The Labour Market in Dangerous Currents: Between Totems and Taboos

The EAEPE Symposium 2012 was held at the University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy, from 10 to 11 May 2012. 

Local organisers: Pasquale Tridico and Sebastiano Fadda

The problem of flexibility, in its definition, measures and impact on the performance of the labour market and of the economy as a whole is becoming today of paramount importance both in the theoretical and the political debate.

In this field, not only theories, but also empirical evidences diverge significantly. In the European Union, where in the last decade the labour market was subject to radical reforms which increased labour flexibility, one can still observe in many countries high unemployment rates and low labour productivity. The current economic and financial crisis showed also all the vulnerability of a flexible labour market and strong variation among flexible and rigid labour markets, which make research worth and gives room for policy making.

The aim of the symposium is to set the discussion at an analytical level, freeing it from totems and taboos of various origins. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. See attachment below for suggested areas of inquiry.

Keynote speakers: Jean-Paul Fitoussi (Institut d'études politiques de Paris, France) and Sandrine Cazes (International Labour Organisation)

NEW: the attachment below contains all the presentations from the 5th EAEPE Symposium.