The Economics of Public Spending investigates the extent of government involvement in the economy, details its rational, and traces its historical record. The book unites articles previously published in Fiscal Studies, each one addressing a different area of expenditure and written by an economist specializing in that field. They describe both the data on public expenditure and the theory relevant to understanding the policy issues. A new introduction investigates the overall role of the public sector and discusses the general theory of public expenditure. In providing a detailed analysis of public expenditure, the book makes an important contribution to the economics literature. There are no other texts with this breadth of coverage or depth of analysis. Insights are provided into both the policy issues, cross-country comparisons of expenditure, and alternative approaches to economic analysis. The chapters apply the tools of orthodox public finance, public choice, modern public economics, and game theory to reach a range of policy proposals and conclusions. These demonstrate the range and potential of economic analysis when applied to these important issues.

This paper discusses theoretical aspects and evidences related to designing labor market institutions in emerging market and developing economies. This note reviews the state of theory and evidence on the design of labor market institutions in a developing economy context and then reviews its consistency with actual labor market advice in a selected set of emerging and developing economies. The focus is mainly on three broad sets of institutions that matter for both workers’ protection and labor market efficiency: employment protection, unemployment insurance and social assistance, minimum wages and collective bargaining. Text mining techniques are used to identify IMF recommendations in these areas in Article IV Reports for 30 emerging and frontier economies over 2005–2016. This note has provided a critical review of the literature on the design of labor market institutions in emerging and developing market economies, and benchmarked the advice featured in IMF recommendations for 30 emerging market and frontier economies against the tentative conclusions from the literature.

The Unemployment Insurance (UI) system is a lasting piece of the Social Security Act which was enacted in 1935. But like most things that are over 80 years old, it occasionally needs maintenance to keep it operating smoothly while keeping up with the changing demands placed upon it. However, the UI system has been ignored by policymakers for decades and, say the authors, it is broken, out of date, and badly in need of repair. Stephen A. Wandner pulls together a group of UI researchers, each with decades of experience, who describe the weaknesses in the current system and propose policy reforms that they say would modernize the system and prepare us for the next recession.

Designing a good unemployment insurance scheme is a delicate matter. In a system with no or little insurance, households may be subject to a high income risk, whereas excessively generous unemployment insurance systems are known to lead to high unemployment rates and are costly both from a fiscal perspective and for society as a whole. Andreas Pollak investigates what an optimal unemployment insurance system would look like, i.e. a system that constitutes the best possible compromise between income security and incentives to work. Using theoretical economic models and complex numerical simulations, he studies the effects of benefit levels and payment durations on unemployment and welfare. As the models allow for considerable heterogeneity of households, including a history-dependent labor productivity, it is possible to analyze how certain policies affect individuals in a specific age, wealth or skill group. The most important aspect of an unemployment insurance system turns out to be the benefits paid to the long-term unemployed. If this parameter is chosen too high, a large number of households may get caught in a long spell of unemployment with little chance of finding work again. Based on the predictions in these models, the so-called "Hartz IV" labor market reform recently adopted in Germany should have highly favorable effects on the unemployment rates and welfare in the long run.

The purpose of this study is to examine the post-evaluation experience of a group of applicants denied disability benefits (cases) and to contrast their experience with a group of applicants allowed benefits (controls). It includes an analysis of the current medical, vocational, and socioeconomic status of the two groups of disability applicants. The findings will provide some objective measure of the efficacy and accuracy of the guides used in benefit determinations. The specific objectives of the study are: (1) to assess the effectiveness with which the guides measure severity of disability, by analyzing survivorship experience of the two applicant groups; (2) to assess the accuracy of the guides in measuring severity of disability and inability to work, by evaluating illness, impairment, and functional limitation characteristics of allowed and denied applicants; (3) to evaluate the measure of "ability to engage in gainful employment," by analyzing work experience and occupational changes of applicants; (4) to assess the influence of disability determinations on applicants' subsequent levels of income and economic resources; and (5) to examine the pattern of medical and rehabilitation services utilized by applicants, as a reflection of the guides used to measure severity of disability. The study was conducted during the period of March 1964 through September 1966, in Baltimore. All aspects of the investigation carried out by an independent research team are covered herein. The findings of the present study thus serve two major purposes: an evaluation of the disability program on a limited scale, and a design and replication model for carrying out further studies.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Since the inception and design of Canada's Employment Insurance (EI) program, the Canadian economy and labour market have undergone dramatic changes. It is clear that EI has not kept pace with those changes, and experts and advocates agree that the program is no longer effective or equitable. Making EI Work is the result of a panel of distinguished scholars gathered by the Mowat Centre Employment Insurance Task Force to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, and future directions of EI. The authors identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system, and consider how it could be improved to better and more fairly support those in need. They make suggestions for facilitating a more efficient Canadian labour market, and meeting the human capital requirements of a dynamic economy for the present and the foreseeable future. The chapters that comprise Making EI Work informed the task force's final recommendations, and form an engaging dialogue that makes the case for, and defines the parameters of, a reformed support system for Canada's unemployed. Contributors include Ken Battle (Caledon Institute of Social Policy), Robin Boadway (Queen's University), Allison Bramwell (University of Toronto), Sujit Choudhry (New York University School of Law), Kathleen M. Day (University of Ottawa), Ross Finnie (University of Ottawa), Jean-Denis Garon (Queen's University), David Gray (University of Ottawa), Morley Gunderson (University of Toronto), Ian Irvine (Concordia University), Stephen Jones (McMaster University), Thomas R. Klassen (York University), Michael Mendelson (Caledon Institute of Social Policy), Alain Noël (Université de Montréal), Michael Pal (University of Toronto Faculty of Law), W. Craig Riddell (University of British Columbia), William Scarth (McMaster University), Luc Turgeon (University of Ottawa), Leah F. Vosko (York University), Stanley L. Winer (Carleton University), Donna E. Wood (University of Victoria), and Yan Zhang (Statistics Canada).