How the macroeconomic environment affects human resource development

Do inward-focused development strategies reduce competition in factor markets and incentives for more efficient skills development? Do outward-focused development strategies improve them? The authors compared vocational education and training systems in six developing countries in the 1980s. They found that an outward orientation encourages more efficient development of human resources. Protectionist trade regimes that shelter producers from global competition produce price distortions in domestic capital and labor markets that affect the efficient use of resources in skills development. Structural adjustment programs that address these distortions expand incentives for private training and for more efficient use of public resources in skills development.ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform

Un enjeu vital

Les systèmes publics de formation en Afrique subsaharienne font rarement l’objet d’évaluation en termes de pertinence au regard des besoins économiques et sociaux, d’efficacité des compétences délivrées et de rapport coût/efficience. Dans de nombreux cas, l’enseignement technique et la formation professionnelle dispensent des compétences inadaptées à l’emploi. Les coupes budgétaires ont eu des conséquences désastreuses sur la qualité. Réorienter cette formation ne s’est pas fait sans difficultés mais, ces dix dernières années, des innovations prometteuses ont été enregistrées en ce qui concerne la gestion, le financement et l’offre de services.There is a relative dearth of studies on the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of public training systems in sub-Saharan Africa or the quality of the skills delivered. In many cases, technical education and vocational training initiatives fail to develop the necessary skills to ensure employability. Spending restrictions have further weakened the quality of training. But in spite of the enormous difficulties in modernising vocational training in the region, there have been promising developments in terms of administration, funding and provision in the last decade.Los sistemas públicos de formación en África del Subsahara son raramente el objeto de una evaluación en términos de pertinencia respecto a las necesidades económicas y sociales, de eficacia de las competencias impartidas y de la relación costo-eficacia. En numerosos casos, la enseñanza técnica y la formación profesional imparten competencias inadecuadas para el empleo. Los recortes presupuestarios han tenido consecuencias desastrosas sobre la calidad. Reorientar esta formación no se ha hecho sin dificultades pero, en estos últimos diez años, se han registrados innovaciones prometedoras con respecto a la gestión, al financiamiento y a la oferta de servicios

Labor market flexibility and job security measures in a global economy: new challenges ahead

Measures assuring job security are sought by workers and their representatives to protect themselves against economic fluctuations and the loss of jobs and incomes. In sectors of an economy that require a skilled workforce employers are often willing to provide promises of job security in exchange for lower labor turnover to protect investments in the skills of their workers, facilitate internal flexibility, and improve labor relations. This contractual exchange serves the interest of both parties and when achieved in a market setting enhances economic behavior. Governments, on the other hand, are also interested in job security as an instrument of social policy to address market failures and equity concerns. Public interventions to stabilize employment can force firms to become more efficient by focusing adjustment on productivity instead of wages or they can threaten the efficient operation of labor markets by introducing uncertainty and raising labor costs.Labor market, flexibility, job security, global economy.

Labor market flexibility and job security measures in a global economy: New challenges ahead

Measures assuring job security are sought by workers and their representatives to protect themselves against economic fluctuations and the loss of jobs and incomes. In sectors of an economy that require a skilled workforce employers are often willing to provide promises of job security in exchange for lower labor turnover to protect investments in the skills of their workers, facilitate internal flexibility, and improve labor relations. This contractual exchange serves the interest of both parties and when achieved in a market setting enhances economic behavior. Governments, on the other hand, are also interested in job security as an instrument of social policy to address market failures and equity concerns. Public interventions to stabilize employment can force firms to become more efficient by focusing adjustment on productivity instead of wages or they can threaten the efficient operation of labor markets by introducing uncertainty and raising labor costs

Labor market flexibility and job security measures in a global economy: New challenges ahead

Measures assuring job security are sought by workers and their representatives to protect themselves against economic fluctuations and the loss of jobs and incomes. In sectors of an economy that require a skilled workforce employers are often willing to provide promises of job security in exchange for lower labor turnover to protect investments in the skills of their workers, facilitate internal flexibility, and improve labor relations. This contractual exchange serves the interest of both parties and when achieved in a market setting enhances economic behavior. Governments, on the other hand, are also interested in job security as an instrument of social policy to address market failures and equity concerns. Public interventions to stabilize employment can force firms to become more efficient by focusing adjustment on productivity instead of wages or they can threaten the efficient operation of labor markets by introducing uncertainty and raising labor costs

Vocational and technical education and training

Project number related to IDRC support could not be determine

Vocational and technical education and training

Project number related to IDRC support could not be determine

Manpower planning in a market economy with labor market signals

The movement from centrally planned to market economies will not eliminate the need for manpower planning. Rather, it will substantially change the roles manpower planners play and the techniques they use. Manpower planners must become analysts of the labor market. In a market economy, the will be asked for information: (a) to guide private decisions about training; (b) to improve the management of training systems; (c) to identify impediments to competitive labor markets; and (d) to help rationalize public investments in education and training. The authors introduce techniques for manpower planning that acknowledge the dynamic nature of market economies. They reject the idea of forecasting manpower requirements, proposing instead to use signals from the labor market picked up by monitoring movementsin wages and employment and evaluating training programs.ICT Policy and Strategies,Labor Standards,Labor Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Teaching and Learning