J08 - Labor Economics PoliciesReturn

The article aims to analyse the effects of the start-up subsidy programme for unemployed in the Czech Republic, which is provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. We explored to what extent participants in the programme in 2014 returned to unemployment three years after the end of the programme, i.e., 2014-2017. Methodologically, we conducted counterfactual impact analysis, where we matched participants in the programme with those who were not supported by any measures of active labour market policy. The results show that participants in the programme return to unemployment to a lesser extent. In total, they spent fewer days in unemployment during the follow-up period, and they returned to unemployment fewer times when compared with non-participants. Overall, 91.3% of participants never returned to unemployment during the analysed period. These results can be interpreted as a positive outcome of the programme. The article also offers implications for targeting the programme and for future research.

The paper is aimed at assessing efficiency of adopted measures of the concept of flexicurity in Sweden and Czech Republic in 2006-2015. It examines hypothesis that the matching process can be made more efficient by increasing the labour market flexibility. The Beveridge curve depicting the relationship between the unemployment and job vacancies is used to demonstrate a change in efficiency of labour market policies. The correlation analysis is used to address possible reasons for weaknesses of active labour market policies. Research findings show a better efficiency of the matching process in a rigid labour market, with the hypothesis being confirmed only for Czech Republic. However, the Czech labour market was fighting against higher imbalances than the Swedish one, throughout the whole period under review, with the most threatened unemployed having been both young and older people.

Unconditional basic income should guarantee that all residents have sufficient material conditions for their existence. Compared to other existing social security programs, basic income is unique in its simplicity. It also supports the individuals' freedom of use of their disposible time. The article analyzes the expected impact of the introduction of an unconditional basic income on the labor market. It also compares basic income to other social security programs (wage subsidies, targeted social programs, a negative income tax and tax credits) on a theoretical level from the perspective of a recipient. Unconditional basic income's effects on labor supply would be rather negative. However, relative to other social security programs, unconditional basic income can guarantee a higher or the same utility level, but it may not motivate to participate in the labor market. Additional positives are transparency and lack of incentives to cheat. The prospect of lower administrative costs depends on the specific basic income scheme in question.

The main objective of this article is to analyse the institutional framework of labour market function. Theoretical literature has created a set of institutional aspects such as employment protection legislation, structure of wage bargaining, taxation of labour, active labour market policies, the system of unemployment benefits. On the basis of these institutional aspects and their setting we can judge general labour market setting or we can determine the dimension of labour market flexibility. Attention is also paid to influence of these institutional aspects on employment or unemployment.