Book contents
- Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Part II Macroeconomic Implications of Reforms
- Part III Case Studies
- 10 Structural Reforms in Europe
- 11 Fiscal Consolidation and Inequality
- 12 How Openness to Trade Rescued the Irish Economy
- 13 Goulash Labour Market Structural Reforms
- Conclusions
- Index
- References
13 - Goulash Labour Market Structural Reforms
Hungary, 1986–2016
from Part III - Case Studies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 March 2020
Book contents
- Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe
- Part II Macroeconomic Implications of Reforms
- Part III Case Studies
- 10 Structural Reforms in Europe
- 11 Fiscal Consolidation and Inequality
- 12 How Openness to Trade Rescued the Irish Economy
- 13 Goulash Labour Market Structural Reforms
- Conclusions
- Index
- References
Summary
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.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe , pp. 407 - 433Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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