Last in, First out?

David von Below, together with Peter Skogman Thoursie, has investigated whether a relaxation in seniority rules (the "last-in-first-out" principle) had any effect on firms' employment behaviour. Seniority rules exist in several countries, but consequences of seniority rules on firms' employment behaviour have not been examined previously. The "last-in-first-out" principle in Sweden was reformed in January 2001 such that employers with ten or fewer employees were allowed to exempt two workers from the seniority rule. Using an employer–employee unbalanced panel data for the period 1996–2005, the authors determined that both hires and separations increased in small firms relative to large firms by 5%. This also implies that there were no effects on firms' net employment. The results show that firms reacted to changes in the seniority rules, but the authors argue that the effects are not overwhelmingly large.

Mr von Below's research interests include environmental and resource economics, with a particular focus on the economics of climate change, as well as macroeconomics and labour economics.

David von Below holds a PhD in Economics from the Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES) at Stockholm University, an MSc in Economics from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. His current position is as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford. He has also held positions as Lecturer in Macroeconomics at Magdalen College and Christ Church College, Oxford University.