Job Creation and Destruction

Abstract

With unemployment at historically high levels in many OECD countries, increased job creation has risen to the top of the policy agenda for many western governments-but how can this be achieved? The importance of job creation (and destruction) in an economy cannot be overstated. Labour is organized and reallocated among firms through the job creation and destruction process to create wealth and income, but jobs also play the major role in income distribution. For most families, the earnings which jobs generate are the basis of their income-and income distribution has been a topic of intense interest in recent years. Fur-thermore, job destruction can lead to involuntary worker separations and possibly substantial adjustment costs for individuals. This well-written book assembles much of the empirical work written on job creation and destruction. It is well laid out and accessible to both specialists and generalists, and significantly advances our understanding of the dynamics of job gain and loss. Simple and very useful examples are often presented to clarify measurement concepts, thus increasing the accessibility of the results and the