OECD Economics Department Working Papers
Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.
- ISSN: 18151973 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151973
Making the Labour Market Work Better in Poland
Poor labour-market outcomes remain one of Poland’s major structural weaknesses, impeding firms’ competitiveness
and the nation’s potential output. Boosting employment prospects is also critical, as the country will soon be ageing at
a fast pace. Despite long working hours, labour utilisation is only average due to structurally low employment rates,
particularly at both ends of the age spectrum, with some marked regional differences. The female employment rate is
especially low, in part due to poorly designed family and pension policies. Insufficient product-market competition
and obstacles to internal mobility induce significant resource misallocation. Employment protection is not particularly
stringent, but the labour market is nonetheless heavily segmented. This is likely to weigh on economic performance
by limiting investment in human capital and making some specific groups bear a large share of adjustment costs.
Public employment services suffer from a lack of resources and function inefficiently. Local labour offices have
limited incentives to adopt best practices; the government plans to start benchmarking them. There is ample scope to
tighten jobseeker obligations and reform social and tax policies to make work pay. This Working Paper relates to the
2014 OECD Economic Survey of Poland (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-poland.htm).
Keywords: employment service, employment protection, labour market policies, pensions, employment, unemployment, labour market, education
JEL:
J8: Labor and Demographic Economics / Labor Standards: National and International;
J1: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demographic Economics;
J26: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Retirement; Retirement Policies;
J21: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure;
J24: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity;
J31: Labor and Demographic Economics / Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs / Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials;
J65: Labor and Demographic Economics / Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers / Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings;
J13: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demographic Economics / Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
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