Employment policies and complementarities.

Summary The rise of employment policies in European labor markets over the past 25 years has been the subject of much analysis and debate. In this thesis, we consider these policies in terms of their complementarities. This notion is defined as the fact that two employment policies are complementary if the result of their joint action is superior to that of their isolated action. We focus in particular on highlighting these interactions, their consequences on the labor market in terms of employment, unemployment, wages and welfare. Particular attention is paid to the sources of possible complementarities and to their transmission channels. The first part is situated in a simple framework of labor supply and demand, in order to provide a first study of the impact of employment policies and their interactions. It also allows us to take stock of a certain number of empirical works. A second part then turns to an equilibrium approach. The latter is carried out in a matching model and allows for a more in-depth analysis of the complementarities of employment policies. This section focuses on tax and unemployment compensation policies. The third part extends the analysis to employment protection and its interactions with other employment policies on the one hand, and the macroeconomic environment on the other. In sum, this thesis aims to show that the effectiveness and consequences of an employment policy are likely to vary greatly according to the characteristics of the labor market and the other policies implemented.