The thesis investigates the role of structural rigidities in recent labour market performances in Europe through various and complementary angles in five essays. By structural rigidities, we mean a lasting feature caused by a set of institutions, which prevents a market from operating efficiently. The approach is essentially empirical and macro-economic, while the scope of the analysis is definitely European, which is technically reflected in the use of either euro area aggregates or panels and cross-sections of European countries.

I denna undersökning studeras betydelsen av färdigheterna läskunnighet, räknefärdighet och problemlösning på sysselsättning och lönenivå. Undersökningen fokuserar främst på att studera om färdigheterna hos kvinnor och utrikes födda har annorlunda påverkan än för befolkningen i helhet. Studien jämför resultaten mellan Sverige och Tyskland. Metoden som används är linjär multipel regressionsanalys med minsta kvadratmetoden.   Resultaten visar att en individs färdigheter har större betydelse för var i lönefördelningen hen befinner sig än om hen är sysselsatt eller inte. Effekterna på lön är genomgående positiva för båda länderna, men större för Tyskland än för Sverige – vilket indikerar att avkastningen på färdigheter är större i Tyskland. Resultaten visar vidare att kvinnor har lägre löner än män i både Sverige och Tyskland, men skillnaderna är genomgående större i Sverige. Det finns även vissa indikationer på att utrikes födda har det något svårare att komma in på den svenska än den tyska arbetsmarknaden. / This study analyses the importance of the skills literacy, numeracy and problem solving on employment and earnings. The main focus of this study is particularly if the effects of skills within the groups ‘women’ and ‘foreign born’ differ from the population as a whole. The study compares the results between Sweden and Germany. The method used is multiple linear regression analysis using ordinary least squares.   The results show that skills have a greater importance for an individuals placing in the wage distribution than for whether the individual is employed or not. The effects on wages are all through positive for both countries, but greater for Germany than Sweden – indicating that the return to skills is higher in Germany. The results further show that women’s wages are lower than men’s in both Sweden and Germany, but the gaps are larger in Sweden. There is also some evidence that foreign-born individuals have a harder time entering the Swedish labour market than the German.

The thesis investigates the role of structural rigidities in recent labour market performances in Europe through various and complementary angles in five essays. By structural rigidities, we mean a lasting feature caused by a set of institutions, which prevents a market from operating efficiently. The approach is essentially empirical and macro-economic, while the scope of the analysis is definitely European, which is technically reflected in the use of either euro area aggregates or panels and cross-sections of European countries. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished