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11. What Works for Active Labor Market Policies?

Author:
Eduardo Levy Yeyati, Martin Montane, and Luca Sartorio
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The past 5 years have witnessed a flurry of RCT evaluations that shed new light on the impact and cost effectiveness of Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) aiming to improve workers´ access to new jobs and better wages. We report the first systematic review of 102 RCT interventions comprising a total of 652 estimated impacts. We find that (i) a third of these estimates are positive and statistically significant (PPS) at conventional levels; (ii) programs are more likely to yield positive results when GDP growth is higher and unemployment lower; (iii) programs aimed at building human capital, such as vocational training, independent worker assistance and wage subsidies, show significant positive impact, and (iv) program length, monetary incentives, individualized follow up and activity targeting are all key features in determining the effectiveness of the interventions.
Topic:
Vocational Training, Labor Policies, Wage Subsidies, and Randomized Controlled Trials
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

12. Demand-Driven Youth Training Programs: Experimental Evidence from Mongolia

Author:
José Galdo, Bayarmaa Dalkhjavd, Altantsetseg Batchuluun, Soyolmaa Batbekh, and Maria Laura Alzúa
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
Because of its high incidence and potential threat to social cohesion, youth unemployment is a global concern. This study uses a randomized controlled trial to analyze the effectiveness of a demand-driven vocational training program for disadvantaged youth in Mongolia. Mongolia, a transitional country whose economic structure shifted from a communist, centrally planned economy to a free-market economy over a relatively short period, offers a new setting in which to test the effectiveness of standard active labor market policies. This study reports positive and statistically significant short-term effects of vocational training on monthly earnings, skills matching, and self-employment. Substantial heterogeneity emerges as relatively older, richer, and better-educated individuals drive these positive effects. A second intervention that randomly assigns participants to receive repetitive weekly newsletters with information on market returns to vocational training shows positive impacts on the length of exposure to and successful completion of the program. These positive effects, however, are only observed at the intensive margin and do not lead to higher employment or earnings outcomes.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, Labor Issues, Employment, Youth, and Labor Policies
Political Geography:
Mongolia and Asia

13. Multiple Violations of Labor Market Regulations: Patterns in the Peruvian Labor Market and the Impact of Enforcement

Author:
Mariana Viollaz
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
This paper quantifies labor law violations and how the enforcement efforts impact on the compliance level by considering the possibility of different labor regulations being violated simultaneously. The findings for the Peruvian labor markets over the period 2004-2013 indicate that: (i) multiple violations of labor regulations are an important feature of Peruvian labor markets; (ii) young workers, workers with low level of education, indigenous workers, workers in micro firms and workers employed in the agricultural sector have higher chances of being deprived of several labor benefits simultaneously; (iii) the enforcement of labor regulations, captured through the number of labor inspections at the region level, is effective in detecting and penalizing extreme situations of multiple violations of the labor law, but the evidence also suggests that firms adjust only partially as an attempt to reduce the amount of a potential fine if discovered, and that laid off workers during the adjustment process moved to the informal sector where firms are not inspected. These findings are useful from a policy perspective indicating that there is space to improve firms’ incentives when facing an increase in the enforcement effort.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Law Enforcement, Law, Regulation, Labor Policies, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

14. Fifth Africa Think Tank Summit -- Tackling Africa’s Youth Unemployment Challenge: Innovative Solutions from Think Tanks

Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The Fifth Africa Think Tank Summit was held on 5 - 7 April 2018 at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana, under the theme “Tackling Africa’s Youth Unemployment Challenge: Innovative Solutions from Think Tanks”. The Summit’s theme was based on the fact that jobs and opportunity for the youth are top priorities in the world today and while needing jobs, young people are also critical in creating them. It is with that understanding that the African Union Commission declared the years 2009–2018 as the “Decade for Youth Development”. A review, as the decade winds to an end, shows that while some African countries are experiencing high economic growth rates, these have not translated into jobs. The unemployment rate on the continent was approximately 8.0 percent in 2016- 2017, which, translated into absolute terms, corresponds to an increase in total unemployment of 1.2 million from 2016 to 2017. The reality, against which the Summit’s theme was designed, was that across Africa, youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults! The Summit’s concept paper, quoting a report from the African Development Bank, notes that “half of all youth (in Africa) are either unemployed or inactive while 35 percent are in vulnerable jobs. While gender inequality remains a challenge, a big concern and paradox is that youth unemployment rate is increasing with the level of education, suggesting that Africa’s education systems are not preparing people enough for the labour market”. Thus, despite the numerous policies and strategies that have been implemented across African countries to address youth unemployment, these have not led to any major breakthrough in job creation especially among the youth. Given these realities and building on the successes of the first, second, third and fourth Africa Think Tank, the fifth was being organized to harvest evidence and proffer actions to tackle youth unemployment on the continent. The 2018 Summit was organized in partnership with the Government of Ghana and the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), a leading think tank in Ghana. Other collaborating partners were the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (CA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Think Tank Initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI) and the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP).
Topic:
Development, Labor Issues, Employment, Youth, Labor Policies, Capacity, Unemployment, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa, Ghana, and Global

15. Using wage boards to raise pay

Author:
Arindrajit Dube
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
During the past 40 years, the United States has experienced a sharp and sustained rise in wage and income inequality. The high level of inequality in the United States reflects both a disconnect between (1) average wages and productivity, and (2) top and bottom wages.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Income Inequality, Labor Policies, Wage Subsidies, Economic Policy, and Economic Theory
Political Geography:
United States

16. Optimizing the German Workforce: Labor Administration from Bismark to the Economic Miracle

Author:
David Meskill
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Berghahn Books
Abstract:
During the twentieth century, German government and industry created a highly skilled workforce as part of an ambitious program to control and develop the country’s human resources. Yet, these long-standing efforts to match as many workers as possible to skilled vocations and to establish a system of job training have received little scholarly attention, until now. The author’s account of the broad support for this program challenges the standard historical accounts that focus on disagreements over the German political-economic order and points instead to an important area of consensus. These advances are explained in terms of political policies of corporatist compromise and national security as well as industry’s evolving production strategies. By tracing the development of these policies over the course of a century, the author also suggests important continuities in Germany’s domestic politics, even across such different regimes as Imperial, Weimar, Nazi, and post-1945 West Germany.
Topic:
National Security, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Domestic politics, and Labor Policies
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, Berlin, and Central Europe

17. The Power of More Foreign-Born Workers: How Raising Immigration Levels Can Boost US Economic Growth

Author:
Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
The future growth prospects of the US economy are severely constrained by a lack of working-age population growth. Fewer workers means less output without increases in productivity so large as to be highly unlikely. Increased immigration alone directly addresses the problem of fewer workers contributing to the US economy. Sound policy can help boost both the quality and quantity of available workers while ensuring that increased immigration serves to broaden rather than diminish opportunities for native-born workers.
Topic:
Immigration, Economic growth, Labor Policies, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

18. Why northern Ghana lags behind in Ghana’s growth and poverty reduction success

Author:
John Baptist D. Jatoe, Ramatu Al-Hassan, and Bamidele Adekunle
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Ghana’s post adjustment growth and poverty reduction performance has been hailed as impressive, albeit with spatial disparities in the distribution of welfare, especially between the north and south of the country. Researchers generally agree that economic growth does not always reduce poverty. Indeed, the effectiveness of growth in reducing poverty depends on the level of inequality in the population. Growth that increases inequality may not reduce poverty; growth that does not change inequality (distribution-neutral growth) and growth that reduces inequality (pro-poor growth) result in poverty reduction. Policy makers can promote pro-poor growth by empowering the poor to participate in growth directly. Policy makers can focus on interventions that improve productivity in smallholder agriculture, particularly export crops, increasing employment of semi-skilled or unskilled labour, promoting technology adoption, increasing access to production assets, as well as effective participation in input and product markets. Also, increasing public spending on social services and infrastructure made possible by redistribution of the benefits of growth benefits the poor, indirectly.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Poverty, Labor Issues, Economic growth, Labor Policies, Economic Policy, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

19. Quality and cost-effectiveness in long-term care and dependency prevention: the Polish policy landscape

Author:
Stanisława Golinowska and Agnieszka Sowa-Kofta
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
With the population ageing the development of sustainable long-term care institutions is of great importance in many European countries. In Poland, currently dominant, traditional and family based care will become insufficient with increasing cohorts of older people. Presented paper discusses recent developments in long-term care policy in the country. Long-term care institutions are separated in the two sectors, with little field for cooperation and coordination of activities. Over the past years policy addressing ageing related problems was developed, focusing on the active ageing instruments. Dependency prevention and active ageing are among goals of national policies formulated separately in the health and social sector. Information policy and monitoring long-term care services’ provision remains insufficient. Coordination of activities mainly takes place at the local level. Local governments and non-governmental organizations, often cooperating with representatives of older people, are active in providing services to older people in community and often incorporating innovative solutions in care.
Topic:
Demographics, Health, Social Policy, Labor Policies, Public Policy, and Aging
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and European Union

20. Pension reform in Belarus in the shadow of Social Europe: vulnerability issues of people aged 50+ and points for improvement

Author:
Sierž Naŭrodski
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The policy brief by Sierž Naŭrodski presents a review of potential effects of parametric pension reform in Belarus starting in 2017 for the population aged 50 and more in terms of unemployment, alcohol consumption, and poverty. It concludes that, despite the fact that raising the retirement age is overdue in Belarus to address demographic challenges, it may have a negative impact on the quality of life of people close to retirement age as well as a poorer GDP effect within current conditions on the labor market in Belarus. The paper presents a set of public policy improvement directions in Belarus, which could help mitigating vulnerability of the group 50+ during the pension reform.
Topic:
Demographics, Labor Issues, Social Policy, Labor Policies, Public Policy, and Aging
Political Geography:
Europe and Belarus