欧洲就业战略:从就业抑制到就业激励

European Employment Strategy: From Employment Repression to Employment Activation

20世纪70年代中期以来,欧洲一直遭受高失业困扰。高失业不仅严重影响欧盟经济复苏与增长,还危及社会的安定,因此,解决失业问题已成为欧盟的首要任务之一。有鉴于此,欧洲自上个世纪90年代初就开始探索制度性的解决方案。欧洲就业战略就是这种探索的一个集中体现。本文首先着重分析了欧洲三十年来劳动力市场的显著特征:就业增长缓慢,失业率居高不下,长期失业率比重高,青年失业严重;接着分析了欧洲的失业困境产生和长期未能得以解决的原因:欧洲的失业更多的是与欧洲的就业抑制联系在一起,主要体现在欧洲的社会经济制度以及劳动力市场政策抑制了大陆的创业精神和市场机制;最后探讨了欧洲就业战略的内容与性质,特别强调其突破就业抑制而转向就业激励的政策企图。

Ever since mid-1970s, Europe has suffered from high unemployment rate, which not only severely affected the recovery and the growth of European economy, but also jeopardized social stability. To solve the problem of unemployment has therefore become one of the key tasks of the EU. This paper explores the prominent features of labor market in Europe over the past 30 years: slow employment growth, high unemployment rate, large proportion of long-term unemployment rate, and serious unemployment of young people. And then, it elaborates the causes of European unemployment and its persistency. It argues, European unemployment is usually associated with employment repression. The socioeconomic institutions of Europe and its labor market policies have to a large extent suppressed entrepreneurship and market mechanism. The contents and characters of European employment strategy are also discussed with a focus on EU's policies to shift employment repression to employment activation.