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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 01, 2019

Tuomas Pekkarinen

When is the right time to start tracking students?

Given the evidence, when is the right time to separate students into different school tracks?
March 11, 2019

Fernando A. Lozano

The economic consequences of secularization

Western countries are becoming more secular, which may have important implications for economic well-being.
February 18, 2019

Andrew Leigh

Labor issues in the 2019 Australian election

Labor market issues are high on the agenda for Australia's upcoming election.
February 04, 2019

Astrid Kunze

Parental leave policies as good HR practices

Can parental leave policies help HR departments recruit the best workers and maintain human capital within their firms?

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.