Alex Tabarrock on Exit Barriers
June 2025
Portugal’s laws look pro-worker until you realize that making it more difficult to fire also makes it more difficult to get hired: As we write in MP:
Imagine how difficult it would be to get a date if every date required marriage? In the same way, it’s more difficult to find a job when every job requires a long-term commitment from the employer.
As a result, European unemployment rates—especially for youth and high-risk groups (minorities, immigrants, the less-educated)—tend to exceed those in the U.S. and dynamism is lower.
Alex Tabarrock’s article on the unintended consequences of some pro-worker laws and other exit barriers.