This paper studies the impact of the Spanish labour market reforms implemented in 1984, 1994 and 1997. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the evolution of employment and unemployment in the economies of the USA, the EU and Spain, we consider the relative importance of the employment institutions, national demand policies and the interactions between institutions and schoks in the explanation of the observed differences. We then turn to a characterisation of the Spanish labour market, analysing the earlier mentioned reforms and evaluating their effects on the behaviour of employment, temporary and short-term contracts and the persistence of unemployment. The paper closes with some proposals for addressing still unresolved problems: the high rate of temporary and short-term contracts, the structure of collective bargaining and the persistence and concentration of unemployment in specific collectives.

Key words: unemployment, labour market, institutions.
JEL classification: J40, J50, J60.