Job Creation In Latin America In The 1990s

This publication analyzes labor market trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s. It discusses the expectations for labor market performance that were generated by the reform process in the region and provides an overview of what actually happened with respect to participation rates, employment generation, unemployment and wages. The publication also examines a new hypothesis about the differential performance of labor markets in the northern and southern subregions and presents policy recommendations.

Annotation There is a widespread perception that the structural reforms implemented in Latin America in the 1990s have failed to spur employment growth. This perception is fueled by rising unemployment, slow wage growth, rising wage inequalities and a heightened sense of economic insecurity. This year's edition of Economic and Social Progress in Latin America investigates whether this disappointing outcome can be explained by an abnormal adjustment to rapid changes in goods and capital markets, increased female participation in the workplace, technological change, and secular changes in the sector composition of output. In particular, the book examines whether there are important demands for change that are being thwarted by inappropriate institutions and rigidities. The report documents unemployment and underemployment, employment creation and destruction, productivity growth, and the wage level and inequality. It includes a CD-ROM with data on labor markets in the region.

More than a decade has passed since the introduction of comprehensive macroeconomic stabilization packages and trade, fiscal, and financial market reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, growth prospects remain disappointing; labor markets show lackluster performance, with low participation rates, high and persistent informality, and, in some cases, open unemployment. Creating viable and lasting employment is vital to reduce poverty and spread prosperity in the region. The failure to create more and more productive and rewarding jobs carries substantial political, social, and economic costs. 'Job Creation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends and Policy Challenges' provides a thorough examination of the labor market trends in the region in recent decades and assesses the role that labor demand and labor supply factors have played in shaping these outcomes.

The final decade of twentieth century was momentous for Latin America, as it witnessed sweeping changes with regard to previous trends in the region. Most important were the revival of economic growth and the reduction of poverty. Another significant phenomenon was impact of international crises on Latin American countries. This book analyzes what happened between 1990 and 1999 and revisits issues of interest to ECLAC, using the same approach that has characterized the Social Panorama of Latin America. Analysis begins with a look at poverty, income distribution, employment, occupational stratification, the role of education, the intergenerational transmission of opportunities for achieving well-being and the contribution of social spending to the improvement of the population's standard of living and at interrelationships between these dimensions and economic growth. It also uses opinion polls carried out in many of the countries to describe the Latin American population's subjective reactions changes in the 1990s--Publisher's description.

This publication evaluates the key economic, social and political developments in the Latin American and Caribbean region during the 1990s, a period of transition and reorientation,. It was marked by instances of progress, stagnation and reverses, with the speed of progress variable between countries and sectors. Chapters discuss: the global and regional context, macroeconomic performance, structure and performance of good-producing sectors, infrastructure service sectors, social sectors, sustainable development, economic and social performance, and the restructuring of national territories.