VOX:
Subsidising labour hoarding in recessions: New evidence from Italy?s Cassa Integrazione
25 January 2019
Labour hoarding - the practice of retaining excess employees during a negative shock - could potentially help firms avoid re-hiring and training costs when economic conditions improve and act as a form of insurance for workers. This column uses Italian micro data to show how labour hoarding in the form of short-term work programmes can be beneficial despite being ineffective in the long term.