Prof. Lalive delivers keynote at IDEA at CERGE-EI event ****************************************************************************************** * Prof. Rafael Lalive delivers keynote presentation at IDEA at CERGE-EI event ****************************************************************************************** examining public policy effects on labour markets Much of the focus of IDEA [ URL "https://idea.cerge-ei.cz/"] , a think-tank of the Economi the Czech Academy of Sciences, which is part of CERGE-EI [ URL "https://www.cerge-ei.cz/ab (a joint workplace with Charles University), is tied this year to the novel coronavirus, a measures. However, that is far from its only activity: this week the think tank hosted an examining the influence of public policy on labour markets, featuring a keynote presentati of Lausanne professor of Economics Rafael Lalive [ URL "https://sites.google.com/site/rafa online meeting was organised in conjunction with the Swiss Embassy in Prague. Lalive discussed how employee life-cycles, especially moments such as the birth of a child retirement, are affected by public policy. As an economist and researcher Lalive has looke into at the ways policies, on everything from maternity to parental leave to pensions and affect families and individuals. That includes uncovering deeper causal effects: one examp how the automatic renewal of eligibility for support boosted decisions by spouses to have sooner, rather than putting it off. Such decisions ultimately affect the birth rate, emplo the burden on the social security system, length of leave, employer contribution and more. As is well-documented, parents who take leave – most often mothers – effectively put their in favour of bringing up a child. But returning to the labour market often proves daunting where this is greater state or private employer support. Public policy also rests on the bedrock of cultural tradition, varying markedly across dif for historic reasons. In his presentation on Tuesday, Lalive began by discussing the Germa changes introduced in the 19th century by Otto von Bismarck. “Bismarck was a very 'un-German' German. He was behind the start of the first social insur everyone paid into a pot, with benefits for everyone. It is really socialised insurance. P this insurance was provided within the family – that was the traditional German approach. responsible. Gender roles were well-defined and women worked until the first child was bor basically stopped. That was a cultural tradition that was shared by German-speaking areas even into German-speaking areas of Switzerland.” Today, the debate over whether the individual or the state should shoulder the financial a burden at key moments in peoples’ lives, such as the birth of a child or retirement, remai fairly strong divide between progressives and conservatives. The question remains whether or the elderly, falls more on families and the individual or more on the welfare state. Ra again: “There is huge opposition from conservatives in Switzerland, for example, to expanding chi the past, the first schooling laws outlined you went to primary school and later kindergar became compulsory. Today the discussion is at the level of childcare or day care. And when discussion of this, for example in Switzerland, the reaction is ‘ok, we don’t want the sta more involved or interfering in our lives.’ And I think it is a justified reaction. Becaus from a situation where the family used to be ‘everything’ to one where the state is more a While it allows us to become more individualistic, we also realise that there is less and control in our own family lives. And that’s a source of tension.” Professor Lalive adds that culture also changes the way issues are perceived: “The point I would like to make is that we all think about the same questions, as nations, differently. One of the statements I look at in the talk covers traditional gender roles: work outside the household and women should work at home’. It’s one statement and we go fr such a statement is right in Sweden, to 30 or 40 percent in Armenia saying it’s correct. S as ‘who should provide for us?’ ‘Is it up to the individual or the state?’ vary. Some syst be more broad or extensive, others more limited. “If you ask me personally, I think the world is moving more towards systems that allow us, to live as freely as we can. And those are systems that we find in the north of Europe. If you have quite a short parental leave but you also have universal child care. Pensions? Wh stop, you do it. Nobody says you have to work to 65 or 70. The culture we live in frames t framework we create.” Even in the time of Covid-19, differences in how public issues, public policy and governme this case in public health) have been marked. Once again, Sweden is a case in point, not s set rules or bans during the pandemic but leaving the responsibility largely with individu “It fits. You can never tell anyone else in Sweden what they have to do!” You can view all of Rafael Lalive's presentation as well as presentations by Martina Štěpá Štýbrová, Director, Department of Family Policy, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Po presentation [ URL "https://idea.cerge-ei.cz/files/Prezentace%20stybrova.pdf"]   in PDF fo IDEA at CERGE-EI's Klára Kalíšková |(Power Point presentation [ URL "https://idea.cerge-ei presentation_Kaliskova.pdf"]   in PDF format) here [ URL "https://idea.cerge-ei.cz/udalost support-entering-and-leaving-workforce"] .