The Evidence Does Not Support Macron's Claim that Deregulating Labor Market Will Boost Economy

In her Washington Post , Catherine Rampell repeats some ill-founded conventional wisdom in telling readers that French president Emmanuel Macron's plans to weaken labor unions and reduce restrictions on laying off workers are the path to revitalizing France's economy. In fact, this claim is not supported by the evidence. There is little evidence that strong unions or labor market protections are associated with high unemployment.

The most obvious reason that France has had high unemploy...