Goulash Labour Market Structural Reforms. Hungary, 1986-2016


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Author / Producer

Date

2020

Publication Type

Book Chapter

ETH Bibliography

yes

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Abstract

This chapter investigates structural labour market reforms in Hungary from 1986 to 2016, a period encompassing the fall of communism, EU accession in 2004 and the global financial crisis. Using the narrative approach, we identify three main labour reforms: in 1992 and 2002 aimed at increasing and in 2012 aimed at decreasing employment protection. We study their effects using a unique data set of about 6 million Hungarian wage earners. We find that (1) the skill premium almost doubled from 6.4 per cent in 1986 to 12.3 per cent in 2016, but peaking in 2004; (2) the gender wage gap decreased to a third with the difference in log wages declining from 0.31 in 1986 to 0.13 in 2004, with no changes thereafter; and (3) gender discrimination practically halved as the unexplained component from the Oaxaca decomposition of the difference in log wages decreased from 0.27 in 1989 to 0.15 after 2004.

Publication status

published

Book title

Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe

Journal / series

Volume

Pages / Article No.

407 - 433

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Event

Edition / version

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Date collected

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Subject

labour markets; Hungary; structural reforms; skills; gender

Organisational unit

Notes

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