Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/51928 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5357
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This chapter reviews the literature on employment and labor law. The goal of the review is to understand why every jurisdiction in the world has extensive employment law, particularly employment protection law, while most economic analysis of the law suggests that less employment protection would enhance welfare. The review has three parts. The first part discusses the structure of the common law and the evolution of employment protection law. The second part discusses the economic theory of contract. Finally, the empirical literature on employment and labor law is reviewed. I conclude that many aspects of employment law are consistent with the economic theory of contract - namely, that contracts are written and enforced to enhance ex ante match efficiency in the presence of asymmetric information and relationship specific investments. In contrast, empirical labor market research focuses upon ex post match efficiency in the face of an exogenous productivity shock. Hence, in order to understand the form and structure of existing employment law we need better empirical tools to assess the ex ante benefits of employment contracts.
Subjects: 
employment law
labor law
employment contract
employment contract
law and economics
JEL: 
J08
J33
J41
J5
K31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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