Labour market protection across space and time: A revised typology and a taxonomy of countries’ trajectories of change

We measure and interpret the evolution of labour market protection across 21 high-income countries over three decades, employing as conceptual foundations the ‘regime varieties’ and ‘trajectories of change’ developed by Esping-Andersen, Estevez-Abe, Hall and Soskice, and Thelen. We measure labour market protection considering four institutional dimensions – employment protection, unemployment protection, income maintenance and activation – and the evolution of the workforce composition. This measurement accounts for the joint evolution of labour market institutions, their complementarities and their relation to outcomes, and mitigate the unrealistic Average Production Worker assumption. We handle the multi-dimensional nature of labour market protection with Principal Component Analysis and capture the characteristics of countries’ trajectories of change with a composite score. We contribute to the literature in three ways. (1) We portray a revised typology that accounts for processes of change between 1990 and 2015, and that clusters regime varieties on the basis of coordination and solidarity levels, that is, Central/Northern European, Southern European, liberal. (2) We illustrate that, despite a persistent gap, a large majority of Coordinated Market Economies experiencing a decline in the level of labour market protection became more similar to Liberal Market Economies. (3) We develop a fivefold taxonomy of countries’ trajectories of change (liberalization, dualization, flexibility, de-dualization and higher protection), showing that these trajectories are not always path-dependent and consistent with regime varieties previously developed in the literature.

Economy and supply

A review of the contribution that the study of London makes to our understanding of the ancient economy. It explores the economic impact of the large-scale movement of goods and supplies required to support military advance, and to meet the expectations of the unusually large garrison stationed in Britain. The underwriting of these food supplies can be treated as an early form of military annona, sharing characteristics with arrangements made for the feeding of larger cities. It is argued that London’s economy and port, revolved around the needs of annona supply embracing military and civilian consumers. The infrastructure developed to support the annona stimulated a wider trade in luxury imports, best evidenced by the pottery carried to and through London (such as Samian and amphorae). This long-distance supply is the most archaeologically evident aspect of London’s Roman economy. The use of coin is another, and this chapter reviews the use of small change within London’s internal economy and local taxes. Coin-based market economies may not have penetrated far into the surrounding countryside, where subsistence and peasant farming was allowed to persist and rent and tax could be obtained through sharecropping and other ‘in kind’ arrangements.

The Impact of Currency Misalignment on Trade Balance of Emerging Market Economies

This study is an attempt to examine the impact of currency misalignment on the trade balance of emerging market economies from 1980 through 2016. It firstly measures the equilibrium RER and corresponding misalignment series of 21 EMEs separately adopting a single equation approach and then includes them in the trade regression together with undervaluation and overvaluation to estimate the dynamic relationship between the trade balance and real exchange rate misalignment employing the system generalized method of moment estimation approach. The study suggests that, being a composite series of undervaluation and overvaluation, higher real exchange rate misalignment helps recover trade imbalances. It also identifies that undervaluation improves trade balance, while overvaluation cuts it down. The study identifies that the misalignment series of RER for most of the EMEs are substantially dominated by overvaluation episodes, and hence the opposing impact of undervaluation and currency misalignment on the trade balance of EMEs is not surprising. From the policy perspective, competitiveness achieved through currency movements helps emerging market economies not only to improve trade balance but also to withstand vulnerability that arises from huge external borrowings creating a strong external payment position.

Planning Virtual Conferences in the Humanities: A Detailed Look at the 9th International ESPRit Conference

In June 2021, the DFG Research Unit 228 ‘Journal Literature’1 organized the 9t International Conference of the European Society for Periodical Research (ESPRit) on the topic of ‘Periodical Formats in the Market: Economies of Space and Time, Competition and Transfer’. On behalf of the Research Unit, a team from the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) was responsible for planning and carrying out the event, in coordination with the ESPRit Committee. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread in Europe during the Spring of 2020, the conference team agreed to go virtual with the conference, due to the foreseeable legal and logistical difficulties in planning and carrying it out in person. From the outset, planning the virtual conference was flanked by an intensive process of reflection in which the conference team reviewed and adapted its objectives as well as the methods and processes required to achieve these goals. This process of reflection was significantly more intensive than is the case with on-site conferences, which are based on existing experience and logistical support from the host institutions. The experiences and insights gained are shared in this report in order to assist in planning future conferences.

Determinants of Foreign Capital Inflows in Emerging Markets: The Role of Institutional Quality

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the key determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in emerging market economies, with greater emphasis placed on the impact of institutional quality. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study applied a panel data system generalised method of moments (GMM) model using annual data spanning the period 2007 to 2017, in respect of 12 emerging market economies. To measure institutional quality, the study adopted the Worldwide Governance Indicators, and constructed a composite index for institutional quality using the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) method. Findings: The results revealed that FDI in the selected emerging markets was attracted by institutional quality and economic growth. Capital account openness, institutional quality and economic growth were positive determinants of FPI. However, stock market development stood out as the key determinant factor for foreign capital inflows. Implications/Originality/Value: The implications of these findings are that, in their pursuit of foreign capital inflows, these emerging markets should continue to liberalise their economies and develop their financial markets. Importantly, such developments must be coupled with the strengthening of the formal governance institutions. Robust institutions would not only curb institutional weaknesses that deter international capital inflows, but would also insulate emerging markets from unfavourable effects of volatile capital flows.