Labor market regulation : international experience in promoting employment and social protection

Labor market regulation involves many aspects, ranging from how employers contract for the services of workers to the nature of the exchange, including terms of conditions of employment. This area of regulation represents an important and often controversial aspect of public policy in both developed and developing countries. Approaches are dominated by opposing views, one which favors the protection of workers through labor legislation and collective bargaining and the other which emphasizes the advantages of encouraging market processes. In the end, however, what matters are the economic and social outcomes of different approaches. This primer paper reviews different regulatory options regarding hiring and firing and wage determination and summarizes the existing knowledge about their labor market effects. It also reviews two important institutional aspects of labor market regulation -- enforcement and dispute resolution. In an annex to the paper, we summarize the statutory arrangements for various topics related to labor market regulation in 17 countries.Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies

Do Employment Subsidies Work? Evidence from Regionally Targeted Subsidies in Turkey

This paper studies the effects on registered employment, earnings, and number of registered establishments of two employment subsidy schemes in Turkey. We implement a difference-in-differences methodology to construct appropriate counterfactuals for the covered provinces. Our findings suggest that both subsidy programs did lead to significant net increases in registered jobs in eligible provinces (5%-13% for the first program and 11%-15% for the second). However, the cost of the actual job creation was high because of substantial deadweight losses, particularly for the first program (47% and 78%). Because of better design features, the second subsidy program had lower, though still significant, deadweight losses (23%-44%). Although constrained by data availability, the evidence suggests that the dominant effect of subsidies was to increase social security registration of firms and workers rather than boosting total employment and economic activity. This supports the hypothesis that in countries with weak enforcement institutions, high labor taxes on low-wage workers may lead to substantial incentives for firms and workers to operate informally.employment subsidies, deadweight loss, formalization, social security contribution

An overview of labor markets world-wide : key trends and major policy issues

This paper provides an overview of labor market trends, and key policy issues worldwide. It begins with a statistical overview of major indicators relating to the labor market, highlighting the diverging experiences between the high-income countries, and many developing regions. It then reviews four global trends that are rapidly changing labor markets, and affecting workers all over the world. These trends are the changing industrial structure which is being accompanied by rapid urbanizations; global economic integration; technological change through the information and communication technology revolution; and, the informalization of many economic activities. While policy responses to these developments depend on national circumstances, there are certain priorities that - investing in human resources, social protection for workers, and labor market regulation - are reviewed in the final section of the paper.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,Inequality,Economic Theory&Research

Active labor market programs : policy issues for East Asia

The study debates on active labor market programs (ALMPs) as a valuable employment policy tool intended to increase the quality of labor supply, and demand, versus the disincentive, and dependent passive measures in combating unemployment. While ALMPs have been implemented to varying degrees in East Asia, they still cannot be considered an important policy instrument; yet, careful consideration by policymakers to such programs, could prove responsive to the economic crisis, and to the longer-term requirements of development. An overview of ALMPs is provided, with key issues reviewed for design consideration. The study discusses the techniques used to evaluate ALMPs, and summarizes the evidence on their impacts, identifying key variables associated with successful outcomes in the region. Recommendations suggest the following issues for the formulation of an active labor market policy: setting priorities, by initially developing strong employment services; identifying the roles of the public, and private sectors, which leads to more diverse, innovative, and cost-efficient services, closely oriented to labor demand, but focused on public priorities; promoting partnerships, and dialogue within coordinated policies, and strengthened administrative and operational capacities, provided a balanced public, and private financing is in place.Banks&Banking Reform,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Standards

Child labor, education, and children's rights

Child labor is widespread, and bad for development, both that of the individual child, and of the society and economy in which she, or he lives. If allowed to persist to the current extent,child labor will prevent the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty, and achieving Education for All. Nearly all of the world's governments have ratified international human rights conventions, which call for the elimination of child labor, and the provision of universal primary education. Fulfilling these commitments is of critical importance for development. This paper reviews the international legal framework relating to child labor, and access to education, and, provides a statistical portrait of child labor and education participation. It looks at why children work from the perspective of household decision-making. Various policy options are considered, including those which improve the incentives to education relative to labor, remove constraints to schooling, and increase education participation through legislation. Conclusions are drawn in the final section.Children and Youth,Child Labor,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Street Children,Youth and Governance

A review of interventions to support young workers : findings of the youth employment inventory

This Youth Employment Inventory (YEI) is based on available documentation of current and past programs and includes evidence from 289 studies of interventions from 84 countries in all regions of the world. The interventions included in the YEI have been analyzed in order to (i) document the types of programs that have been implemented to support young workers to find work; and (ii) identify what appears to work in terms of improving employment outcomes for youth. This report synthesizes the information from this inventory and a set of background reports to document the global experience with youth employment programs. As background, Section B provides a brief summary of the situation of young people in labor markets world-wide, and also reviews the existing literature on policies to address youth employment problems. Following this, we turn to the underlying framework and methodology used to assemble the youth employment inventory in Section C. In Section D, we consider the coverage of the YEI, which represents the sample of youth programs identified in our global search of the available documentation. In addressing the question of"what works", it is critical to pay close attention to the quality of the evaluation evidence. This is discussed in Section E. The study then turns to the analysis of the effectiveness of the interventions included in the inventory. The descriptive evidence is presented in Section F. In addition, the study undertakes an econometric meta-analysis to more systematically identify the determinants of program success and the results of this analysis are presented in Section G. Finally, conclusions and implications are drawn in Section H.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Youth and Governance,,Adolescent Health

Labour Market Imbalances in Canada, 1966-1983

Quand on considère le chômage et les postes à pourvoir, le concept des inadaptations ou des déséquilibres offre une méthode valable d'observer la performance du marche du travail. Les statistiques des vacances d'emploi furent colligées au Canada de 1971 à 1978 et elles sont utilisées dans cet article comme la base des séries de données sur le nombre des postes à pourvoir associées aux demandes d'assistance.Au moyen de cette mesure et des statistiques usuelles du chômage, on a étudie les inadaptations du marche du travail au Canada de 1966 à 1983. Le débat porte sur deux questions. Premièrement, quelles sont les tendances au déséquilibre qui ont caractérise le marche du travail canadien depuis 1966? Et deuxièmement, quels sont les facteurs qui sont de nature à expliquer ces tendances?Les résultats démontrent que la magnitude des inadaptations crut considérablement depuis 1972 et, jusqu'à maintenant, cette situation a persiste. En effet, en utilisant «l'indice d'ajustement» Dow et Dick-Moreaux (la racine carrée du produit du chômage et des vacances d'emploi), en moyenne, le niveau trimestriel d'inadaptation était de 36.4 pour cent plus élevé de 1972 à 1983 qu'il l'avait été de 1966 à 1971. Pour expliquer les types d'inadaptation observes, on a mis au point et fait l'estimation d'un modèle qui comprend des facteurs fonctionnels et structurels. Le modèle ne donne pas de bons résultats en ce qui a trait à l'identification des éléments stables pour l'ensemble de la période 1966-1983. Étant donne cet échec, la nouvelle étape de l'analyse a surtout porte sur le changement dans la composition de ces déséquilibres au cours des années qu'on a considérées. À compter de 1975 jusqu'à aujourd'hui, l'élément principal en a naturellement été un taux de chômage sans cesse élevé. En supposant que les éléments déterminants des inadaptations dans un marche du travail facile de longue durée puissent être tout à fait différents de ce qui se produit dans un marche plus serre, les régressions des déséquilibres ont été regroupées séparément pour la période 1966-1974 et pour la période 1975-1983.Les résultats de cette analyse confirment l'hypothèse selon laquelle les éléments déterminants antérieurs à 1975 ne sont pas les mêmes que ceux qui ont joue par la suite. Durant la période 1966-1974, les caractéristiques du régime d'assurance chômage et la composition des groupes d'âge sur le marche du travail exerçaient des influences importantes sur la grandeur des données relatives au chômage et aux vacances d'emploi. En conséquence, les modifications généreuses apportées à la Loi sur l'assurance-chômage en 1971 et le nombre des jeunes arrives sur le marche du travail à ce moment eurent une influence significative dans l'accroissement notable des déséquilibres autour de 1972. Le maintien de ce fort déséquilibre à partir du milieu de la décennie 1970 jusqu'à maintenant ne peut toutefois être attribuable à ces facteurs institutionnel et démographique. Selon les appréciations, tandis que des motifs conventionnels de structure et de fonctionnement confirment l'accentuation initiale des déséquilibres, ils n'expliquent pas la persistance de ces niveaux élèves au commencement de la décennie 1970. Il faut regarder ailleurs pour comprendre ce qui s'est produit à la fin de la décennie 1970 et au début de la décennie 1980 qui, naturellement, reflètent de très hauts niveaux de chômage. Ces taux, supérieurs aux taux naturels courants, et leur prédominance par rapport aux taux des emplois à pourvoir montrent les conditions de la demande globale tout en expliquant les niveaux des déséquilibres de ces dernières annees.This paper considers two questions. First, what imbalance trends have characterized the Canadian labour market since 1966? And, second, what factors explain these trends

Youth employment in sub-Saharan Africa: Taking stock of the evidence and knowledge gaps

This scoping paper is one of a series jointly commissioned by the International Development Research Centre and the MasterCard Foundation to shed light on the critical challenge of youth employment in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to inform new areas of research support that will build an evidence base for practical and policy-relevant solutions.The labour market structure along with challenges for youth employment varies across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In low-income, agrarian economies employment in low-productivity subsistence agriculture dominates. The immediate priority is to raise farming productivity. The other large category is resource-rich economies. Here, the challenge is for resource wealth to translate into jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors. The paper provides background and context to guide policy making. The main employment obstacles for young people often lie outside the usual scope of labour market programming. Various types of skills development programs, from second-chance education to technical training, are important.MasterCard Foundatio

Do Employment Subsidies Work? Evidence from Regionally Targeted Subsidies in Turkey

This paper studies the e ects on registered employment, earnings, and number of registered establishments of two employment subsidy schemes in Turkey. We implement a di erence-in-di erences methodology to construct appropriate counterfactuals for the covered provinces. Our ndings suggest that both subsidy programs did lead to signi cant net increases in registered jobs in eligible provinces (5%{13% for the rst program and 11%{15% for the second). However, the cost of the actual job creation was high because of substantial deadweight losses, particularly for the rst program (47% and 78%). Because of better design features, the second subsidy program had lower, though still signi cant, deadweight losses (23%{44%). Although constrained by data availability, the evidence suggests that the dominant e ect of subsidies was to increase social security registration of rms and workers rather than boosting total employment and economic activity. This supports the hypothesis that in countries with weak enforcement institutions, high labor taxes on low-wage workers may lead to substantial incentives for rms and workers to operate informally.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61165/1/IPC-working-paper-066-Pages.pd