Measuring Labour Market Institutions: Conceptual and Methodical Questions on "Working Hours Rigidity"

Research on the effects of labour market institutions on employment performance has recently been extended from industrialized to developing countries, using institutional indicators far more extensive in their coverage than those at the core of the OECD debates. These indicators extend to the regulation of working conditions, including working time, and are being used as the basis for the contention that ‘rigid’ regulation of employment conditions is to a large extent responsible for aspects of poor labour market performance such as low productivity and high unemployment and informal employment