that this simplistic view should be severely qualified.

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© 2004 International Economic Association

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Saint-Paul, G. (2004). Macroeconomic Fluctuations and the Timing of Labour-Market Reform. In: Solow, R.M. (eds) Structural Reform and Economic Policy. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230524446_7

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