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Abstract

This article is an edited version of the paper prepared by the authors for the first annual ETUI research conference, held in Brussels on September 21 -22, 1995. It provides an overview of the current debate on employment policy at European level, reviewing a number of the principal explanations put forward in academic debate for high and persistent unemployment, before describing the points of view of a number of important participants in the policy debate. The final part of the article outlines some criticisms of the prevailing current of opinion. In particular, the article argues that seeking solutions to the unemployment crisis through reform of the labour market alone is likely to prove fruitless.

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Labour market,unemployment and employment policy - aspects of the European debate

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