Global Macro-Policies for Reducing Persistent High Unemployment Rates in OECD Countries

The world unemployment situation is very grim. In most industrialized countries unemployment remains stubbornly high. The average unemployment rate in the EU was 11.3 per cent in July 1996, and, with the exception of the United States, unemployment rates in OECD nations have reached or remained close to historical highs not seen since World War II. The 1997 Asian financial collapse implies higher unemployment rates for Europe, Japan and the United States — and perhaps even Latin America in 1998. Does this dire trend mean that with the globalization of the market system, there is little or no hope of restoring full employment in most economies around the world?