The Comparative Competitiveness of European Labour markets: Disappearing Employment in the Netherlands.
Much emphasis has been laid upon internationalisation and convergence as the main directions of European policies. But as the moment of the accession of ten new members to the European Union came nearer, national parliaments in the existing member countries experienced an increase in fear over the potential consequences of the enlargement for their national labour markets. Several countries, among them the Netherlands, passed legislation curbing the number of workers from the acceding countries allowed to work within their respective borders.
This kind of legislation clearly shows that governance at a national level is still important and that trade unions, employers and governments continue to seek to direct the national economy. While introducing quota on the number of foreign workers may suggest that countries can still exercise some influence over their national labour markets, this is not the complete story. Keeping out potential employees is one thing, keeping employers and jobs in, is another. Or put in a different way: “If the mountain doesn’t come to Mohammed, Mohammed will come to the mountain.” In short, it would seem that the focus is mainly on the supply side of the labour market. This paper, however, will concentrate on the other side of the labour market, the demand for labour.
Benchmarking
When looking at the demand side of the labour market, the first stop will be to create an overview of the different perceptions of employers in the various countries of the European Union, including its new members. The outcomes on the labour market are after all not determined by supply, demand and price alone. Regulations and other institutional factors carry at least the same weight influencing the outcomes of the forces of the market.
Every year sees the publication of various so-called benchmarking reports. When it comes to benchmarking the competitiveness of entire economies, an assessment of the labour market plays an important role. Results of the various studies are used to claim success or strengthen the argument for changes in socio-economic governance. This paper contains a comparison of the results of different studies on the competitiveness of the European labour markets over time. This overview will function as a backdrop for the issue of disappearing employment.
Disappearing Employment in the Netherlands
On the subject of disappearing employment there already exists an extensive body of literature. The paper covers the relevant publications and describes past and recent developments. The remaining part of the paper is devoted to the question whether the Netherlands is experiencing a loss of employment and if so in what areas and to which countries? The first question which needs answering when dealing with the issue of disappearing employment is: What do we mean with disappearing? In what different ways can employment leave the country? Also a selection of sectors will have to be made as not all markets/sectors are prone to disappearing employment.
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