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IZA Short News
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IZA Director: European Union Should Create Financial Incentives for Sustainable Reforms and Job Growth |
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By 2020, the European Union wants to create 18 million new jobs. Details were discussed at the EU Job and Growth Summit on June 28-29 in Brussels. Prior to the meeting, IZA Director Klaus F. Zimmermann made some concrete proposals for further steps to be taken, including stricter control mechanisms for balanced national budgets, as well as financial incentives for employment growth.
In an op-ed for the Financial Times Deutschland (June 26, 2012) Zimmermann calls for “providing incentives for innovation in future-oriented sectors, such as energy, health, mobility and information technologies.” He also suggests financial rewards for progress in achieving greater labor market flexibility, facilitating career entry for younger workers, retaining older workers longer, and raising women’s participation rates. Zimmermann argues that 80 billion euros in unspent money from the EU Structural Funds could be used for this purpose.
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Vibrant Europe Forum Calls for Action Plan |
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In April 2012, a high-ranking group of representatives from the fields of European politics, academics, and multinational firms called for action to revitalize Europe and its socioeconomic structures. IZA Director Klaus F. Zimmermann was among the first signatories of a joint declaration of the “Vibrant Europe Forum (VEF)” which was initiated by IZA Senior Advisor Jo Ritzen, former Dutch minister and vice-president of the World Bank.
The VEF aims at creating building blocks for an implementable vision for Europe most concretely for the period 2015-2020 with a perspective towards 2050. Labor market and social policies will be crucial to turn an increasingly weary Europe into a “vibrant” Europe.
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Future Growth Is Female: IZA Supports Women Economists |
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At the occasion of the “women&work congress” held in Bonn in May 2012, IZA Director Klaus F. Zimmermann published a paper entitled “Future Growth Is Female” in the IZA Standpunkte series which stressed that the demographic challenge for the German labor market can only be met if both female labor market participation and fertility are increased. The key to achieving this dual goal is improving the availability and quality of childcare.
“The fact that many women are employed below their qualifications has a negative impact on economic growth. This is why IZA has always called for focusing the various family benefits in Germany, which amount to 200 billion euros annually, on providing childcare at early ages in order to substantially improve women’s career prospects,” said Zimmermann. IZA had an exhibition booth at the congress to inform the participants about relevant IZA activities and publications.
IZA also actively promotes women’s careers in research, for example through a recent workshop entitled “Women and Research.” The share of women among IZA’s research staff and Summer School participants is also traditionally high.
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Klaus F. Zimmermann at Deutsche Post DHL’s Corporate Responsibility Day 2012 |
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How can we improve collaboration between businesses, politics and non-governmental organizations in view of sustainable goals? Is capitalism an obsolete model? What consequence does the demographic shift have on our future world of employment? These and other issues were discussed by leading experts from business, politics and society, including IZA Director Klaus F. Zimmermann, at the Corporate Responsibility Day organized by Deutsche Post DHL.
Zimmermann highlighted the manifold demographic challenges from an academic perspective and called for a comprehensive policy agenda to address the labor market needs of an aging society.
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Jo Ritzen and Hiwon Yoon Receive Prestigious Book Prize |
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The Korean translation by Hiwon Yoon (Seoul National University) of the book “A Chance for European Universities” authored by Jo Ritzen (IZA and Maastricht University) and published in Korean by Seoul National University Press has been selected as the best international book of 2011 by the Academy of Sciences of Korea under its program “Supporting the selection and distribution of outstanding books”. This most privileged award in Korea carries a certificate and a cash prize equivalent to 10,000 euros.
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