Working Conditions and Flexicurity Measures as Key Drivers of Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence for Europe
Working Conditions and Flexicurity Measures as Key Drivers of Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence for Europe

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to design a general assessment framework of working conditions in Europe and associated flexicurity measures, as main drivers of economic growth. We focused on a panel of EU-28 MS and on a sub-panel of 10 CEE countries. First, we conducted a complex cluster analysis based on the Ward method and Euclidian distance that allowed for a proper grouping of EU-28 MS according to the three job quality indices. Second, we configured two SEM models that capture the impact of working conditions and flexicurity measures on labor productivity and economic output. The results highlight that CEE countries have a less flexible working program compared to the other MS. The estimations for flexicurity and job quality interdependencies reveal important positive contributions of the working dimensions and external numerical flexibility credentials to labor productivity, GDP per capita, and a reduction of the poverty risk.

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