Openness and Technological Innovation in East Asia: Have They Increased the Demand for Skills?

This paper asks whether the increased openness and technological innovation in East Asia have contributed to an increased demand for skills in the region. We explore a unique firm level data set across eight countries. Our results strongly support the idea that greater openness and technology adoption have increased the demand for skills, especially in middle income countries. Moreover, while the presence in international markets has been skill enhancing for most middle income countries, this has not been the case for manufacturing firms operating in China and in low-income countries. If international integration in the region intensifies further and technology continues to be skilled biased, policies aimed at mitigating skills shortages in the region should produce continual and persistent increases in skills.demand for skills, foreign direct investment, exports, firm level data

The investment in job training : why are SMEs lagging so much behind?

This paper analyzes the link between firm size and the investment in job training by employers. Using a large firm level data set across 99 developing countries, we show that a strong and positive correlation in the investment in job training and firm size is a robust statistical finding both within and across countries with very different institutions and level of development. However, the findings do not support the view that this difference is mostly driven by market imperfections disproportionally affecting small and medium enterprise sector (SMEs). Rather, our evidence is supportive of SMEs having a smaller expected return from the investment in job training than larger firms. Therefore, the findings call for caution when designing pro-SME policies fostering the investment in on the job training.Education For All,Labor Policies,Primary Education,Microfinance,Labor Markets

Enforcement of Labor Regulation and Informality

Enforcement of labor regulations in the formal sector may drive workers to informality because they increase the costs of formal labor. But better compliance with mandated benefits makes it attractive to be a formal employee. We show that, in locations with frequent inspections workers pay for mandated benefits by receiving lower wages. Wage rigidity prevents downward adjustment at the bottom of the wage distribution. As a result, lower paid formal sector jobs become attractive to some informal workers, inducing them to want to move to the formal sector.labor regulation, informality

Investment in job training : why are SMES lagging so much behind ?

This paper analyzes the link between firm size and investment in job training by employers. Using a large firm level data set across 99 developing countries, the analysis shows that a strong and positive correlation in investment in job training and firm size is a robust statistical finding both within and across countries with very different institutions and level of development. However, the findings do not support the view that this difference is mostly driven by market imperfections disproportionally affecting small and medium enterprises. Rather, the evidence is supportive of small and medium enterprises having a smaller expected return from the investment in job training than larger firms. Therefore, the findings call for caution when designing pro-small and medium enterprises policies fostering investment in on-the-job training.Education For All,Labor Policies,Microfinance,Primary Education,Labor Markets

The Investment in Job Training: Why Are SMEs Lagging So Much Behind?

This paper analyzes the link between firm size and the investment in job training by employers. Using a large firm level data set across 99 developing countries, we show that a strong and positive correlation in the investment in job training and firm size is a robust statistical finding both within and across countries with very different institutions and level of development. However, our findings do not support the view that this difference is mostly driven by market imperfections disproportionally affecting SMEs. Rather, our evidence is supportive of SMEs having a smaller expected return from the investment in job training than larger firms. Therefore, our findings call for caution when designing pro-SME policies fostering the investment in on the job training.on-the-job training, firm size, firm level data, developing countries

Firing Regulations and Firm Size in the Developing World: Evidence from Differential Enforcement

This paper examines how stringent de facto firing regulations affect firm size throughout the developing world. We exploit a large firm level dataset across 63 countries and within country variation in the enforcement of the labor codes in countries with very different de jure firing regulations. Our findings strongly suggest that firms facing a stricter enforcement of firing regulations are on average smaller. We interpret this finding as supportive of the fact that more stringent de facto firing regulations tend to reduce average employment. We also find robust evidence that this effect is stronger for more labor intensive manufacturing firms, especially those operating in low-technology sectors. Evidence also shows that this negative correlation does not hold in countries with a very weak rule of law.firing regulations, developing countries, labor markets, enforcement, micro data

The Effects of Foreign Owned Firms on the Labor Market

Cross sectional evidence shows that foreign firms have a more educated workforce and pay higher wages than domestic firms. These results do not necessarily imply that foreign direct investment translates into higher demand for educated workers or higher wages, however, since foreign investment may be guided by unobservable firm-characteristics correlated with the demand for educated workers or wages. Using firm-level panel data for Portugal, I seek to isolate the effect of foreign direct investment on the demand for educated workers and wages by observing labor demand and wages of different education groups before and after the foreign acquisition. I find that foreigners 'cherry pick' domestic firms to be acquired, choosing those firms with a more educated workforce. Moreover, these firms are already very similar to the group of existing foreign firms and, following the foreign acquisition, there are no significant changes in the workforce educational composition. There is evidence that average wages increase following the foreign acquisition but changes are smaller than in cross sectional estimates

Openness and technological innovation in East Asia : have they increased the demand for skills?

This paper asks whether the increased openness and technological innovation in East Asia have contributed to an increased demand for skills in the region. The author explores a unique firm level data set across eight countries. Results strongly support the idea that greater openness and technology adoption have increased the demand for skills, especially in middle income countries. Moreover, while the presence in international markets has been skill enhancing for most middle income countries, this has not been the case for manufacturing firms operating in China and in low-income countries. If international integration in the region intensifies further and technology continues to be skilled biased, policies aimed at mitigating skills shortages in the region should produce continual and persistent increases in skills.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Technology Industry,Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research

Openness and technological innovation in East Asia : have they increased the demand for skills ?

This paper examines whether the increased openness and technological innovation in East Asia have contributed to an increased demand for skills in the region. The author explores a unique firm level data set across eight countries in Asia and the Pacific region. The results strongly support the idea that greater openness and technological innovation have increased the demand for skills, especially in middle-income countries. In particular, while the presence in international markets has been skill enhancing for most middle-income countries, this is not the case for manufacturing firms operating in China and in low-income countries. The author interprets this to support the premise that if international integration in the region continues to intensify and technology continues to be skilled biased, policies aimed at mitigating the skills shortages should produce continual and persistent increase in skills.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,E-Business,Emerging Markets,Technology Industry

The return to the firm investment in human capital

In this paper we estimate the rate of return to firm investments in human capital in the form of formal job training. We use a panel of large firms with unusually detailed information on the duration of training, the direct costs of training, and several firm characteristics such as their output, workforce characteristics and capital stock. Our estimates of the return to training vary substantially across firms. On average it is -7% for firms not providing training and 24% for those providing training. Formal job training is a good investment for many firms and the economy, possibly yielding higher returns than either investments in physical capital or investments in schooling. In spite of this, observed amounts of formal training are very small