IRES, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
IZA World of Labor role
Author
Current position
Professor in the Economics Department of the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Research interest
Income taxation, labor market, welfare, spatial heterogeneities in unemployment rates, wage formation, and implications of search and matching frictions
Qualifications
PhD in Applied Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, 1987
Selected publications
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“Imperfect monitoring of job search: Structural estimation and policy design.” Journal of Labor Economics 36:1 (2018): 75–120 (with B. Cockx, M. Dejemeppe, and A. Launov).
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“Workforce location and equilibrium unemployment in a duocentric economy with matching frictions.” Journal of Urban Economics 91 (2016): 26–44 (with E. Lehmann and P. L. Montero Ledezma).
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“Regional equilibrium unemployment theory at the age of the internet.” Regional Science and Urban Economics 53 (2015): 50–67 (with V. Lutgen).
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“Is it socially efficient to impose job search requirements on unemployed benefit claimants with hyperbolic preferences?” Journal of Public Economics 113 (2014): 80–95 (with B. Cockx and C. Ghirelli).
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“Optimal redistributive taxation with both extensive and intensive responses.” Journal of Economic Theory 148:5 (2013): 1770–1805 (with E. Lehmann and L. Jacquet).
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The labor market in Belgium, 2000–2016
Beyond satisfactory average performances lies a strongly segmented labor market with long-term challenges
Might the Belgian labor market be included in the gallery of “Belgian surrealism”? At first sight, Belgium with its 11 million inhabitants has withstood the Great Recession and the euro area debt crisis relatively well, quickly getting back on track toward growth and employment, apparently without rising earnings inequality. But if one digs a little deeper, Belgium appears to be a strongly segmented labor market, first and foremost in an astounding north–south regional (linguistic) dimension. This extreme heterogeneity, along with several demographic challenges, should serve as a warning for the future.MoreLess -
Do in-work benefits work for low-skilled workers?
To boost the employment rate of the low-skilled trapped in inactivity is it sufficient to supplement their earnings?
Bruno Van der Linden, March 2016High risk of poverty and low employment rates are widespread among low-skilled groups, especially in the case of some household compositions (e.g. single mothers). “Making-work-pay” policies have been advocated for and implemented to address these issues. They alleviate the above-mentioned problems without providing a disincentive to work. However, do they deliver on their promises? If they do reduce poverty and enhance employment, can we further determine their effects on indicators of well-being, such as mental health and life satisfaction, or on the acquisition of human capital?MoreLess