The spatial-institutional perspective on the labour market in Europe

In traditional economic thinking and labour economics, the spatial aspect was more or less neglected. Labour market models functioned in an a-spatial world. The spatial differentiation of economic growth and stagnation in parts of Europe are related to the regionally different political and social systems. The trends of humanisation and socialisation, localisation and theoretical integration point at the importance of an institutional viewpoint. In the meso- or macro level institutional approach, Moulaert distinguishes three stages: old institutionalism; new institutionalism; and regulation school. The degree of structural division of the labour market has led to various institutional subtheories like the labour-queue model; the segmentation model and the discontinuous model. The macro-economic setting of labour markets evolves in close relationship with the structure and developments of regional arenas. In centralised/integrated systems labour market policy is located under one administration.

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