Designing Labor Market Institutions In Emerging And Developing Economies

This paper discusses theoretical aspects and evidences related to designing labor market institutions in emerging market and developing economies. This note reviews the state of theory and evidence on the design of labor market institutions in a developing economy context and then reviews its consistency with actual labor market advice in a selected set of emerging and developing economies. The focus is mainly on three broad sets of institutions that matter for both workers’ protection and labor market efficiency: employment protection, unemployment insurance and social assistance, minimum wages and collective bargaining. Text mining techniques are used to identify IMF recommendations in these areas in Article IV Reports for 30 emerging and frontier economies over 2005–2016. This note has provided a critical review of the literature on the design of labor market institutions in emerging and developing market economies, and benchmarked the advice featured in IMF recommendations for 30 emerging market and frontier economies against the tentative conclusions from the literature.

Private sector unionism is in decline in the United States. As a result, labor advocates, community groups, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals concerned with the well-being of workers have sought to develop alternative ways to represent workers' interests. Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century provides the first in-depth assessment of how effectively labor market institutions are responding to this drastically altered landscape. This important volume provides case studies of new labor market institutions and new directions for existing institutions. The contributors examine the behavior and impact of new organizations that have formed to solve workplace problems and to bolster the position of workers. They also document how unions employ new strategies to maintain their role in the economic system. While non-union institutions are unlikely to fill the gap left by the decline of unions, the findings suggest that emerging groups and unions might together improve some dimensions of worker well-being. Emerging Labor Market Institutions is the story of workers and institutions in flux, searching for ways to represent labor in the new century.

Raising South Africa’s low employment rate to levels seen in emerging market or advanced economy peers could raise GDP per capita by 50 to 60 percent and reduce income inequality dramatically in the long term. By putting further strain on an already fragile labor market, Covid-19 has raised the urgency of action. This paper reviews labor market policy and other reform options to enhance South Africa’s job market performance, drawing from international evidence and new analysis. We find much scope for improving the design of key labor market institutions—including collective bargaining and employment protection legislation—and active labor market policies to improve job seekers’ prospects. These reforms should come hand-in-hand with others, such as in the areas of education or product market regulation, that may work pay. Labor market and other reforms would primarily benefit disadvantaged groups such as youth.

The SDN examines the role of labor market institutions in the rise of income inequality in advanced economies, alongside other determinants. The evidence strongly indicates that de-unionization is associated with rising top earners’ income shares and less redistribution, while eroding minimum wages are related to increases in overall income inequality. The results, however, also suggest that a lack of representativeness of unions may be associated with higher inequality. These findings do not necessarily constitute a blanket recommendation for higher unionization and minimum wages, as country-specific circumstances and potential trade-offs with other policy objectives need to be considered. Addressing inequality also requires a multipronged approach, which should include taxation reform and curbing excesses associated with financial deregulation.

The World of Work Report 2013 provides analyses the global employment situation five years after the start of the global financial crisis. It looks at labour market performance and projections both at the global and regional levels

The Global Informal Workforce is a fresh look at the informal economy around the world and its impact on the macroeconomy. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and product markets, gender equality, fiscal institutions and outcomes, social protection, and financial inclusion. Informality is a widespread and persistent phenomenon that affects how fast economies can grow, develop, and provide decent economic opportunities for their populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to uncover the vulnerabilities of the informal workforce.

In developing countries, labour markets play a central role in determining economic and social progress since employment status is one of the key determinants of exiting poverty and promoting inclusion. Yet the reality in most developing countries is that the labour market fails to create the jobs in the formal economy that would help individuals and their families prosper. In recognition of these challenges, governments and other stakeholders in developing countries have increasingly prioritised policies and programmes to promote decent work. However, this requires navigating a range of complex issues and debates surrounding the linkages between development processes and labour market outcomes. This volume consists of three main thematic parts. Part I provides a broad overview of key issues, including characterising the employment challenge in developing countries and the link between economic growth, distribution, poverty and employment. Drawing on the literature and country examples, Part II analyses the specific topics of wages, migration and education. The final section shifts to a more normative focus, addressing labour market institutions and policies, along with systematic approaches to quantifying labour markets in developing countries. Perspectives on Labour Economics for Development is an invaluable reference for policy-makers in middle- and low-income countries as well as an ideal handbook for teachers and students of economics and development.

"The World of Work Report 2014" assembles new evidence based on a detailed examination of trends and policy innovations in over 140 developing countries. It finds that strategies that focus on promoting decent work opportunities tend to yield sustained development results. The report also provides an evidencebased contribution to the debate on the post2015 development agenda."