This consideration is all the more compelling currently since fiscal consolidation has become urgent for many OECD countries. However, there may be a stronger case for retaining reductions of employer contributions which are targeted on low-wage workers since they may have important long-run benefits by permanently raising employment rates of some groups on the margin of the labour force (Phelps, 1994). While stock subsidies may be relatively easy to implement and relatively effective in supporting employment in the short-run, at least as compared with the employment effects of other forms of fiscal stimulus, the associated employment gains come at a significant cost in lost tax revenues.