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Begin New Search Topic Labor Issues Content Type Policy Brief

1. Analysis on the Determinants of Labor Share and Its Policy Implications

Author:
Yaein Baek, Minsoo Han, Wongi Kim, and Hyunsuk Kim
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
There has been a significant decline in the global labor share, leading to numerous studies about the cause of this drop. The labor share is used as one of the main indicators of inequality because a decrease in the labor share can lead to aggravation of income inequality. This is because low-skilled workers can be greatly affected by such a decline in the labor share and the main source of in-come for the low-income class, including the self-employed, is labor income. Among various indicators of inequality, this study analyzes the determinants of the change in labor share. Technological changes such as adoption of robots, advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are expected to change the labor market. Hence, this study analyzes the impact of technological changes on labor share and suggests policy responses.
Topic:
Economics, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. The Impact of Regulation on Innovation

Author:
Philippe Aghion, Antonin Bergeaud, and John Van Reenen
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
There is considerable research on the economic impacts of regulations but relatively few studies about their impact on technological innovation. Moreover, most analyses focus on the costs and benefits of regulation at a point in time, rather than on its effects over time. Yet potential effects on economic growth are likely to be much more pronounced in the long run. Many scholars have been concerned that slower growth in countries with heavy labor regulations could be due to firms’ reluctance to innovate given the burden of red tape. For example, the slower growth of Southern European countries and parts of Latin America have often been blamed on onerous labor laws.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Regulation, Economic Growth, and Innovation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Recent Marriage and Labor Supply Pattern of Young Chinese Women

Author:
Yoon Jae Ro and Jeonghwan Yun
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
In this paper, we examine the impact of a sibling gender on educational attainment, earnings, family formation for a recent cohort of women in China. Family characteristics such as number of siblings, sibling gender composition, and parents’ characteristics may play an important role in children’s life as the presence of a sibling can affect parents’ treatment of the remaining children. Especially male siblings can affect children’s outcome through various pathways as male sibling may pull parental investment of resources away from girls, because boys may be seen as the “higher return” investment (Becker, 1991). We investigate the effect of having a (male) sibling on a daughter by exploiting the change in fertility trend in China induced by the One Child Policy (OCP).
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Women, Marriage, Supply, and Gender
Political Geography:
China and Asia

4. Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Author:
Kate Hooper
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Recent years have seen national governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and private-sector groups take steps to promote the fair and ethical recruitment of migrant workers, including efforts to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs. High recruitment costs can result in workers taking on a financial burden that can only be serviced through high-interest loans or debt bondage, placing them in a more vulnerable position and curtailing the income they can then save or send to loved ones via remittances. Still, progress to address recruitment costs has been uneven to date, and the pandemic has been a major setback. The public-health crisis has seen some existing costs rise or fluctuate wildly and new ones emerge (e.g., fees associated with COVID-19 testing and quarantine), with particularly pronounced effects in low- and middle-skilled sectors and informal employment. This has put working abroad out of reach for some would-be migrants while exposing others who travel abroad for work to new risks. This policy brief explores how the pandemic has affected costs for migrant workers at every stage of their journey, with a focus on new public-health measures and other additional expenses. It also reflects on what these developments mean for future efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment. The brief is the first publication resulting from a multiyear research partnership between MPI and the SDC’s Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement to support the development of global solutions for migration-related challenges.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Organization, Labor Issues, Governance, Employment, Economy, COVID-19, Recruitment, Immigration Policy, and Recession
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Attracting and retaining talents in the EU What role can the EU play in ensuring a sustainable and competitive ecosystem for labour migration?

Author:
Marcel Muraille
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
When the European Commission unveiled its New Pact on Migration and Asylum in September 2020, one of its most decried shortcomings was the lack of specific initiative to develop legal avenues of arrival in the EU, especially in the area of labour migration. On 27 April 2022, the Commission presented a new package of initiatives which aims at both reducing irregular immigration and addressing labour shortages by simplifying aspects of the legal routes and stays into the EU, and proposed a number of steps to operationalise the Talent Partnerships, a unique framework to stimulate mutually beneficial international mobility and to match labour market demands and skills needs between Member States and third countries. The EU Talent Partnerships will build on previous experiences and lessons learnt from a handful of EU-funded pilot projects on labour mobility that were launched following the adoption of the Joint Valletta Action Plan in 2015. While these pilot projects have offered an opportunity to experiment with different options on how to meet labour market demands in the EU, they have only achieved relative success due to the difficulty of mobilising the private sector and, more generally, the competitiveness of EU labour markets. Despite its fragmented competences on labour migration, the EU still has room to play to increase the attractiveness of its Member States’ labour markets and to facilitate the involvement of the private sector in recruiting candidates internationally. This policy brief seeks to provide insights into the role of the EU to improve private sector engagement and develop a sustainable and competitive ecosystem for future labour mobility schemes.
Topic:
Migration, Regional Cooperation, Labor Issues, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe

6. Turning Point: A three year update on US supermarkets’ progress and pitfalls

Author:
Hana Ivanhoe and Art Prapha
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the global landscape of the food retail industry has dramatically shifted. There is now greater awareness of how wealth and gender inequalities have been exacerbated; the power of workers in the United States (US) has been awakened; the vulnerability of global supply chains has been exposed; big retailers are competing in technology adoption; investors are demanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) information; and there has been legislative advancement towards mandatory human rights due diligence (HRDD) law. Amidst these increasing pressures, major US supermarkets have continued to delay urgent actions needed to end exploitation of workers, women and farmers in their supply chains and retail operations. Key gaps include the lack of commitment to adopt a robust HRDD approach, lack of policies on workers’ rights at home and abroad, and the non-existence of gender policy in their business model. Failure to act now will result in irreversible impacts on workers, farmers and women – impacts that pose major risks to business continuity and supply chain resilience.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Governance, Business, Private Sector, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

7. Rising to the Challenge: The case for permanent progressive policies to tackle Asia’s coronavirus and inequality crisis

Author:
Emma Seery
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Asia remains in the grip of a coronavirus crisis that is supercharging already high levels of inequality. While the richest and most privileged can protect their health and increase their wealth further, the pandemic is putting the lives and livelihoods of the region's poorest and most vulnerable people at risk. Women, poor and low-skilled workers, migrants and other marginalized groups are being hit hardest. But it is not too late to turn the tide. Governments must make this the moment to implement permanent progressive policies that put the needs of the many before the profit and extreme wealth of the few.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Governance, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia

8. Better pensions for the European Union’s self-employed

Author:
Rebecca Christie, Monika Grzegorczyk, and Diane Mulcahy
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
Self-employed workers are taking on a larger role in the European economy, particularly workers who operate as independent contractors rather than as small-business owners with their own workforce. Becoming self-employed offers flexibility and entrepreneurial potential, but can limit access to state-sponsored pension schemes. We assess the current state of pension policy across the European Union and take a more detailed look at five countries to see how independent workers are treated compared with their traditionally employed counterparts. We consider how policymakers might adjust or even overhaul their pension offerings to improve opportunities for the self-employed, while being mindful of the broader policy context in areas like innovation and overall tax burdens. In assessing policy options, it is useful to determine whether government, companies or individuals will be primarily responsible for paying for better pensions, and we structure our suggestions accordingly. Governments can make programmes more widely available, more consistent for all types of work and easier to understand and take part in. Companies can be encouraged to make pension contributions for all their workers, not just those they hire full-time. Individuals can be encouraged to set aside more for retirement with tax incentives, benefits flexibility and other policy measures. Access to pensions for low-income, more vulnerable self-employed workers should be considered separately from access for higher-paid workers. The current system does not facilitate this and indeed inhibits it in jurisdictions where a minimum income is required to join self-employment pension schemes.
Topic:
Labor Issues, European Union, Economy, and Self-Employment
Political Geography:
Europe

9. Beating burnout: identifying bad jobs and improving job quality

Author:
Mia Hoffmann and Laura Nurski
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
While European-wide information on burnout is scarce, national statistics show that stress-related absenteeism is on the rise, generating significant costs for firms and welfare states, while reducing worker wellbeing. Although manifested at the individual level, burnout is an occupational phenomenon, predicted most clearly by imbalances in job content (high workloads and low autonomy) and the social environment at work – two under-explored aspects of job quality. While the economy and society as a whole would benefit from a healthier workforce, market failures drive job quality below an optimal level, necessitating attention from policymakers. Measuring and intervening in job content is not straightforward, however, and has not been a main policy domain in Europe. Policy frameworks and interventions therefore tend to focus on other areas of job quality, such as the physical and contractual working conditions. To manage the burnout epidemic and mitigate the impact of the changing nature of work, job-quality policy needs to focus on the job-content aspects as well. Wellbeing outcomes of low job quality, such as burnout, need to be monitored at European level and can serve to evaluate the effectiveness of policy interventions in job quality.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Economic Growth, Inclusion, Workforce, and Well-Being
Political Geography:
Europe

10. Evidence of the Unintended Labor Scheduling Implications of the Minimum Wage

Author:
Qiuping Yu, Shawn Mankad, and Masha Shunko
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The effect of the minimum wage has been an important topic of debate for decades. For many years, low‐​wage laborers, especially in the food service and retail sectors in the United States, have been advocating an increase in the minimum wage to $15. Intending to increase worker welfare, many states (e.g., California and New York) and municipalities (San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City) have responded by raising their minimum wages.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Economic Policy, and Minimum Wage
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

11. How China’s Human Capital Impacts Its National Competitiveness

Author:
Briana Boland, Kevin Dong, Jude Blanchette, and Ryan Haas
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
How will the strengths and weaknesses of China’s human capital impact national competitiveness? China’s efforts to maintain economic growth, strengthen supply chains, develop strategic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sectors, and secure a modern military edge hinges on the ability to cultivate and utilize human capital. As the United States and other countries increasingly engage in multidomain competition with China, it is critical to start from a clear-eyed understanding of China’s human capital and Beijing’s strategy for nurturing national talent. Investments in higher education, strategic STEM sectors, and military talent demonstrate key areas in which Beijing is focusing on cultivating human capital. However, China must overcome significant obstacles to innovate as it faces substantial demographic pressures, socio-economic inequalities, and challenges to attracting and retaining top talent both domestically and internationally.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Human Capital, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:
China and Asia

12. The Effects of Increased Trade with China and Vietnam on Workers’ Earnings and Job Security in Korea

Author:
Kyong Hyun Koo
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
This study empirically demonstrates that changes in trade structure caused by the rise of China and Vietnam over the last 20 years have had a significant impact on the widening of the income and employment stability gap for Korean workers. An important policy goal for Korea, which is heavily reliant on trade, is to ensure that the benefits of trade and openness are distributed evenly to all classes of society while minimizing the harm. In order to achieve the policy goal, the analysis results of this paper show that it is necessary to institutionalize a systematic process for monitoring changes in Korea's trade structure and preparing response policies from a mid- to long-term as well as a short-term perspective. Furthermore, the results indicate that policy efforts are required to identify blind spots where existing trade adjustment assistance policies, employment insurance systems, and vocational training policies do not adequately protect or support workers, and supplement and improve them. More follow-up research is needed to gain a better understanding of the mechanism by which external trade shocks are transmitted to the domestic labor market in order to develop more effective domestic supplementary measures for trade shocks.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Inequality, Economy, Trade, and Wage Income
Political Geography:
China, Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia

13. Precarity and the Pandemic: A survey of wage issues and Covid-19 impacts amongst migrant seafood workers in Thailand

Author:
Josh Stride
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report presents findings from an extensive survey of migrant workers in the Thai seafood industry conducted by the CSO Coalition. The report focuses on the issue of low wages, the gender pay gap and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on these issues and the workers who experience them. It also aims to develop a national discussion around the issues of a living wage and a decent living for the hardworking migrant workers who generate wealth and produce food for wealthy companies and consumers around the world.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Labor Policies, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia and Thailand

14. Youth Wellbeing in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: An in-depth, multi-level and interdisciplinary study into wellbeing and gender equality among Palestinian youth

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This study presents an important opportunity to fill a gap in knowledge by offering a critical understanding of the state of youth wellbeing in the Occupied Palestinian Territory through a comprehensive interdisciplinary and multi-level approach. By combining the economic, political and socio-cultural spheres and a macro (policy/institutional), meso (organizational) and micro (individual) level analysis, we can explore the root causes and complex dynamics of the processes of youth exclusion and inclusion from the labour market and civic/political life, while investigating the potentially transformative effect of youth agency. The study analyses wellbeing and gender relations for their importance, particularly in the context of the OPT, where youth are especially vulnerable and where wellbeing is threatened.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Governance, Youth, and Gender
Political Geography:
Middle East and Palestine

15. Do robots dream of paying taxes?

Author:
Rebecca Christie
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
Robot taxes embody the more futuristic challenges of managing automation and legacy workers. As machines and artificial intelligence take on more roles that used to be performed by humans, policymakers and technologists are assessing the costs this transition imposes and what parts of society will pay them. A robot tax on companies that replace employees with automated systems is easy to dismiss in its most simplistic forms but should be considered in the context of managing the next industrial revolution. A robot tax is a political construction, a way to shape democratic debate around technological shifts and societal needs. It is a construct of the public debate, and as such can contribute to broader discussions about how to make sure profitable companies pay their way in the economy. The political capital of ‘replacement robot’ imagery may be useful in designing a tax framework for legacy firms making the most of new economic opportunities. It is best to consider a ‘robot tax’ as a rallying concept for targeted levies. These policies should target finance and other data-driven sectors as well as traditional manufacturing and mining automation. Policymakers should consider overall employment, specific job losses and how to assess firms that make layoffs in specific areas of their workforces. This last will be especially difficult in cases where total headcount rises, even though some generations of employees may be put out of work. Tax policy can compensate for distortions due to shifts from human-driven to capital-intensive production in specific sectors. On the revenue side, there should be appropriate expectations of what a tech tax can raise and over what period, on the scale of targeted retirement assistance or retraining programmes with measurable outcomes, not long-running cash cows. Smaller and more innovative firms should not be asked to contribute disproportionately, particularly in legacy markets that are hard to break into, and they should be eligible for waivers and exemptions. Policymakers should stress that asking producers to help pay the costs of societal change is not immediately equivalent to stifling innovation, and they should make every effort to design policies in ways that protect against this type of side effect. Finally, any new tax on employers needs to fit with broader discussions of the corporate fair share, and with taxing the most profitable parts of the economy instead of relying on workers and consumers to foot society’s bills.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Business, and Digital Transition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. A Policy Matrix for Inclusive Prosperity

Author:
Dani Rodrik and Stefanie Stantcheva
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
One of the biggest challenges that countries face today is the very unequal distributions of opportunities, resources, income and wealth across people. Inclusive prosperity – whereby many people from different backgrounds can benefit from economic growth, new technologies, and the fruits of globalization – remains elusive. To address these issues, societies face choices among many different policies and institutional arrangements to try to ensure a proper supply of productive jobs and activities, as well as access to education, financial means, and other endowments that prepare individuals for their participation in the economy. In this paper we offer a simple, organizing framework to think about policies for inclusive prosperity. We provide a comprehensive taxonomy of policies, distinguishing among the types of inequality they address and the stages of the economy where the intervention takes place. The taxonomy clarifies the differences among contending approaches to equity and inclusion and can help analysts assess the impacts and implications of different policies and identify potential gaps.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Economic Inequality, Macroeconomics, Job Creation, Polarization, Productivity, Inclusion, Workforce, and Production
Political Geography:
United States

17. Essential Workers

Author:
Ian Goldin
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extent to which we rely on essential workers. Around the world, health workers have been greeted by clapping, but this has not translated into improvements in their working conditions or pay. On the contrary, as COVID-19 cases and deaths have mounted, so too have the pressures and fatalities among health and other essential workers. A new deal for essential workers is not only the right thing to do on ethical and other grounds. It is in everyone’s self-interest. Without a new deal for essential workers, societies will not be able to respond to the intensifying cycle of crises that arise from an increasingly complex, interconnected, and unstable world. Whether it is a natural disaster, large-scale terrorism, geopolitical hostilities, or another pandemic, it is only a matter of time before society must again face down a crisis of unprecedented scale. To build resilience, we need a well-trained, deeply committed, and full complement of essential workers who will rise to the challenge. A new deal for these workers should be seen as a central tenet of creating more resilient economies, and an investment to reduce risk and future proof our societies. In order to close the widening divide between the rhetoric and reality, author Ian Goldin argues in this policy brief paper that a new deal is required for essential workers and begins by defining essential workers and laying out the key facts around the prevailing socioeconomic background for such workers. It then draws on the experience of mitigating and compensating for risks in other socially necessary but hazardous occupations, such as the military, and uses this to define the contours of what a new deal for essential workers should look like.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Peace, Justice, COVID-19, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. Work and Gender in Turkey’s Export-Oriented Agriculture: The Case of Sweet Cherries

Author:
Nil Alt
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Situated within this global agri-food context, the purpose of this policy note is to examine the production process for the most prominent high value fruit grown in Turkey, the sweet cherry. This will serve to make problems embedded in relations of production visible. Based on my ethnographic fieldwork of the export-driven sweet cherry sector, conducted between 2018 and 2021 in three different production sites, I will make some suggestions to inform more democratic and equitable social policies.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Exports, and Equity
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

19. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Author:
Sanjana Malhotra, Vastav Irava, Meghna Paul, and Avani Kapur
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship scheme to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a Financial Year (FY) to every rural household that demands work. To boost employment opportunities and cater to increased demand from an estimated 67 lakh returnee migrant workers, GoI launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) in mission mode for 116 districts across six states of the country. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, this brief uses government data to report on: Trends in MGNREGS allocations, releases, and expenditures; Scheme performance with respect to wages paid and employment provided given the increased demand for work; and Trends in finances and employment generation under GKRA.
Topic:
Government, Labor Issues, Employment, Rural, and Allocations
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

20. What is Wrong with the German Economy? The Case for Openness to Technology and Human Capital

Author:
Philipp Lamprecht
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
Abstract:
Advanced economies like Germany need to focus more on attracting foreign high-skilled labour and become better at importing foreign technology and business models. This might not sit well with current thinking of economic sovereignty in Berlin, but it is a necessary step for improving technology-penetration, competitiveness and productivity. Supply of high-skilled labour is getting more difficult to obtain and the cost of generating and adopting new ideas is increasing. Policymakers need to create the right conditions to open their markets to foreign technology and high-skilled labour. But openness alone is only a necessary condition – not a sufficient one. Policymakers also need to focus on creating the right environment domestically to attract a specialised and highly-skilled labour force, despite fierce competition from around the globe. The crucial question is to what extent companies make use of innovation capacities that can be obtained from international recruitment. Our analysis focuses on what German policymakers can do to increase openness for, and its attractiveness to, the high-skilled labour. Germany’s policy framework should focus on public policy initiatives aimed at increasing the incentives and removing obstacles for firms to attract the global high-skilled labour force. To stay attractive, Germany’s policies should also target issues of bottleneck regulation to facilitate field-testing new technologies and to support innovation sandbox processes of companies. And German policies should focus on the regulatory environment, notably the type of regulations that policymakers pursue. Many current regulations in Germany do not sufficiently allow for experimentation of technologies and ideas.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Regulation, Human Capital, Innovation, and Skilled Labor
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

21. The evolving gender gap in labor force participation during COVID-19

Author:
Simeon Djankov, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Lisa Hyland, and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Despite many significant gains by women in the paid workforce in recent decades, the percentage of women participating in the labor force has remained lower than the percentage of male participants. Now, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn it precipitated, the gap in labor force participation between men and women in some economies has actually widened, with potentially damaging repercussions for women’s career prospects and pay. The pandemic has disproportionately affected sectors employing more women, such as retail stores, restaurants, and the hotel and hospitality business. An increase in family caregiving responsibilities because of school and childcare closures has also fallen on working mothers' shoulders. Both factors have pulled women out of the labor force. The authors track trends in male and female labor force participation in 43 countries and find substantial differences across countries in the way women’s participation has been affected relative to that of men. In some countries, such as Colombia, Chile, and Cyprus, the gender gap in labor force participation widened the most during the pandemic. The gender gap also widened in the United States, driving 2.5 million women from their jobs in what Vice President Kamala Harris called a “national emergency” for women. In other economies, such as Luxembourg and Lithuania, the gender gap in labor force participation, unexpectedly, shrank during the early period of the pandemic. On average, female employees have fared better in countries where women are less concentrated in the services sector, less likely to be employed as temporary workers, and where laws supported greater equality at the onset of the crisis. Greater government expenditure on childcare in the pre-COVID-19 era, however, does not appear to have insulated female workers from the damaging repercussions of the pandemic.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Services, COVID-19, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Colombia, Chile, Cyprus, Global Focus, and United States of America

22. Startups in the United States during the pandemic reflect some dynamism amid job losses

Author:
Simeon Djankov and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
New business applications have surged in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth is driven largely by startups in online retail, transportation, and personal services. Many of these new entrepreneurs are self-employed and were likely laid off and forced into entrepreneurship by necessity. No official data are available yet on the number of businesses destroyed in 2020, because business data for firms that close without entering bankruptcy are lagging. But the authors calculate that firm births may have surpassed firm deaths during the pandemic. While this boom in business entry is a tribute to the adaptability and potential innovative spirit in US capitalism, one should not be overly optimistic about jobs created in this wave of startups. As many of these new startups are by people forced to strike out on their own, the number of jobs created per new firm is even smaller than it was during previous US recessions. And like online businesses started around the last recession (e.g., Uber, Airbnb, and Venmo), some of these new firms may turn out to be major contenders in their sectors, displacing workers employed by their traditional rivals.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Financial Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

23. Better livelihoods through income diversification in Tanzania

Author:
Oliver Morrissey and Milla Nyyssölä
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Diversifying income sources is an important livelihood strategy for households in low-income countries. Having several sources of income helps in increasing total income, and in spreading the risks. New findings on the benefits of income diversification from Tanzanian households can inform policy aiming to develop welfare at the grassroots level and beyond.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Diversification, and Livelihoods
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

24. Initial Assessment of Early End to Unemployment Benefits: Questionable Impact

Author:
Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers, following guidance or regulation from federal, state and local governments, were compelled to shut down their operations for extended periods of time, affecting millions of workers. Public policy leaders responded swiftly, in order to ease the dramatic shock to those workers and the economy as a whole with redesigned federally enhanced unemployment benefits. In March, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, extended a number of programs that were approved a year earlier to Spetember 6, 2021, including the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) lowered to a $300 supplement; Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for the self-employed, gig workers, and others who were not eleigible for standard unemployment insurance; Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) for the long-term unemployed. The bill allowed states to opt out.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Unemployment, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

25. The Determinants and Welfare Implications of Labor Share

Author:
Sungbae An, Minsoo Han, Subin Kim, and Jinhee Lee
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
The decline in labor share is recognized as a global phenomenon. Concerns have been raised that this trend will exacerbate the income inequality between business owners as capitalists and households as the labor suppliers, prompting a decline in household income and consumption, which are major driving forces for sustainable growth. Meanwhile, various policy measures have been introduced to raise the labor share, with the aim of correcting inequality and boosting growth. This study explores the determinants of labor share and analyzes the effects of these factors on the economy and social welfare, offering various interpretations and policy alternatives according to economic conditions.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Inequality, Economy, Business, and Welfare
Political Geography:
Asia and Korea

26. COVID-19 and the Demand for Labor and Skills in Europe: Early Evidence and Implications for Migration Policy

Author:
Terence Hogarth
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The European Union and several of its Member States have in recent years launched policies designed to increase the demand for and supply of skilled workers in Europe. This includes educating or attracting non-EU workers with in-demand digital skills and those with the expertise needed to further other policy aims, such as the European Union’s Green Deal. These were already ambitious goals before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, heralding an economic recession and high levels of unemployment. Weathering this crisis and setting the stage for a speedy recovery are now top priorities for policymakers across Europe. Yet longer-term labor market trends linked to technological developments and demographic shifts in some countries—as residents age and older workers leave the workforce—remain important, even as pandemic-related labor market disruptions and constrained national budgets may make pursuing policies to adapt to these changes more difficult. This MPI Europe issue brief explores how the pandemic is shaping the demand for workers and skills in the European Union, and how policymakers can respond to these trends. It also considers how leaders can keep one eye on Europe’s longer-term skills needs. Among its recommendations are investments in education and training systems; in measures that ensure migrants living in Europe are able to successfully integrate into the labor market and apply their skills; and in data-driven, transparent mechanisms to detect where resident workers are unable to meet labor demands and migration from beyond the European Union may be needed.
Topic:
Education, Migration, Labor Issues, Economy, Integration, COVID-19, Workforce, and Skills
Political Geography:
Europe

27. Deepening Labor Migration Governance at a Time of Immobility: Lessons from Ghana and Senegal

Author:
Camille Le Coz and Kate Hooper
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The pandemic has upended labor migration around the globe, and with it, an important avenue for supporting socioeconomic development in many low- and middle-income countries. In Ghana, Senegal, and other West African countries, for example, migration and its corollaries, such as remittances and knowledge transfers from the diaspora, have long contributed to development. Ongoing travel restrictions and uncertainty about when migration will more fully restart threaten this progress and add an extra layer of complexity to efforts to improve the governance of international labor migration. This policy brief explores how governments and other stakeholders can promote better labor migration governance in low- and middle-income countries, and how these efforts are being shaped by the pandemic. It focuses on the experiences of Ghana and Senegal—two countries that were in the process of strengthening their migration policies before the pandemic began. The policy brief looks at these countries’ migration policy priorities, efforts to facilitate mobility within the region and further afield, and strategies for building closer ties to the diaspora. Crucially, the authors note, while the pandemic has disrupted efforts to improve labor migration governance, it has also made abundantly clear why doing so is important. Continued work in this area promises to help achieve better outcomes for migrants and for countries of origin and destination.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Labor Issues, Governance, COVID-19, and Remittances
Political Geography:
Africa, Senegal, and Ghana

28. An Analysis Of The Legislation About Business Creation In Cameroon

Author:
Ulrich D’POLA KAMDEM and Dr. Louis-Marie Kakdeu
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) represent the main driver of economic growth both in developing and emerging economies. Statistics from the World Bank show that in emerging economies, 40% of the national income (Gross Domestic Product – GDP) and 60% of total employment are attributed to formal SMEs. In developing economies, Cameroon included, SMEs have the potential to contribute more to the GDP and the level of employment. But they face several obstacles that prevent them from flourishing. Among these obstacles, legislation is among the main barriers to business creation. This article, therefore, analyses the contribution of legal aspects to business creation in Cameroon. Our analysis focuses on the following aspects: the legal framework, the documents required to open a business, and the regulatory and fiscal repression.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Employment, and Business
Political Geography:
Cameroon

29. An Equity Imperative: How the Workforce System Can Advance Workplace Health and Safety During and After the Pandemic

Author:
Amanda Newman
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Every worker deserves a job with healthy and safe working conditions. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, however, has demonstrated that for far too many people this is not the reality. The pandemic has created a new set of workplace hazards, forcing many people looking for work to make difficult choices between providing for their families and protecting their health and the health of their loved ones. As businesses reopen, more people are reentering jobs that pose risks. And these risks are not distributed equally. Due to factors rooted in structural racism, Black, Indigenous, and workers of color performing critical services during the pandemic are both more likely to experience the health consequences of the virus and to be concentrated in jobs with greater exposure. Serving as intermediaries between workers and employers, workforce development professionals have a crucial role to play in strengthening workplace health and safety during and after the pandemic. In the early months of the crisis, Economic Opportunities Program staff spoke with workforce development leaders across the country as they strengthened existing strategies and considered new approaches to help workers protect themselves on the job. Professionals on the front lines of connecting people to work – from caseworkers to job developers to program directors – can learn from their approaches to inform their own strategies. In this brief, we highlight key ideas for how the workforce development system can promote workplace health and safety during the pandemic. It is important to note that workforce professionals are themselves navigating a crisis, responding to historic unemployment and serving the public as resources rapidly decline. This brief also includes ideas for public and philanthropic funders who seek to support the workforce development field to advance workplace health and safety.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Work Culture, Job Creation, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

30. Consumer Expenditure Inequality in Botswana

Author:
Lillian Mookodi
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
For over three decades, Botswana has achieved a fast growing economy, with an annual growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaging 10.9 percent in the period 1981- 90, faster even than the East Asian Tigers or China (Good and Hughes, 2002). Between 2000 and 2001 financial year, Botswana’s economy recorded higher growth rates of 9.1 percent, an increase from 8.1 percent recorded between 1999 and 2000, which was mainly attributed to the growth in the mining sector (BIDPA Briefing, 2002). To emphasise on the desire to continue growing, Botswana has adopted Vision 2036, and other development strategies and policies to improve the implementation of interventions tackling unsatisfactory social indicators. Botswana has also subscribed to both continental and international frameworks, such as the Africa Agenda 2063 and United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration and its Eight Millennium Development Goals, and further signed up for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030. Regardless of the afore-mentioned positive growth, and immense efforts, the country has not achieved the desirable results it sought with regard to some of the social indicators, such as employment, unemployment, inequality and poverty.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Poverty, Labor Issues, Inequality, Demand, Unemployment, and Consumerism
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

31. A New Policy Toolkit Is Needed as Countries Exit COVID-19 Lockdowns

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Thomas Philippon, and Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The measures that most governments took in response to the sudden collapse in economic activity during the COVID-19 lockdowns nearly exclusively focused on protecting vulnerable workers and firms. These measures included unemployment benefits, grants, transfers, loans at low rates, and tax deferrals. As lockdowns are lifted, governments must shift policies toward supporting the recovery and design measures that will limit the pain of adjustment while preserving productive jobs and firms. This Policy Brief explores how such measures can be designed, with particular emphasis on Europe and the United States. The authors propose a combination of unemployment benefits to help workers, wage subsidies and partially guaranteed loans to help firms, and debt restructuring procedures for small and medium-sized companies handicapped by excessive legacy debt from the crisis.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Government, Labor Issues, Unemployment, and Coronavirus
Political Geography:
Europe, North America, and United States of America

32. A new policy toolkit is needed as countries exit COVID-19 lockdowns

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Thomas Philippon, and Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
Most governments have taken measures to protect vulnerable workers and firms from the worst effects of the sudden drop in activity related to COVID-19. But as lockdowns are lifted, the focus must shift, and governments in advanced economies must design measures that will limit the pain of adjustment.
Topic:
Government, Labor Issues, Economy, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

33. Informal Employment during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Author:
Gökçe Uysal
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The high prevalence of informal employment constitutes one of the most important structural problems of Turkey’s labor market. The labor market in Turkey has a dual structure: Formal employment protected by legal regulations such as the Labor Law and the Unemployment Insurance Law on one hand, and informal employment with no legal regulations and harsh working conditions on the other. This brief will summarize the current situation by analyzing the 15-year trajectory of informality in Turkey, discuss the possible effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on informal employment and propose a new direction for fighting it.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Employment, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

34. Social Security for Informal Workers in India

Author:
Mridusmita Bordoloi, Mohammad Hamza Farooqui, and Sharad Pandey
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
The brief explores India’s labour market policies on provisioning of social security to informal workers in the unorganised sector.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Public Policy, and Social Security
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

35. Xinjiang’s System of Militarized Vocational Training Comes to Tibet

Author:
Adrian Zenz
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
In 2019 and 2020, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) introduced new policies to promote the systematic, centralized, and large-scale training and transfer of “rural surplus laborers” to other parts of the TAR, as well as to other provinces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the first 7 months of 2020, the region had trained over half a million rural surplus laborers through this policy. This scheme encompasses Tibetans of all ages, covers the entire region, and is distinct from the coercive vocational training of secondary students and young adults reported by exile Tibetans (RFA, October 29, 2019). The labor transfer policy mandates that pastoralists and farmers are to be subjected to centralized “military-style” (军旅式, junlüshi) vocational training, which aims to reform “backward thinking” and includes training in “work discipline,” law, and the Chinese language. Examples from the TAR’s Chamdo region indicate that the militarized training regimen is supervised by People’s Armed Police drill sergeants, and training photos published by state media show Tibetan trainees dressed in military fatigues (see accompanying images).
Topic:
Labor Issues, Minorities, and Repression
Political Geography:
China, Asia, Tibet, and Xinjiang

36. COVID-19 Impact on West African Value Chains

Author:
Loïc Bisson
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
Countries in West Africa were quick to take strong prevention and mitigation measures to stem the spread of COVID-19. But border closure, curfew, market closure and limited internal movement already impact key value chains in the region and threaten livelihoods. It risks lowering decent working conditions and labour rights and increasing child labour and gender violence. Informal, migrant and female workers are especially at risk and are likely to take the brunt of the economic downturn. Disruptions in the food value chain also endangers food security in the region. Instability in West Africa threatens both European and Dutch economic, security and geopolitical interests. By virtue of being involved in various West African value chains, European and Dutch consumers and companies bear both leverage and responsibilities in regard to secure livelihoods, good working conditions free of gender violence and respect for labour rights in West Africa.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Fragile States, Global Value Chains, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa and West Africa

37. COVID-19 Impact on the Policy Brief Value Chain in Latin America

Author:
Karolien van Teijlingen and Barbara Hogenboom
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
COVID-19 struck Latin America in the middle of what was already a tough economic, political and social period. This policy brief looks into the effects of the pandemic on employment and labour rights in the Colombian and Peruvian large-scale mining sectors. Mining has been severely affected by low commodity prices and demand, interrupted supply chains, national lockdowns and the (partial) closure of operations. Companies have tried to cut costs on the back of their labour force, resulting in layoffs, renegotiations and suspension of contracts. Informal economies around mining operations also suffer from the fall in demand for services and goods. The most impacted groups are outsourced workers and workers in the informal economy, the latter being predominantly women. On the long-term, these countries risks a race to the bottom in terms of labour rights. The brief calls upon (Dutch) companies and investors working in the Latin American commodity sectors to put social and economic justice at the centre of their operations.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Mining, Global Value Chains, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

38. A new policy toolkit is needed as countries exit COVID-19 lockdowns

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Thomas Philippon, and Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The measures that most governments took in response to the sudden collapse in economic activity during the COVID-19 lockdowns nearly exclusively focused on protecting vulnerable workers and firms. These measures included unemployment benefits, grants, transfers, loans at low rates, and tax deferrals. As lockdowns are lifted, governments must shift policies toward supporting the recovery and design measures that will limit the pain of adjustment while preserving productive jobs and firms. This Policy Brief explores how such measures can be designed, with particular emphasis on Europe and the United States. The authors propose a combination of unemployment benefits to help workers, wage subsidies and partially guaranteed loans to help firms, and debt restructuring procedures for small and medium-sized companies handicapped by excessive legacy debt from the crisis.
Topic:
Government, Labor Issues, European Union, Unemployment, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Germany, North America, and United States of America

39. US unemployment insurance in the pandemic and beyond

Author:
Jason Furman
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Unemployment insurance in the United States has played a critical role in both protecting workers who lost their jobs and supporting the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The abrupt expiration of any form of expanded unemployment insurance at the end of July 2020 would create problems both for the workers directly affected and for the economy as a whole, reducing GDP by about 2.5 percent in the second half of 2020—more than a typical year’s worth of economic growth. Furman emphasizes that expanded unemployment insurance should continue, with adjustments made as the unemployment rate changes. He also points out that the unemployment insurance system had major shortcomings even before the COVID-19 crisis and should be permanently reformed.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Unemployment, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

40. Promoting Women's Economic Activity in Jordan

Author:
Allison Jacobs Anderson
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Low women's employment in Jordan is perplexing given the kingdom's middle-class attributes. Creativity in U.S. development initiatives could deliver lasting gains. In Jordan, a mere 14 percent of women are formally employed, compared to the global average of 51 percent. This outcome is somewhat perplexing given the Hashemite Kingdom’s relatively high education levels for women, declining fertility rates, high average marriage age, and other attributes of a middle-class society. Jordan watchers have therefore searched for a cause. One common explanation centers on cultural constraints, including pressure to stay home, families disapproving of vocational jobs, and concerns about women working in mixed-gender environments. But an alternative view suggests these concerns may be overstated, in part owing to recognition of the essential role women can play in a fragile economy. In this new Policy Note, Dr. Allison Jacobs Anderson, an expert on gender and development, makes the case for encouraging greater women’s economic participation in Jordan. She outlines the many associated personal and societal benefits, and shows how a creative approach by U.S. development entities could deliver lasting gains.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Women, and Participation
Political Geography:
Middle East and Jordan

41. Working Together to Address Health Workforce Mobility in Europe

Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The free movement of people is a cornerstone of an open and integrated Europe. Yet the labor migration of Europeans from lower-income countries in southern and eastern Europe to higher-income countries in northern and western Europe has had significant impact on the workforce—including the loss of skilled health professionals in their most productive years. Indeed, since 1989, hundreds of thousands of European health professionals have left their countries of origin for more promising opportunities in the west and north. Denied opportunities for decent work at home, and recruited by countries facing their own labor shortages, their mobility is a byproduct of a failure throughout Europe to develop health workforces in an evidence-based and strategic way. Ultimately, this failure threatens the human right to health. This brief offers policymakers six key insights, drawn from a literature review and interviews with European experts, on the migration and mobility of health professionals. These insights are offered within a framework that prioritizes human rights, gender equality, and worker solidarity.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Health Care Policy, European Union, Economic Mobility, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Europe

42. Approaches to Labor Demand Forecast in Developing Economies and Their Implications for Korea's ODA

Author:
Young Ho Park, Yejin Kim, and Minji Jeong
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
This study aims to develop systematic labor forecast methods, thereby contributing to increasing the efficiency of TVET ODA. This study suggests a new labor demand forecast methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses and applies it to Vietnam, estimating labor demand by occupations in the country’s wireless communication equipment industry. This methodology starts with a statistical projection of Vietnam’s future labor market and industry. Subsequently, this study uses an enterprise survey and stakeholder interviews to complement missing information, as Vietnam's statistical system, like that of many other emerging economies, lacks some detailed data. Currently, the “element occupations” group takes the largest portion in the labor demand by industry and occupation. According to our results, however, the “plant and machine operators and assemblers” group is expected to gradually increase, thus becoming the largest occupation group in the wireless communication equipment industry in the near future. Given the various circumstances surrounding the labor market in developing countries, other alternatives in addition to our hybrid method of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis can also produce well-founded labor force projections. This study suggests analytical methodologies using global value chain (GVC) and big data as innovative alternatives, which can complement the shortcomings of traditional evaluation methods. ODA implementing agencies would benefit from paying attention to the labor forecasting methods presented in this research, and devising policies supporting these methods in order to properly apply them in reality.
Topic:
Communications, Labor Issues, and Economy
Political Geography:
Asia, Vietnam, and Korea

43. Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Author:
Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Seasonal worker programs represent one of the few ways in which low-skilled workers can migrate legally to the European Union, enabling them to work in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, and tourism. Countries have taken different approaches to selecting seasonal workers, with some recruiting from within the European Union and others soliciting workers from third countries. But while some of these programs are long-established, they can struggle to meet labor demands swiftly while ensuring that workers are treated fairly and will return home when their permits expire. The European Commission has aimed to create common standards for seasonal workers’ admission, residence, and rights across Europe and to address longstanding issues such as worker exploitation, visa overstays, and hiring through the informal economy. As European policymakers take stock of these Commission-driven harmonization efforts to date, this brief by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) explores some of the challenges common to these programs, drawing on examples in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. It also highlights practices that can help maximize the benefits for migrants, employers, and countries of destination and origin alike. The authors sketch a number of principles to guide future reforms. Among them: prioritizing more transparent and standardized recruitment procedures, greater monitoring and outreach to protect seasonal workers, and strategies to help deliver on the thus far limited investments to support economic and social development in sending countries.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Economy, Recruitment, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Europe

44. Working in Export Manufacturing: A Blessing or a Curse?

Author:
Francesco Amodio and Andreas Menzel
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
In popular opinion, manufacturing in developing countries is often associated with low wages, dangerous working conditions, lax regulation, and worker exploitation. Research has shown that factories producing for export or based on FDI pay wages equivalent to other sectors, have higher labour standards, and employ large numbers of female workers. However, there are reported adverse effects on well-being, and consequences for young workers. While skepticism remains on buyers’ ability and interest in improving labour standards, there is some evidence of improvement through safety councils and more skilled management. Fears of consequences for competitiveness have been largely unfounded.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Global Markets, Economic Growth, Exports, and Manufacturing
Political Geography:
Global Focus

45. Promoting New Kinds of Legal Labour Migration Pathways Between Europe and Africa

Author:
Michael Clemens, Helen Dempster, and Kate Gough
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
As Europe’s working-age population continues to decline, sub-Saharan Africa’s is rapidly increasing. Many of these new labour market entrants will seek opportunities in Europe, plugging skill gaps and contributing to economies in their countries of destination. To make the most of these movements, the new European Commission should create and promote new kinds of legal labour migration pathways with more tangible benefits to countries of origin and destination; pilot and scale Global Skill Partnership projects between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa and within Africa; and be a positive voice for migration within Europe, promoting the benefits from migration and ensuring they are understood.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Legal Theory, Borders, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

46. Labor in the Age of Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Author:
Anton Korinek
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
As technology advanced in recent decades, it increasingly left workers behind and led to sharp increases in inequality. The current wave of progress in artificial intelligence is likely to accelerate these trends. This note lays out three complementary approaches to countering these developments. Firstly, since technological progress generates net gains for society as a whole, the winners could in principle compensate the losers and still be better off. Secondly, progress should be steered to minimize the losses of workers. Thirdly, there is an important role for government intervention in information technology to thwart the rise of monopolies that extract rents from society. The note concludes with some speculations on the impact of artificial intelligence increasingly rivaling human labor.
Topic:
Economics, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Economic Policy, Macroeconomics, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:
United States

47. Worker Collective Action in the 21st Century Labor Market

Author:
Suresh Naidu
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
Private sector union density in the United States has fallen below 7%, but new historical evidence shows high union density played an important role in compressing the US income distribution at mid-century and lowering intergenerational income persistence. Other recent evidence on pervasive labor market power suggests that unions may be able raise wages without severe dis-employment effects, and may alleviate inefficient contracting problems. Despite substantial survey evidence indicating latent demand for unions, employers have successfully fought unionization efforts in rising service sectors, and a combination of legal restrictions and economic transformations have impaired the ability of US unions to solve collective action problems at the appropriate scale – an issue that economics may be able to help ameliorate.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Income Inequality, and Labor Policies
Political Geography:
United States

48. Antitrust and Labor Market Power

Author:
José Azar, Ioana Marinescu, and Marshall Steinbaum
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
Starting with the Chicago School’s influence in the late 1970s and 1980s, antitrust enforcement has been weakened under the assumption that market power is justified by economic efficiency. While consumers are the main focus of antitrust enforcement, the weakening of antitrust enforcement has likely also adversely impacted workers, thus contributing to increasing inequality.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Economic Policy, Economic Theory, and Antitrust Law
Political Geography:
United States

49. It’s Good Jobs, Stupid

Author:
Daron Acemoglu
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
Progressive policy proposals that would have appeared radical just a few years ago, including high marginal tax rates, wealth taxes, universal basic income, single-payer health insurance, and free college for all, are now on the agenda. The recognition that we can do more to create shared prosperity — that is, economic growth benefiting society at large, not just corporations and the very well-educated — is a welcome development. But are we targeting the right policies? We are at a critical juncture both economically and politically. We do not have much time left to reverse the trend towards greater inequality and worsening economic prospects for less educated Americans before its social consequences become more deeply ingrained. And the 2020 presidential election may provide a unique opportunity to adopt fundamentally different economic policies. Failing to identify the right policy priorities would not only squander this critical juncture; it could also deepen the rift between the different wings of US politics.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Employment, Labor Policies, Economic Policy, and Economic Theory
Political Geography:
United States

50. The Economic Benefits of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Kingdom of Swaziland: A case of the National Handicraft Training Centre (NHTC)

Author:
Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC)
Abstract:
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Swaziland is key for employment and self-employment opportunities which result in economic growth. TVET has proven to be an educational pathway that can be used to significantly reduce the unemployment rate by 2022. TVET graduates acquire skills that empower them to be immediately absorbed by the labour market and/or be self-employed. About 73.1% of the graduates are in productive employment after graduating from NHTC; with 47.6% formally employed, 25.5% self-employed, while 26.2% were unemployed in the period 1995 – 2015. The Benefit-Cost Ratio of NHTC, based on the Government of Swaziland and the Republic of China on Taiwan’s investment in NHTC, is 1:4.66. This means for every E1 invested in NHTC, the economy realises E4.66 through the income generating activities of graduates. The positive return on investment in NHTC indicates that if Government can increase funding to TVET institutions, the economic return can make significant contributions to skills development and GDP growth in the country.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Labor Issues, and Employment
Political Geography:
Africa and Swaziland

51. Quantifying a living wage in Swaziland: A case of the handicraft sector

Author:
Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC)
Abstract:
The Swaziland MDG Report (MDGR, 2015) documents that to improve wellbeing in Swaziland beyond 2015 requires the country to accelerate efforts geared toward creating lucrative employment and decent work for all, including women, the youth, and people living with disabilities. This is pertinent for the Kingdom of Swaziland given that 28.1% of the economically active population was unemployed in 2014 (ILFS, 2014). Others have argued that the unemployment rate is higher in rural areas, where the actual figure is probably more than 40% (Manyatsi et al., 2013). The handicraft sector has the potential to provide mass employment opportunities. However, undermining handicraft in Swaziland is a lack of appreciation of the potential this sector has toward changing the economic status and livelihoods of the people (Bam, 2014). As a result, the sector is notorious for paying low wages that do not support a decent standard of living, particularly in rural areas. Poor pay or low wages can have adverse impacts on economic growth by depressing per capita consumption.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Standard of Living, and Wages
Political Geography:
Africa and Swaziland

52. Economic Confidence Building Measures – Civil Servant Salaries

Author:
Mansour Ali Al Bashiri
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In December 2018, 23 of Yemen’s leading socioeconomic experts convened in Amman during the Fourth Development Champions Forum to discuss economic confidence-building measures in the peace process in Yemen. The discussions at the Forum, which is part of the Rethinking Yemen’s Economy initiative, touched on a number of economic mechanisms that could be implemented to build confidence. These included supporting the Central Bank as an independent institution that serves all of Yemen; ensuring the deposit of public revenues in all governorates at the Central Bank headquarters in Aden; and opening ports and ensuring the free movement of goods, humanitarian aid and people between governorates. The Forum focused on the payment of salaries and pensions to all civil servants due to the critical importance of the issue; this policy brief presents the outcomes of this discussion. As a key step to simultaneously address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and build confidence between the parties engaged in the peace process, the Development Champions recommend that the Yemeni government resumes salary payments to all civil servants working in the administrative apparatus of the state registered in the Ministry of Civil Service database of 2014 across Yemen, prioritizing payments to education and health workers. The Yemeni government should also continue to provide liquidity to guarantee the payment of pensions to all public sector retirees. Meanwhile, Ansar Allah should allow all state revenues in areas under their control to be deposited into the accounts specified by the Central Bank of Yemen temporarily headquartered in Aden, and all parties should work toward the restoration of the Central Bank as a national institution that serves all of Yemen. The Development Champions call on regional and international donors to cover any funding gap to support the payment of salaries and pensions.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, Labor Issues, Income Inequality, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Asia, Yemen, and West Asia

53. La inserción laboral de las mujeres excombatientes en Colombia: un análisis desde la Política Nacional de Reintegración Social y Económica (PRSE)

Author:
Dahiana Manjarrés Espinosa
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
La intervención estatal en Colombia para la reintegración de grupos armados contemplada en la PRSE, acoge las recomendaciones de planificación para los procesos DDR e intenta aproximarse hacia una perspectiva de género propuesta por la Resolución 1325 de Naciones Unidas en el 2000. Sin embargo, no se evidencia un diseño de intervención con estrategias diferenciadas para hombres y mujeres excombatientes en el componente de reintegración económica en el mercado laboral, lo cual influye en un reforzamiento del rol reproductivo en las mujeres excombatientes dentro del escenario de desmovilización. Por lo anterior, este trabajo realiza una revisión de las condiciones de empleabilidad, la trayectoria ocupacional y las expectativas de las mujeres excombatientes en el marco de la implementación de la Ruta de Reintegración, con el fin de identificar recomendaciones que fortalezcan la pertinencia estatal en términos de su empleabilidad y la generación de sus propios ingresos.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Armed Forces, State Actors, Economic Development, and Demobilization
Political Geography:
Colombia

54. Purple Economy: A Strategy for Women’s Equal Economic Participation towards Sustainable Cities

Author:
İpek İlkkaracan
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
This policy brief is published in the framework of “Women’s Participation for Sustainable City” project under the umbrella project “Supporting Sustainable Cities” of TESEV funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty. If one were asked to associate a color with the concept of “sustainable cities,” the first to come to mind would be probably green. Not surprising, given that the issue of sustainability originated out of concerns for the environmental crisis and the green economy was proposed as a vision of an environmentally sustainable economy. Today it is widely acknowledged that an additional challenge to sustainability has to do with inequalities in the economic and social sphere. Gender is an important crosscutting dimension of multi-layered inequalities. Hence I would like to propose another color to associate with the concept of sustainable cities and sustainable economies, complementing the green: Purple, the symbolic color of the women’s movement in Turkey and in many countries around the world. The purple economy entails the vision of a gender egalitarian and hence a socially sustainable economy. It starts from the premise that the root cause of obstacles to women’s equal economic participation lies within the gender imbalances in the distribution of caring labor. Caring labor entails provisioning of goods and services to caredependent groups such as children, elderly, ill and people with disabilities as well as healthy adults necessary for their physical, social, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Economy, and Urban
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

55. 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

56. Unpaid Care – Why and How to Invest: Policy Briefing for National Governments

Author:
Man-Kwun Chan
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Investments which support households to better meet their unpaid care responsibilities – such as childcare, food preparation and laundry – can yield substantial returns in terms of macro-economic growth, job creation and other key government priorities. This briefing looks at selected evidence and examples and argues that governments should: include commitments to support households’ unpaid care work in relevant policies and programmes, and collect data on unpaid care to support policy making; increase households’ access to care-supporting infrastructure and services; encourage men and boys to share care work; and step up efforts to give women a real voice in policy making, and a real opportunity to speak out about unpaid care.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Health Care Policy, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

57. German Supermarket Supply Chains: Ending the Human Suffering Behind our Food

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Inequality is rampant across the global economy, and the agro-food sector is no exception. At the top, big supermarkets and other corporate food giants dominate global food markets, allowing them to squeeze value from vast supply chains that span the globe, while at the bottom the bargaining power of small-scale farmers and workers has been steadily eroded in many of the countries from which German supermarkets and others from around the world source. The result is widespread human suffering among the women and men producing our food.
Topic:
Agriculture, Labor Issues, Food, Private Sector, Farming, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

58. Women’s Contribution to Social Cohesion and Violence Prevention through the Community Work Programme

Author:
Community Work Programme (CWP)
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
The Community Work Programme (CWP) is a public employment programme that provides two days of work per week to unemployed and underemployed people in economically marginalised areas. The CWP aims to be an employment safety net, ensuring a basic stable income for residents of CWP sites. CWP participants are intended to do ‘useful work’, defined as work that ‘contributes to the public good, community goods or social services’ and assists with community development.i This includes home-based care, early childhood development, support work at schools, community safety, and looking after the local environment by cleaning, building community gardens and planting trees. In March 2017 there were 244 919 participants at 186 CWP sites across South Africa. Of this total, 85% were women, and 25% were men. Out of the 85% of women, 42% were above 35 years of age.ii In light of these figures, this policy brief looks at the prominent role (older) women play in the CWP. Focusing on women participants’ involvement in community work and local social networks, it demonstrates their contribution to building social cohesion and driving crime and violence prevention activities through the CWP.iii After presenting the case of the Manenberg site, where women participants have done much to address violence in the community, the brief concludes with recommendations for fostering women’s contributions to the CWP.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Employment, Violence, Work Culture, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

59. 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

60. Migrants in construction work: Evaluating their welfare framework

Author:
Shamindra Nath Roy and Mukta Naik
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
More than two decades after the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 came into force, the efficacy of this framework remains in question. Correctional steps have the potential to extend social benefits to construction workers, especially migrants who face particular vulnerabilities. Available data regarding implementation of the Acts by States presents a picture of overall tardiness and delay with wide variations. States need to ramp up worker registration; data suggests that lowering entry barriers for migrants improves registration and consequently, access to welfare benefits. While collection of cess funds has improved and is broadly proportionate to construction activity, their utilisation remains dismal. States need to think strategically on how to spend accumulated cess funds—especially on housing, occupational health and safety, grievance redressal and legal aid—and sustain welfare provisions over time. Accumulated unspent funds offer an opportunity for big-ticket, one-time expenditures. Examples from some States show that collaboration with civil society organisations could improve outreach, particularly to migrants.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Legislation, Labor Policies, and Welfare
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

61. Redefining Inclusive Growth in Asia: How APEC can Achieve an Economy that Leaves no one Behind

Author:
Maria Dolores Bernabe
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In November 2017, leaders will gather in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The last few decades have seen astonishing growth and poverty reduction across Asia, but inequality is on the rise and the benefits of growth are increasingly going to those at the top. This paper sets out how APEC leaders can use the opportunity of the summit to move in a new direction – one in which the economy works for everyone, not just the few.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Labor Issues, Health Care Policy, Private Sector, Economic Cooperation, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Asia and Asia-Pacific

62. Working Girls and Education: Policy Recommendations in the Framework of Children Rights

Author:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and Aydın Doğan Foundation (ADV)
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Aydın Doğan Foundation (ADV) and Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) launched, in December 2015, www.turkiyedecocuklar.org as an innovative policy tool. Open data from TÜİK, ILO, and Hacettepe TNSA on working girls in Turkey was assembled and reorganized as an interactive database to facilitate evidence-based effective policy making. Working girls and education is the most alarming issue on the database. As a follow-up, ADV and TESEV brought together experts, in Istanbul, on 28 April 2016, to discuss and recommend policies.
Topic:
Education, Labor Issues, Children, and Economy
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

63. Recent Department of Labor Rules Open the Door for States to Move Forward with Retirement Initiatives

Author:
David S. Mitchell and Jeremy Smith
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
On November 18, 2015, the Obama Administration's Department of Labor (DOL) published two important legal opinions that propose to give states new options for expanding retirement coverage for private-sector workers. These opinions open the door for states to move forward along one of two distinct paths: a payroll deduction plan that avoids ERISA, or a more traditional model that would fall under ERISA. This issue brief summarizes these rules and highlights the tradeoffs state policymakers will face when deciding which of these new avenues to pursue. The brief will be updated once the proposals are finalized.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, Labor Issues, Governance, and Social Movement
Political Geography:
United States

64. Have Macroeconomic Rules of the Game Changed? Some Clues from the Phillips Curve

Author:
Samuel Howorth, Domenico Lombardi, and Pierre Siklos
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Students of macroeconomics will have heard about the central role played by the so-called Phillips curve in both theoretical and empirical analyses for almost 70 years. In 1958, A. W. Phillips reported an inverse relationship between changes in wages and the unemployment rate (Phillips 1958). The progeny of his thinking led to a revolution both in policy making and in the development of theoretical links between the real and nominal macroeconomic variables. Names such as Samuelson, Solow, Phelps, Friedman, Lucas and Sargent became associated with refinements and enhancements of the core finding reported by Phillips. Indeed, all of these economists went on to become Nobel laureates in economics, although not exclusively because of their contributions to the analysis of what has since been called the Phillips curve. Indeed, the concept is so influential that it spawned several different versions of the trade-off used to guide policy makers as a menu for the choices they face when deciding whether the gains from lower inflation are offset by the economic costs of higher unemployment. Initially, expectations of individuals or firms were ignored. This briefly gave policy makers the impression that they could simply select an inflation-unemployment combination and implement the necessary policy mix to achieve the desired outcome. Once a role for expectations was incorporated, debate centred on how forward-looking individuals are. The more forward-looking, the less likely it was that policy makers would be able to “exploit” the trade-off because, unless wages rose in purchasing-power terms, the gains from lower unemployment would, at best, be temporary once workers realized that the higher inflation, at unchanged wages, actually drives real wages down. Indeed, the pendulum swung all the way to the conclusion — reached by the 1970s and early 1980s — that the Phillips curve was illusory and there was no trade-off policy makers could exploit.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, International Political Economy, Labor Issues, and Global Markets
Political Geography:
Global Focus

65. How ASEAN’s Transformation Can Play Out Well for Europe

Author:
Damian Wnukowski
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The transformation of ASEAN into an economic community is a significant step in the organisation’s integration process. The project, formally launched at the beginning of 2016, aims at creation of a single market of more than 620 million people, loosens the flow of goods, services and investment, which should underpin regional economic growth and catch the attention of foreign businesses. However, obstacles to economic cooperation remain, such as limitations on the movement of labour or capital, which shows that the integration process is not yet complete. The EU, which can benefit from a well-functioning market in this region, should share its own experience to support the ASEAN integration process.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Politics, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe

66. When the Walls Come Down: How Smart Companies are Rewriting the Rules of the IOpoen Workplace

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Open-plan offices are meant to encourage collaboration and contribute to a collegial workplace culture, but they also come with serious drawbacks like noise and distraction. Oxford Economics conducted a survey of more than 600 executives and 600 employees to better understand what works for employees—and what doesn’t—about open-plan layouts, and to test for disconnects between workers and their managers. The results show that threats to productivity and worker peace of mind are bigger issues than most executives realize, and most do not have the technology or strategies in place to deal with the problems.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Work Culture, Innovation, and Business Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

67. Service Sector Reform in China

Author:
Ryan Rutkowski
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Faced with slowing economic growth, Chinese policymakers now recognize that the service sector of the economy—transportation, communications, finance, and health care—could spur economic activity and employment. The catch is that China must reform these and other areas to accomplish this goal. Chinese leaders have outlined an ambitious agenda for reform, but myriad vested interests could slow or block their plans. This Policy Brief evaluates the steps taken so far and the difficulties that lie ahead in implementing them. If policymakers fail to reform and open up the service sector, they run the risk of seriously impairing China's growth prospects.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, Financial Crisis, and Reform
Political Geography:
China

68. Made in Myanmar: Entrenched poverty or decent jobs for garment workers?

Author:
Daisy Gardener and Jasmine Burnley
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
In Myanmar, the garment industry is booming thanks to an upsurge in investment by international brands, but garment workers are facing tough conditions. According to new research from Oxfam and labour rights groups in Myanmar, garment workers are working up to 11 hours a day, six days a week, but remain trapped in poverty. Following decades of economic isolation, political reforms have seen global retail heavyweights like GAP, H&M, Primark and Adidas starting to source from Myanmar factories. With the garment industry growing quickly, companies need to act now to ensure that workers making their products can access their fundamental rights and provide a decent living for themselves and their families. This briefing paper presents the research findings and makes recommendations for international sourcing companies and factories to help them protect garment workers’ rights.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, Politics, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Myanmar

69. Still Broken: Governments must do more to fix the international corporate tax system

Author:
Francis Weyzig
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
The gap between where companies pay tax and where they really do their business is huge, as shown by new research described in this briefing. In 2012, US multinationals alone shifted $500–700bn, mostly to countries where these profits are not taxed, or taxed at very low rates. G20 countries themselves are among the biggest losers. The measures recently announced by the OECD leave the fundamentals of a broken tax system intact and do not stop the race to the bottom in corporate taxation. G20 governments must do more and should strongly support further reforms.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, Governance, Budget, G20, and Income Inequality
Political Geography:
United States

70. China’s Hidden Obstacles to Socioeconomic Rebalancing

Author:
Boy Lüthje and Christopher A. McNally
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The global financial crisis of 2008-09 led to a policy consensus in China that its socioeconomic development model needed rebalancing. China's rapid development has been based on extensive growth reliant on exports, low wages, environmental exploitation, and the manufacturing of cheap products. China's current plans identify paths to economic rebalancing through intensive growth driven by rising investment in new technologies and manufacturing processes, improved wages and skills, and improved worker and environmental protections. Two industries, automotive and information technology, demonstrate the experience of and opportunities for rebalancing. Both offer improved employment conditions with better wages, but continue to incorporate large swaths of low-wage employment with little protection for workers' health and the environment. Economic rebalancing in China, therefore, has so far only appeared in pockets. Institutional safeguards for wages and labor standards remain constrained by powerful alliances among multinational corporations, Chinese state-owned/private enterprises, and the Chinese state.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
China

71. Future scenarios for the development of the European labour force

Author:
Anna Ruzik-Sierdzińska
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The future size and quality of the European labour force are important production factors for future economic growth in the region. The performance of many systems such as social security and health depends on the population of future potential tax payers. Older workers are an important and increasing share of the employment in Europe. Due to lower fertility and longer life expectancy, today, a larger than ever share of the population is over 50. Eurostat projections show that the share of people between the ages of 50 and 74 in the population aged 20-74 will increase in the EU27 countries from the current 40 per cent to 47 per cent in 2050. However, countries differ in terms of elderly activity. Existing studies show that this is related to various factors, including labour market institutions. As demographic ageing is expected to continue in the future, it is important to know more about these factors in order to recommend policies that could be efficient for the development of future labour markets and the economy as a whole. The aim of the described part of the project was to assess the impact of ageing on the labour market, especially on the structure of the labour force and labour productivity. We looked at this from various angles. First, we examined it via the determinants of the transition from work to retirement (see: Riedel and Hofer, 2013) with a broader analysis of non-labour market activities at older ages (Styczyńska et al., 2013). Then, we tried to answer the question about how individual productivity changes with age in different countries and if lifelong learning can contribute to higher labour productivity in the future (Ruzik-Sierdzińska et al., 2013). Finally, we looked at the demand for labour in the perspective of ageing societies, i.e. at employers' policies, attitudes and behaviours towards older workers and retirement (van Dalen et al., 2013).
Topic:
Demographics, Markets, Labor Issues, Social Policy, Public Policy, and Aging
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and European Union

72. Making Labor Market Reforms Work for Everyone: Lessons from Germany

Author:
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Mark Twain once wrote an essay about the difficulties of learning what he called "The Awful German Language." Similar barriers to comprehension seem to plague those trying to explain recent German economic performance. By most measures, Germany has the best functioning labor market among large economies in the West, with levels of employment reaching those in the United States at the end of the turbo-charged 1990s. A debate has stirred, however, about whether this success has come with a price—specifically, whether Germany's domestic structural reforms have lowered living standards for Germany's low income workers and worsened income inequality and whether Germany is fortuitously and perhaps selfishly riding a wave of strong foreign demand for German exports.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

73. Global Trends of Multi-Factor Productivity

Author:
Jeong Yeon Lee
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Multi-factor productivity (MFP) compares the growth of gross domestic product with the growth of combined capital and labor inputs. The growth rate of MFP assumes theoretical significance because it represents the slope of the steady-state growth path, and hence is a major determinant of the long-term growth trend. This paper offers the balanced panel of the estimated growth rates of MFP for 24 OECD countries over 1986-2011. Based on the estimates of MFP growth, a number of notable trends in productivity growth are identified for the entire OECD area as well as three major economies – the United States, the Eurozone and Japan – within the OECD.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and Europe

74. Many worlds of the 'low-skilled', but only one generic policy

Author:
Ilaria Maselli and Miroslav Beblavý
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
There is a general consensus that to achieve employment growth, especially for vulnerable groups, it is not enough to kick-start economic growth. It is also essential to improve the s kills among both the high-and low-skilled population.
Topic:
Economics, Migration, Science and Technology, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe and Somalia

75. Why too few students do maths and science

Author:
Ilaria Maselli and Miroslav Beblavý
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Tackling the high and increasing unemployment rate ranks at the top of the EU policy agenda, especially with regard to young people. There is a general consensus that to achieve employment growth, especially for vulnerable groups, it is not enough to kick-start economic growth - skills among both the high-and low-skilled population also need to be improved. However, we need to move beyond simplified narratives and generic policies in order to better understand a much-debated and lamented phenomenon : the lack of graduates in subjects related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Topic:
Education, Science and Technology, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe

76. The G20 Needs A Growth Strategy

Author:
Mike Callaghan
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Restoring global economic growth and creating jobs has been an objective of successive G20 summits. Australia has also made it a priority for the G20 in 2014. To achieve such an outcome requires a comprehensive and agreed growth strategy. The G20 lacks such a strategy and has failed to provide a clear and consistent message about how members can or are working together to achieve such an outcome.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Australia

77. The G20 and Gender Equality: How the G20 can advance women's rights in employment, social protection and fiscal policies

Author:
Wakefield Shawna
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In its 'World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development', the World Bank asserted that gender equality was a core development objective in its own right and also 'smart economics' The same year, in their Los Cabos Declaration, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women's full economic and social participation and to expanding opportunities for women in their countries. Oxfam supports this commitment, and calls on the G20 to go further and assess the entirety of their agenda and actions in the light of development and rights-based commitments to women's rights and gender equality.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Politics, Labor Issues, and Sociology

78. A Blueprint for a Comprehensive US Counterterrorism Strategy in Yemen

Author:
Danya Greenfield and Barbara K. Bodine
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
With the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the explosion of violent conflicts from Tripoli to Gaza, the Middle East is looking more unstable and unpredictable than ever. While the focus in Washington is centered on jihadist extremists in Iraq and Syria at present, the threat from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) against the United States continues. Top al-Qaeda leadership in Yemen is hailing the territorial gains of ISIS in Iraq, and some al-Qaeda operatives are imitating ISIS' techniques such as public slaughters of those deemed infidels, prompting fears of cooperation between two of the most active Islamist militant networks. Recent aggression by the Houthi movement, a Zaydi Shia rebel militia, against state institutions and tribal opponents has opened a new front of instability and security vacuum that AQAP is all too ready to exploit. Inattention to the interconnected nature of tribal conflict, terrorist activity, poor governance, economic grievances and citizen discontent is proving to be a dangerous combination for both Yemen and the United States. The Yemeni context may seem far from the current focus on Baghdad and Damascus, but getting the US strategy right in Yemen will have consequences for regional stability and core US interests throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Economics, Terrorism, Foreign Aid, Labor Issues, and Reform
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Arabia, and Syria

79. Steps Towards a Living Wage in Global Supply Chains

Author:
Rachel Wilshaw
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Almost a century after the ILO Constitution recognized the need for workers to earn a living wage, the question of whether wages enable workers to meet their needs and those of their families has gained renewed momentum. Much has been written on the issue, but very little that assesses how companies are implementing it, and the outcomes.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and Labor Issues

80. Eye on the Ball Amid Qatar-FIFA Corruption Charges

Author:
Lori Plotkin Boghardt
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Washington should use the State Department's upcoming annual "Trafficking in Persons" report to amplify international calls for strategic Persian Gulf partners to reform their expatriate labor practices.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Washington

81. Egypt's Labor Dilemma

Author:
Mustansir Barma
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
“Bread, freedom, and social justice,” is the familiar slogan chanted across the Middle East and North Africa since the Arab uprisings erupted in December 2010. Labor issues fit into this trifecta: bread is a symbol of earning a decent living, freedom is tied to worker rights such as assembly and industrial action, and social justice is linked to dignity derived from employment and better working conditions. Egyptian workers remain frustrated about the lack of progress in achieving the labor rights that are fundamental to this rallying cry.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, and Food
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, North Africa, and Egypt

82. Economic forecast summary: July 2014

Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:
The Economist Intelligence Unit has lowered its 2014 forecast for real GDP growth to 2.2% from 2.5%. Employment and consumer confidence are strong but the weather-induced slump in the economy at the start of the year was worse than first thought. We expect real GDP to expand by more S economic outlook than 3% at an annual rate in the final three quarters of 2014 and by 3.2% in 2015. Job growth has averaged 231,000 a month over the past four months, and the unemployment rate of 6.3% is the lowest for five years.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis

83. The G20 and Gender Equality: How the G20 can advance women's rights in employment, social protection and fiscal policies

Author:
Shawna Wakefield
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In its "World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development?, the World Bank asserted that gender equality was a core development objective in its own right and also "smart economics?. The same year, in their Los Cabos Declaration, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women?s full economic and social participation and to expanding opportunities for women in their countries. Oxfam supports this commitment, and calls on the G20 to go further and assess the entirety of their agenda and actions in the light of development and rights-based commitments to women?s rights and gender equality.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, and Reform

84. Eritrea: Ending the Exodus?

Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The large emigration of youths is the clearest sign of extreme domestic discontent with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki's government. Social malaise is pervasive. An ever-growing number of young people have fled over the last decade, frustrated by open-ended national service – initiated in 1995 and expanded during the war with Ethiopia (1998-2000). Yet, this flight has resulted in neither reforms nor a viable movement to create an alternative to the current government. Once outside, the ties that bind émigrés to their birthplace are strong and lead them to give financial support to the very system they escaped, through the 2 per cent tax many pay the state as well as remittances sent home to family members.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Immigration, Youth Culture, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

85. Towards Freer Movement of Skilled Labour in AEC 2015 and Beyond

Author:
Christopher Findlay
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
Movements of skilled labour in ASEAN have been largely from the lower income labour surplus economies to the higher income labour deficit economies in response to employment and remuneration differentials. The AEC Blueprint includes the objective of free flow of skilled labour to facilitate flows in services and investment. However, free flow is obstructed by differences in qualifications, standards and language proficiency as well as by national legal provisions and policies despite MRAs on professional services and the Agreement on Movement of Natural Persons. To facilitate free flows, their net benefits have to be emphasised; MRAs and labour market access be implemented effectively; and regional differences among tertiary institutions in standards, capabilities and English language proficiency be narrowed through academic cooperation and exchanges, and joint establishment of regional centres of excellence.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Services, Industry, Labor Rights, and Skilled Labor
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

86. The Contribution of BRAC’s Life Skills Education and Livelihoods Trainings to Social Inclusion in Afghanistan

Author:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This study adopts a social exclusion lens to analyse the effects of BRAC’s life skills education and livelihoods trainings for young women in Afghanistan and tests assumptions about the role labour programmes can play in contributing to social inclusion. It used mixed methods and employed a quasi-experimental impact evaluation.
Topic:
Education, Labor Issues, Quality of Life, and Social Order
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

87. Cost and Benefits of Labour Mobility between the EU and the Eastern Partnership Partner Countries

Author:
Luca Barbone and Matthias Luecke
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Migration from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries has only become a large and important phenomenon over the last twenty years. At its heart, labour migration reflects entrepreneurial decisions by individuals and families looking to improve their lives while facing complex challenges and opportunities. In the past, the language of "migration management" was sometimes used to suggest that migrants and migration needed to be “managed” to achieve government objectives. By contrast, in adopting a migrant-centered perspective, our project aimed to understand, first, EaP migrants’ incentives and the effects of migration on migrants and their families, on non-migrants in the country of origin, and on residents of the destination country. Second, we investigated how labour migration is shaped by and interacts with a wide range of government policies and which policy interventions can enhance the benefits of migration for the affected groups.
Topic:
Demographics, Markets, Migration, Labor Issues, Social Policy, Innovation, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and European Union

88. Broken Borders: Government, Foreign-Born Workers, and the U.S. Economy

Author:
Benjamin W. Powell and Zachary Gochenour
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
The U.S. government interferes with the market for foreign laborers by restricting the number and mix of immigrants and setting tight quantitative limits on foreign-born guest workers. This has created a mismatch between the demand for foreign workers from U.S. businesses and their supply, directly leading to the illegal immigration situation we confront today. The current system inefficiently limits the gains that our economy could achieve from employing larger numbers of foreign workers, and it disproportionately harms small U.S. businesses. The economic fears associated with increased guest workers or immigrants are unfounded. The current Senate immigration reform proposal would be a marginal improvement but does not go far enough. Red Card, an alternative guest worker proposal, would better coordinate labor markets. Ultimately, an immigration market free from government limitations and interference would be the most efficient solution.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Immigration, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States and North America

89. Labor, Technology, and Innovation in Europe: Facing Global Risk through Increased Resiliency

Author:
Robert A. Manning and Peter Engelke
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
After the economic crisis ground global business to a halt, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean began to recognize that ensuring a stable and prosperous future would require building greater resiliency to structural risks. In the coming decades, episodic banking crises and regional economic imbalances will interrupt global growth. Robotics and computer networks will upend entire industrial sectors. Stressed global ecosystems, a changing climate, pandemics, and demographic decline will all add other risks. While no one can yet say how these risks may manifest, they will shape the future.
Topic:
Economics, Science and Technology, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe

90. Rising Robotics and the Third Industrial Revolution

Author:
Robert A. Manning
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Six years ago, Bill Gates created a buzz in the high tech community when he published an article in Scientific American suggesting robotics was becoming the next "new thing." Entitled "A Robot in Every Home," the Microsoft cofounder's essay argued presciently that the state of robotics paralleled that of the computer industry in the 1970s when it approached a tipping point, launching the PC revolution.
Topic:
Economics, Health, Science and Technology, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
America

91. Common Strategies for Women in Transition Countries

Author:
Steven E. Steiner
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Ongoing dialogues and forums on nations in transition reinforce the commonality of challenges related to women's rights and roles in society, especially leadership in government. Women leaders in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Arab Spring countries face major challenges, including heightened insecurity and the risk of women's rights being rolled back significantly. Steps to address these challenges are to build coalitions across internal divides, engage male religious leaders and other men to support women's rights, reach out to youth, develop gender-based budgeting, and underscore the importance of women's economic empowerment. Keys to progress in these areas include obtaining grassroots support and taking a long-term strategic focus in international programs.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Government, Labor Issues, and Governance
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Arabia

92. Role of Apprenticeships in Combating Youth Unemployment in Europe and the United States

Author:
Natalia Aivazova
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Five years since the global economic crisis began in 2008, many of the world's advanced economies are still struggling with sluggish growth and high levels of joblessness, especially among younger workers. In June 2013 the European Council expressed concern that “youth unemployment has reached unprecedented levels in several Member States” and called for “urgent action.” Much of the debate in Europe and the United States has focused on fiscal and monetary measures; while macroeconomic policy can address cyclical problems, a wide consensus recognizes the need to address structural challenges. One such challenge is a mismatch between the skills demanded by employers and those available among the population, especially younger workers. This mismatch can be addressed in part through the implementation of apprenticeship programs. The European Council recently concluded that “high quality apprenticeships and work-based learning will be promoted, notably through the European Alliance for Apprenticeships.” However, in the United States, where many are struggling to find jobs after graduating, apprenticeship programs hardly draw government and private-sector resources. Boosting apprenticeships could give both European and US workers the much-needed skills and competitive edge.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Labor Issues, and Youth Culture
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

93. If the Fed threshold changes

Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
At the end of last week, there were rumours that the Fed may change its unemployment threshold from 6.5% to 6%, either at its 30-31 July meeting or, perhaps more likely, at its 17-18 September meeting. Such a move would confirm that the Fed funds rate is likely to remain in its current 0-0.25% range until 2015, which is in line with our baseline scenario. But while the change would be an acknowledgement that the US labour market has performed more strongly than expected, the change – if implemented – could still be a mistake as it may erode the value of forward guidance by moving the goalposts.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

94. US recovery on track

Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Recent US data have been uneven. An improving manufacturing ISM survey was offset by non-manufacturing data being worse than expected. Last week a strong consumer credit number was balanced by weaker small business confidence. The US economy almost certainly went through a soft patch in Q2. However, on balance the recovery–unexciting as it has been–remains on track, with some possible further mileage to be had from equities. This is consistent with the recent dovish statement by Fed Chairman Bernanke, suggesting that the tapering of quantitative easing is still some way off.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Global Recession, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

95. Faster taper – limited impact

Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Markets took fright after Ben Bernanke's press conference on 19 June at the prospect of an early end to QE. Bond purchases might be tapered off sooner, as the Fed now expects unemployment to fall to its target of 6.5% next year rather than in 2015. It is not yet clear whether any of the bonds bought as part of QE will eventually be sold off. While it is obvious that an end to the Fed's purchases will have an impact on output growth and asset prices, our Global Economic Model shows that the effects will be limited.
Topic:
Markets, Global Recession, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

96. How to Reduce Migrant Worker Recruitment Costs

Author:
Philip Martin
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Recruitment matches workers with jobs, a process that is often complicated by asymmetric information, viz. employers know more about the jobs they are offering than job seekers, who know more about their abilities than employers. Economists have developed a variety of models to explain how employers screen applicants to find the workers best suited to fill the jobs they offer, and how workers signal their ability to employers by earning degrees and certificates.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Migration, and Labor Issues

97. English-Taught Master's Programs in Europe

Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
In recent years, European countries in which English is not the primary language of instruction have developed an increasing number of programs taught either fully or partly in English in order to serve domestic demand for higher education in English and to attract students from around the world. In an IIE briefing paper published in 2012, we looked at trends related to English-taught master's programs in Europe. We were able to gain new insights into the types of programs that were on offer, as well as the types of programs international students were looking for. This paper takes another look at data from StudyPortals.eu, the most comprehensive website related to educational offerings in Europe, in order to get a sense of where the market is going. In 2011, StudyPortals estimated that 90 percent of English-taught master's programs in Europe were represented on the website, which makes it a remarkably accurate reflection of the situation on the ground.
Topic:
Education, Markets, International Affairs, Labor Issues, and Immigration
Political Geography:
Europe

98. Inserting Migrants Into the Global Social Protection Floor

Author:
Marie-Hélène Ratel, Gabriel Williams, and Keegan Williams
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Unprecedented human migration is an issue of critical importance in today's rapidly globalizing world. International migrants constitute a group with more people than the population of Brazil, and they send more money home each year than the entire value of Argentina's economy (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2013). Migration flows have doubled since 1980 and show no signs of slowing down due to growing inequalities in global development, population pressure, environmental change and conflict (Koser, 2010). Compared to the majority of citizens in many countries, migrants face heightened risks because they do not receive adequate social protections such as health care, income security, education, housing or access to clean water and sanitation.
Topic:
Economics, Migration, Social Stratification, Labor Issues, Immigration, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Brazil and Argentina

99. Education for young people in fragile situations – the need for support

Author:
Birgitte Lind Petersen
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
With massive unemployment, insecure livelihoods and unpredictable political transitions in many fragile states, there is an urgent need to train and educate young people – tomorrow's citizens. Governments and donors now realise this, yet, according to recent documentation, donors commit only 10% of what is needed to educate and train youth in fragile situations, and provide even less. UNESCO, among others, points to the serious underfunding as the most problematic aspect of aid to education in fragile states, especially at secondary school level.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Demographics, Education, War, and Labor Issues

100. Understanding human smuggling as a human rights issue

Author:
Theodore Baird
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Human smuggling plays a central role in migration from areas affected by conflict and poverty to areas of relative safety. The terms 'smuggling' and 'trafficking' are often used synonymously in public discussions and the media. The accepted international definitions of smuggling and trafficking were not devised until the end of the 1990s. In international law, with the signing in December 2000 of the United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, a distinction was made in order to aid authorities in managing and prosecuting individuals involved. Human smuggling and trafficking are covered under the two Protocols to the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which were negotiated in Vienna under the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, with the UN Centre for International Crime Prevention serving as secretariat, in the 'Vienna Process'. The Smuggling Protocol was signed at a meeting convened in Palermo, Italy, as one of what were dubbed the 'Palermo Protocols'. The following definition of human smuggling is widely accepted by governments and academic communities.
Topic:
Economics, Human Rights, Migration, Labor Issues, and Border Control
Political Geography:
Italy