IZA World of Labor - Commentary

Watch exclusive video from conferences, debates and other events on labor market economics as well as reading the latest opinion pieces from IZA World of Labor authors.

April 02, 2020

Nikos Askitas

Coronavirus, telecommuting, and the labor market

Global Google search interest in “telecommuting” has had an eight-fold surge in the last several weeks.
March 31, 2020

Simon Burgess, Hans Sievertsen

The long-term consequences of missing a term of school

There will be substantial disparities between families in the extent to which they can help their children learn.
March 30, 2020

Christopher J. Ruhm

Health effects of the coronavirus recession

How will the current economic crisis affect overall health?
March 27, 2020

W. Kip Viscusi

Pricing the lives saved by coronavirus policies

For purposes of assessing policy options, what matters is not the number of people who have died but the number of people whose deaths could be prevented through appropriate policies.

Women at Work Around the World

Female labor force participation is mainly driven by the value of women’s market wages versus the value of their non-market time. While women’s labor force participation has risen in many countries, rates remain quite low in some countries and regions.

Read more articles on female labor force participation.

Read Daiji Kawaguchi and Hiroaki Mori's article: "The labor market in Japan, 2000–2016"

Read Tomi Kyyrä and Hanna Pesola's article: "The labor market in Finland, 2000–2016"

Read Elena Nikolova's article: "Can diversity encourage entrepreneurship in transition economies?"

Read Jungmin Lee's article: "The labor market in South Korea, 2000–2016"

Read Rafael Lalive and Tobias Lehmann's article: "The labor market in Switzerland, 2000–2016"

Read Benedikt Herz and Thijs van Rens' article: "The labor market in the UK, 2000–2016"

Read Philippe Askenazy's article: "The changing of the French labor market, 2000–2017"
Minimum wages, austerity and debt

2013 IZA prizewinner, Daniel Hamermesh, discusses topical economic issues, including minimum wage, and austerity. See his IZA World of Labor article where he examines how labor costs affect companies' demand for labor.
The importance of labor supply and the role of public policy

Richard Blundell, of University College London and IZA, explains the importance of labor supply and the role that public policy plays. His IZA World of Labor article specifically looks at the role of tax policy.