We are used to calling most developing countries overpopulated and consi- dering some industrialized countries (like West Germany) threatened by underpopulation. Analogous population policies with different objecti- ves are discussed. However, none of the measures suggested can be justi- fied or evaluated without an implicit concept of optimum population, a notion which has attracted attention ever since economics was made a science. The relevance of the subject and the recent rise in interest by popula- tion economists has motivated the organization of a conference on Opti- mal Population in...

Deutschland befindet sich in einem harten internationalen Wettbewerb um qualifizierte Arbeitskrafte. Dabei steht der aktuelle Fachkraftemangel nur scheinbar im Gegensatz zu einer anhaltend hohen Arbeitslosigkeit von Geringqualifizierten. Gewichtige demographische Argumente sprechen fur eine gezielte Auswahl von Zuwanderern anhand arbeitsmarktbezogener Kriterien. Dieser Konstellation kann die Politik ohne eine okonomischen Regeln gehorchende Steuerung der Zuwanderung nicht gerecht werden. Das Buch analysiert die kurz- und langfristige Engpasssituation auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt und...

The global migration potential in the world towards the higher developed areas has been estimated to be about 80 to 100 million people. Most of them would like to move permanently. It is expected that the numbers will further grow in the medium-term future. Normally, the issue of migrationis linked to the issue of economic development. Economists, demographers andsociologists, among other social scientists have made only limitated effortsto understand the causes and consequences of migration and to provide the basis for an appropriate policy-making. The book collects eight contributions to...

A historically unique experiment is about to enter its second decade - German unification. Early hopes for a rapid and smooth economic transformation soon turned out to be overly optimistic. Despite massive financial transfers, the political promise of a "blooming landscape" remains a vision. Actual developments have left deep scars on the labor market, and the effects will be felt for decades to come. Was this outcome to be expected, perhaps even inevitable? What went wrong, and what were the available options? Or is the current state of Eastern German labor market in fact better than is...

This volume extends and deepens our knowledge about cross-border mobility and its role in an enlarged EU. More specifically, its main purpose is to enlighten the growing and yet rather uninformed debate about the role of post-enlargement migration for economic adjustment in the crisis-stricken labor markets of the Eurozone and the EU as a whole. The book addresses the political economy aspects of post-enlargement migration, including its broader political contexts, redistributive impacts, but also nationalization of the enlargement agenda. It also covers the experience of receiving and...

This volume presents Richard Blundell's outstanding research on the modern economic analysis of labor markets and public policy reforms. Professor Blundell's hugely influential work has enhanced greatly our understanding of how individuals' behavior on the labor market respond to taxation and social policy influence. Edited by IZA, this volume brings together the author's key papers, some co-authored and some unpublished, with new introductions and an epilogue. It covers some of the main research insights in the study of labor supply. The question of how individuals adapt their behavior in...

How should firms select their employees? How should they design their compensation schemes such that employees are motivated to work hard? How do the performance and compensation of teammates influence workers' motivation and productivity?
Personnel economics examines human resource practices and answers questions that are of paramount importance for business leaders around the globe. In this volume, Edward P. Lazear, a founding father of personnel economics and winner of the IZA Prize in Labor Economics 2004, takes stock of the economic analysis of personnel management, and the...

In all Western societies women earn lower wages on average than men. The gender wage gap has existed for many years, although there have been some important changes over time. This volume of collected papers contains extensive research on progress made by women in the labor market, and the characteristics and causes of remaining gender inequalities. It also covers other dimensions of inequality and their interplay with gender, such as family formation, wellbeing, race, and immigrant status. The author was awarded the 2010 IZA Prize in Labor Economics for this research.
Part I comprises an...