Can the introduction of a minimum wage in FYR Macedonia decrease the gender wage gap?

This paper relies on simple framework to understand the gender wage gap in Macedonia and then simulates how the gender wage gap would behave after the introduction of a minimum wage. First, it presents a new albeit simple decomposition of the wage gap into three factors: (i) a wage level factor, that measures the extent to which the gender gap is driven by differences in wage levels among low-skilled workers of oppositesex; (ii) an skills endowment factor, that quantifies the extent to which the gender wage gap is driven because the share of high-skilled workers differs by gender; and (iii) returns to education factor, that measures the extent to which the gender gap exists is driven by differences by gender in returns to education. Second, the paper presents simple set of simulations that indicate that the introduction of a minimum wage in Macedonia can contribute to decrease the gender wage gap by up to 23 percent. Nevertheless, in order to get a significant improvement in the wage gap a rather high minimum wage may required, which may contribute to reductions in employment.Labor Markets,,Gender and Development,Labor Policies,Access to Finance

Can the Introduction of a Minimum Wage in FYR Macedonia Decrease the Gender Wage Gap?

This paper relies on a simple framework to understand the gender wage gap in Macedonia, and simulates how the gender wage gap would behave after the introduction of a minimum wage. First, it presents a newâÃÂÃÂalbeit simpleâÃÂÃÂdecomposition of the wage gap into three factors: (i) a wage level factor, which measures the extent to which the gender gap is driven by differences in wage levels among low-skilled workers of opposite sex; (ii) a skills endowment factor, which quantifies the extent to which the gender wage gap is driven by the difference in the share of high-skilled workers by gender; and (iii) returns to education, which measures the extent to which the gender gap is driven by differences by gender in returns to education. Second, the paper presents simple set of simulations that indicate that the introduction of a minimum wage in Macedonia could contribute to decrease the gender wage gap by up to 23 percent. Nevertheless, in order to significantly improve the wage gap, a rather high minimum wage may be required, which may contribute to reductions in employment.Minimum wages; Gender Gap; Wage Differentials; Macedonia

Assessing the Targeting Performance of Social Programs: Cape Verde

Budget constraints faced by governments in developing countries imply that the targeting performance of public subsidies and social programs (whether the subsidies are provided in cash or in kind) is important for reducing poverty. In this paper, we analyze the distributional properties of the main existing social programs in Cape Verde and assess whether various targeting systems (including proxy means testing and geographic targeting) could help to improve targeting performance.Poverty; social programs; targeting; Cape Verde; benefit incidence; geographic targeting; proxy means testing

Assessing Absolute and Relative Poverty Trends with Limited Data in Cape Verde

Cape Verde shifted from a socialist to a capitalistic model in the late 1980s. This shift enabled the population to benefit from rapid economic growth, but concerns have been expressed about a potential increase in inequality. Two household surveys with consumption data implemented in 1988–89 and 2001–02 provide information that can be used to assess the impact on welfare of this policy shift. Initial estimates based on these two surveys suggested that there had been an increase in poverty over time, but this was mainly due to the adoption of a relative measure of poverty and to comparability issues between the surveys. The task of assessing the trends in poverty and inequality was also made more difficult because the unit level data of the first survey are not available. For the period 1988–89, the only information at our disposal consists of a number of tables on the distribution of income in the original report prepared 15 years ago on that survey. This makes it necessary to estimate poverty and inequality using group data. In this paper, we use the Poverty module of SimSIP in order to obtain new poverty and inequality trends over time with group data. We find that despite an increase in inequality over time, and thereby an increase in relative measures of poverty, absolute poverty measures have been reduced dramatically thanks to rapid growth.Poverty; measurement; SimSIP; group data; growth

Do Utility Subsidies Reach the Poor? Framework and Evidence for Cape Verde, Sao Tome, and Rwanda

This article provides a simple framework to analyze the determinants of targeting performance of utility tariffs and applies it to data on electricity in Cape Verde, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe. While most indicators of benefit incidence are silent as of why subsidies are targeted the way they are (they only give an idea as to whether they reach the poor or not and to what extent), we develop a simple decomposition that allows analyzing both “access†and “subsidy-design†factors that influence the targeting performance of subsidies. Our findings suggest that consumption subsidies for electricity in Cape Verde, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe are regressive in large part due to access factors that prevent the poor from using the services. We then conduct simulations to quantify how much targeting performance could be enhanced by changing tariff-structures as well as subsidizing connections instead of consumption.

Do subsidized health programs in Armenia increase utilization among the poor?

This article analyzes the extent to which the Basic Benefit Package (BBP), a subsidized health program in Armenia, increases utilization and affordability of outpatient health care among the poor. We find that beneficiaries of the BBP pay approximately 45 % less in fees for doctor visits (and display 36 % higher outpatient utilization rates) than eligible users not receiving the BBP. However, even among BBP beneficiaries the level of outpatient health care utilization remains low. This occurs because the program mainly provides discounted fees for doctor visits, but fees do not constitute the main financial constraint for users. Our estimates suggest that other non-fee expenditures, such as prescription medicines, constitute a more significant financial constraint and are not subsidized by the BBP. As a result, outpatient health care remains expensive even for BBP beneficiaries.

Income Generation and Intra-Household Decision Making: A Gender Analysis for Nigeria

Even without a comprehensive household survey with detailed consumption and income data, it is still often feasible to conduct useful empirical work on gender and intra-household allocations. This paper documents the extent to which income generation affects decision making within households in Nigeria, using the 2003 CWIQ surveys implemented in eight Nigerian states. While these surveys do not have income and consumption data, they do provide information on labor force participation and whether household members generate income for the household, as well as data on who makes the decisions within the household for a wide range of expenditure categories. This type of data can be used to assess, using simple statistical and econometric methods, the impact of income generation by women on their decision power within the household.Gender; Labor Income; Intra-household allocations; Decision Power

Labor Markets and School-to-Work Transition in Egypt: Diagnostics, Constraints, and Policy Framework

Analysis in this policy note indicates a rapid deterioration in employment opportunities for young individuals transitioning from school to work in Egypt. Despite substantial improvements in labor market outcomes in recent years (in raising employment and participation and in lowering unemployment), unemployment rates in Egypt remain exceedingly high among youth entering the labor market for the first time. A slow school-to-work transition remains the main reason behind high unemployment rates. Young entrants to the labor market have become more educated than ever before: the share of the working-age-population with university education in Egypt has increased significantly between the years 1998 and 2006 (from 14% to 19% among men and from 9% to 14% among women). However, youth are unable to capitalize the time and resources invested in their education as the labor market is not providing enough good-quality jobs for them. To cope with scarce formal jobs, young-educated workers are opting to work in the informal sector and/or withdraw from the labor force, which is contributing to a deadweight loss of recent investments in education. There are three key factors that seem to explain why school-to-job transition remains low in Egypt: investments in the private sector remain low and capital intensive, new graduates are not equipped with the skills demanded by the private sector, and the public sector still provides incentives for educated individuals (mainly women) to queue for private sector jobs. There are several policy options used in the international context to further enhance the performance of the labor market; such as removing obstacles in regulation, enhancing employability of new entrants, reforming the civil service, and designing targeted programs aiming to boost labor demand.Labor markets; Egypt; unemployment; training; labor regulation; school-to-job transition

Key characteristics of employment regulation in the Middle East and North Africa

This note provides a general background of the main features of labor regulation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and benchmarks them against international best practices. The note compiles information on available labor laws and other legal acts concerning employment protection regulation. Within the broader scope of labor regulation, and in order to assure regional comparability, information collected focuses on key issues in the labor law associated with commencing or terminating employment and during the period of employment (including maternity benefits). The main sources the data are the World Bank doing business 2010 and International Labour Organisation (ILO) databank. This note is a tool to provide policymakers and international organizations with a regional diagnose of how labor regulation affects labor market outcomes in MENA and inform client governments about strategic approaches to employment creation through labor policy and reform. This activity comes as a response to regional priorities in the context of the Arab World Initiative (AWI). One of the six strategic themes of the AWI focuses explicitly on employment creation as a top priority. Part of the World Bank's mandate under the AWI is to inform client governments about strategic approaches to employment creation through labor policy and reform.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Labor Standards,Work&Working Conditions,Labor Management and Relations

Does participation in productive associations signal trust and creditworthiness ? evidence for Nicaragua

This article studies the extent to which participation in productive associations in Nicaragua contributes to increase individuals'access to social programs and credit services. By participating in productive associations, individuals give a good signal to firms and are rewarded with better transactions and more access to the services they provide, ceteris paribus. Estimates using 2005 data indicate that households that participate in productive associations display higher access to credit and to social programs that promote investment. Additionally, participation in productive associations is weakly associated to more favorable credit outcomes among those households that receive loans, such as lower interest rates and a lower probability of wanting more credit than what was accessible to them.Access to Finance,,Corporate Law,Labor Policies,Debt Markets