Labour Markets And Economic Development

As developing and transition economies enter the next phase of reforms, labor market issues increasingly come to the fore. With the increased competition from globalization, the discussion is shifting to the need for greater labor market flexibility and the creation of "good" jobs. Moreover, the greater actual and perceived insecurity in labor markets has generated a new agenda on how to structure safety nets and labor market regulation. The older questions of the links between the formal and informal labor market, reappear with new dimensions and significance. More generally, it is clear that an accurate understanding of how labor market structures function is essential if we are to analyze alternative policy proposals in the wake of these concerns. Oddly enough, in spite of this great importance, there are no recent monographs that bring together rigorous studies produced by academic researchers on these various issues. This book fills that gap. Under the steely editorship of Ravi Kanbur and Jan Svejnar, the contributors flourish in their attempts to enliven these debates.

This book looks at the links between the formal and informal labor market in developing and transition economies, working towards an accurate understanding of labour markets and analyzing alternative policy proposals.

This third edition of Job Creation and Local Economic Development examines the impact of technological progress on regional and local labour markets. It sheds light on widening regional gaps on job creation, workers education and skills, as well as inclusion in local economies.

"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.

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 past few decades have witnessed the economic and geopolitical rise of a number of large middle-income countries around the world. This volume focuses on the labour market situations, trends and regulations in these emerging economies.

Labour market institutions, including collective bargaining, the regulation of employment contracts and social protection policies, are instrumental for improving the well-being of workers, their families and society. In many countries, these instituti

Free and flexible labour markets can automatically end both labour surpluses (unemployment) and labour shortages (over-employment). However, in practice various things may impede wage flexibility, freedom of contract, and labour mobility – and thus the balancing of supply and demand. Protectionist minimum wage tariff barriers and other obstacles to labour market entry and competition are one major general cause of unemployment. Technological and other business-economic development is a second major general cause while contraction or recession in economies is a third. The book argues that broadly dividing unemployment into obstructional, developmental, and contractional types is more accurate and useful than distinguishing between frictional, structural, and cyclical forms (the conventional economic classification). It also argues that is inadequate to analyze labour markets or explain employment and unemployment in purely economic terms. Even in the most developed, differentiated and autonomous market capitalist economies, external socio-cultural, personality, and physical-organic environmental factors still impinge on labour markets and employment. A general theme of the book is the importance of bringing in empirical data from the real world to support or disprove theories.