What economic changes are needed in Spain?
(IV) A labor market with stable employment

In collaboration with:

Objectives

The economic crisis has magnified a chronic problem in Spain’s economic system: unemployment and job insecurity. The high rates of unemployment reached predict that Spain will continue having high rates of unemployment over a long period of time, even if the important growth rates achieved in 2014 are maintained.

The current mass unemployment presents some very worrying issues: high levels of unemployment among young people, large number of long-term unemployed people mainly with low qualifications, and an increasing number of over-qualified university graduates. In addition, unemployment and the end of social security benefits for many unemployed people have become important causes of inequality.

Recovery of growth occurs, no doubt, with the increase in employment. But a sustainable growth must be based on competitiveness and requires compatibility between job creation and productivity improvements. If improvements in productivity require people with higher education, what will the future earnings of millions of poorly qualified unemployed people be?

Discussions on the functioning of the labor market, proposals on employment reforms and assessments of employment policies are common in Spain, but are accompanied on many occasions by an ideological burden which hinders the careful and rigorous study of the problems and possible solutions, based on data and well-founded analysis.

The objective of this seminar is to provide materials on this subject, bringing together specialists accredited by their research and publications on labor economics, to discuss the following issues:

• What are the main problems of the Spanish labor market?
• What are the reasons for the fall of labor income in GDP?
• Why is there are larger gap in wages?
• Is the labor market polarizing or dualizing?
• Which labor problems are related to education and what policies are needed to solve them?
• What valuation does the labor reform deserve?
• Do employment policies and proposals made by trade unions and business organizations contribute to solve labor market problems?

The seminar, fourth in a series dedicated to analyzing the economic changes that Spain needs, will feature speakers with academic backgrounds and peer-reviewed publications. Their interventions will be structured in two panels. The first part will respond to the top three questions and the second part will focus on the remaining three.

The workshop is aimed at public policy workers, social agents, teachers, researchers, professionals, students and all those interested in the analysis of the economy and public sector.

Programme

9:00–9:30 Apertura y presentación

9:30–11:30 Primer panel. Perfiles de los problemas del mercado de trabajo

«El mercado laboral en España: Secuelas de la crisis y retos ante el futuro»
Sara de la Rica, Universidad del País Vasco y FEDEA

«El mercado de trabajo español: Problemas de cantidad y de calidad»
Carlos García Serrano, Universidad de Alcalá

«El mercado de trabajo español: ¿Sigue siendo diferente?»
Ángel Estrada, Banco de España

11:30–12:00 Pausa – café

12:00–14:00 Segundo panel. Generación de empleo, formación y políticas laborales

«La formación y el empleo de los jóvenes españoles»
Lorenzo Serrano, Universitat de València e Ivie

«Empleo, formación y políticas»
Miguel Ángel Malo, Universidad de Salamanca

«Más y mejor empleo»
Javier Andrés, Universitat de València

14:00–14:15 Clausura

Coordinator

Francisco Pérez, Universitat de València e Ivie

Participants

Javier Andrés, Universitat de València
Sara de la Rica, Universidad del País Vasco y FEDEA
Ángel Estrada, Banco de España
Carlos García Serrano, Universidad de Alcalá
Miguel Ángel Malo, Universidad de Salamanca
Lorenzo Serrano, Universitat de València e Ivie

Venue

Fundación Universidad-Empresa, Adeit
Plaza Virgen de la Paz, 3
46001 Valencia