Transition and Labour Market Policy Design - A comparative study of the Visegrád three

Abstract: The transition from socialistic planned economies to market economies resulted in crucial structural changes of the Visegrád (Czech republic, Hungary, and Poland) labour markets. The immediate fall in output caused unemployment rates that rose from zero to two-digit numbers within a few years. The purpose is to analyse and compare the labour market policy design of the Visegrád three starting in1989 until recent data. Labour market policies constitute a framework for the functioning of labour markets. A distinction is made between passive and active measures. The first years of transition were marked by an increasing rate of unemployed and a fall in the labour force participation. The willingness to register as unemployed varied along with the level and duration of social benefits. Eventually, the individual employment situations of today correspond to the success in performing the transition.