Employment Problems And The Urban Labor Market In Developing Nations

Economic analysis of labour market and occupational structures in urban areas of developing countries - examines the impact of economic development and urbanization on labour supply and urban unemployment; includes a literature survey and evaluation of case studies of labour market segmentation, labour force participation and wage structure; tackles institutional framework, internal migration, labour mobility, etc. ILO mentioned. References, statistical tables.

This paper deals with labor market structures in developing countries and the impact of government policies on rural and urban labor markets. The central concern in analyses of employment is absorption of labor. Governments try to influence the demand for labor so that more members of the labor force are absorbed into productive employment. Employment outcomes are often the by-products of government policies that affect economic growth as a whole. This paper concentrates on factors that influence the structure and functioning of labor markets. In Chapter 1, a schematic picture of labor markets is presented. Chapters 2 and 3 analyze the salient features of the workings of rural and urban labor markets and discuss some important government policies that affect the functioning of these markets. The paper concludes that Government intervention in both rural and urban labor markets has often been less than successful, sometimes because their policies were based on incorrect assumptions. At other times, these policies have achieved less because the government also adopted other policies that tended to contradict the goal of providing jobs.

Abstract: This paper presents a selective overview of the literature on modeling labor market policies in developing countries. It considers welfare economics, theoretical models, and empirical evidence to highlight the three general features needed in future research on labor market policy in developing countries. The author identifies desirable research components (welfare economics, theoretical modeling, and empirical modeling) and pitfalls in the literature (inappropriate use of productivity, reliance on wrong kinds of empirical studies, lack of cost-benefit analysis, attention to only a subset of the goods and bads, and fallacy of composition). The paper concludes with suggested topics and methods for future research. The author states that sound labor market policy requires sound labor market models. The paper makes a case for developing policy based on explicit evaluation criteria, specific theoretical models, and comprehensive empirical evidence.

Monograph on urban area unemployment in large cities in developing countries - gives a description of urbanization, examines reasons for rural migration, the reception of urban newcomers and the resulting employment problems, and discusses the development of the informal sector and some of its shortcomings. ILO mentioned. Bibliographys after each chapter and statistical tables.

"Employment and job creation are key components in achieving economic growth and sustainable development, particularly in low-income countries. The growing size of the working-age population in many developing regions underscores the need to further strengthen labour market structures in the world's poorest countries. Despite the importance of studying emerging labour markets, and investigating which policies are more successful, the evidence is rather limited. Against this backdrop, the joint IZA/FCDO Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries (GLM|LIC) programme was established and has taken important steps to close this gap. Covering topics such as poverty, informality and rural labour, skills training and behaviour, gender inequality, youth and child labour, and migration, this volume presents key takeaways from most recent research in the field. Which development policies will work, which strategies will fail? The authors provide an in-depth discussion of current development programmes, based on the results of new evaluation studies, and derive important policy lessons"--Publisher's description.

"Outcome of a seminar held at the Development Centre from 2nd to 4th November 1987 on the "Evaluation of Urban Employment Research and Policies in Developing Countries"" -- p. 3.

Provides a relatively nontechnical survey of employment-related issues and problems in less developed countries.

This book clarifies the linkages among income distribution, migration, surplus labor, and poverty in developing countries. It assesses the implications of different key characteristics of labor markets for the response of labor supply to the hiring of additional urban workers.