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The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of flexibility in the labour market on workers’ monetary poverty in 15 European countries in the time span 2005-2016. We estimate how the labour market regulation index (LMRI) affects workers’ monetary poverty through two empirical exercises: in the first one, we use an autoregressive distributed lag model and, in the second one, the generalized method of moments model. The results suggest that greater flexibility of the labour market is positively correlated with greater monetary poverty among employed people. The result does not change significantly when introducing the effect of the economic crisis and the interaction effect between the economic crisis and the LMRI. Therefore, we conclude that the outcome should be considered to be noticeable whatever the macroeconomic conditions occurring in the labour market.

The institutional and policy features of Eurozone represent a field of special interest to analyse the process of integration. The aim of this study is to investigate on the existence of a trade-off between the compliance to fiscal rules and trust as a proxy of institutional legitimacy in Eurozone. At this scope, the relation between trust in the European Central Bank (ECB) and structural adjustment, together with unemployment and inflation in 11 Eurozone countries from 1999 to 2013, is tested. The empirical results showed that: (i) discretionary policy measures have an opposite sign impact on trust; (ii) in peripheral countries, the structural adjustment is the main variable affecting trust in ECB; (iii) unemployment plays a key role; and (iv) deviation from the objective of 2% of inflation is not significant. These outcomes prove the existence of a trade-off between the fiscal rules commitments and the European institutional consolidation process.

This article represents a systematic presentation of the post-Keynesian alternative to mainstream economic theory. It places observation of reality at the centre of the investigation and derives — through an in-depth examination of post-Keynesian literature — an analytical model capable of interpreting the behaviour of firms in a capitalistic market economy. The chapter on which this article focuses is in a book covering the core elements of this heterodox model, which creates a coherent framework for investigating and interpreting the workings of an economic system that approximates reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to estimate the effects of structural public balance adjustment on growth in 25 OECD countries with special attention to selected Eurozone countries in the years 2000-2013. The estimates show a positive effect of discretionary fiscal policy on GDP growth and support the conclusion that structural adjustments have negative effects on growth irrespective of macroeconomic conditions. These results show that, if the reduction of the structural balance has to be considered as an objective to be achieved per se, such a goal should not be pursued in times of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. Comparative Economic Studies (2014) 56, 635-656. doi: 10.1057/ces.2014.26; published online 9 October 2014 Keywords: fiscal policy, structural adjustment, growth, cross-section analysis dynamic panel data analysis, pooled mean group estimator JEL Classification: E60, E62, C21, C23, INTRODUCTION Advanced economies have been forced to manage the unsustainability of their public finances as a consequence of the 2007 financial crisis because public deficits have been increased in order [...]