School-to-Work Transitions in Mongolia

Abstract

Relatively little is known about the youth labour market in Mongolia. This paper addresses the issue by taking advantage of a recent ad hoc School to Work Transition Survey (SWTS) on young people aged 15-29 years carried out in 2006. After a period of sharp reduction in the 1990s, educational attainment is increasing, as compared to other countries in the area. Nonetheless, important constraints seem to affect the supply of education, especially in rural areas. In addition, as application of the new ILO school-to-work transition classification shows, the country is unable to provide young people with a sufficient number of decent jobs. This translates into high youth unemployment in urban areas and very low productivity jobs in rural areas. Mincerian estimates confirm that human capital is an important determinant of earnings in urban, but not in rural areas.Economic Transition from Plan to Market; School to Work Transitions; Youth Labour Supply and Demand; Earnings; Gender Pay Gap; Urban/Rural Divide; Mongolia