Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/VeraBrusentsev

This paper examines developments in aggregate income and the labor market of the 28 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (CEE-FSU) in the period from 1990 to 2006. Income, employment, unemployment and labor market support services are examined in tabulations and time series regressions. Comparisons are made with developments in major countries from other regions of the world.

This paper examines comparative data on compensating families for birth and adoption. Cost data (costs as a percentage of gross domestic product) are examined for 21 OECD countries with more detailed analysis reserved for the United States and Canada. The paper develops an actuarial cost framework and applies it in three situations: (1) Canada from 1975 to 2004; (2) state temporary disability insurance (TDI) programs in the United States from 1985 to 2004, both total TDI costs and the costs of pregnancy benefits; and (3) California, which now compensates families for births and adoptions through both TDI and its new program of paid family leave.

This paper examines Australia's scheme of unemployment protection and makes some comparisons with unemployment protection in the United States of America. A major concern of the paper is to understand the differences in unemployment duration between these two economies. Policies followed in the United States intended to reduce duration are reviewed for possible applicability in Australia.

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