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1. Wage inequality, skill inequality, and employment: evidence and policy lessons from PIAAC.

Author

Jovicic, Sonja

Subjects
WAGES, EQUALITY, EMPLOYMENT, LABOR market
Abstract

This paper investigates international differences in wage inequality and skills and whether a compressed wage distribution is associated with high unemployment across core OECD countries. Wage dispersion and wage structure are widely debated among policymakers; compressed wage structure is often perceived as an important cause of high unemployment. Firstly, this paper examines differences in wage dispersion across OECD countries and their link to skill dispersion. Some countries that have more compressed (dispersed) wage structures simultaneously have more compressed (dispersed) skill structures as well, and skill differences explain part of the differences in wage dispersion. However, even when accounted for skills, some countries have a more compressed wage structure, most likely caused by labor market institutions. We do not find an effect of wage compression on the labor market performance in the low-skill sector. Based on the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey of adult skills for core OECD countries, this paper cannot confirm the skill compression nor wage compression hypotheses. Rather than insisting on the deregulation of labor market institutions and reductions in public welfare policy as the main policy recommendations to achieve higher employment (and higher wage inequality), policymakers should reconsider aggregate demand deficiency and the variation in macroeconomic policies as potential explanations for the employment differences across countries. JEL Classification: J31, J24, E24 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2016
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2. The Gender Implications of Public Sector Downsizing: The Reform Program of Vietnam

Author

Martin Rama

Subjects
GENDER GAP, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, GENDER RELATIONS, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, ECONOMIC GROWTH, FAMILIES, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, TRAINING PROGRAMS, SOCIAL STATUS OF WOMEN, TRAINING CENTERS, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, LABOR CODE, EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR DOWNSIZING, health care economics and organizations, EARNINGS LOSS, NATIONAL LEVEL, UNEMPLOYMENT, education.field_of_study, PRODUCTIVITY, STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN, Public sector, BOTH SEXES, GENDER IMPACT, WORKERS, STATUS OF WOMEN, INFORMAL SECTOR, JOBS, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, FEMALE, ECONOMIC INSECURITY, PENSION, OCCUPATIONS, DOWNSIZING PROGRAM, PREVIOUS JOB, GENDER IMPLICATIONS, PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS, GENDER BREAKDOWN, Unpaid work, COMPENSATION PACKAGES, OCCUPATION, EARLY RETIREMENT, EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, MASS LAYOFFS, SALARIED EMPLOYMENT, PENSIONS, TRAINING MATERIAL, LIVING STANDARDS, Labor demand, WORKER, Development, NUMBER OF WORKERS, PROPORTION OF WOMEN, UNEMPLOYED, LABOR REDUNDANCIES, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, WAGES, JOB LOSS, HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, education, GENDERS, INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES, LABOR MARKET, MALE WORKERS, SOCIAL STATUS, JOB LOSSES, MATERNITY LEAVE, VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS, POLICY RESEARCH REPORT ON GENDER, MALE WORKER, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, COMPENSATION, SEVERANCE PAYMENTS, JOB DISPLACEMENT, CULTURAL CHANGE, LABOR DEMAND, NUMBER OF WOMEN, SALARIED WORKERS, SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ATTRITION, WORK FORCE, Demographic economics, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, SOCIAL IMPACT, EMPLOYMENT HISTORY, EQUALITY, LABOUR OFFICE, SOCIAL POLICY, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, PRIVATE FIRMS, GENDER DIVISION OF LABOR, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, LABOUR, OLD-AGE, LABOR REDUNDANCY, GENDER STEREOTYPES, Transition economy, RESIDENCE, LIFE EXPECTANCY, DISPLACEMENT, ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS, WILL, Informal sector, UNSKILLED LABOR, WAGE EMPLOYMENT, SEXES, Banks&Banking Reform,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Labor Standards,Work&Working Conditions, EMPLOYMENT LEVEL, DISPLACED WORKERS, PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT, INSURANCE, UNIFEM, GENDER BIAS, LABOR CONTRACTS, PRIVATE SECTOR, RESPECT, Economics and Econometrics, HUMAN RESOURCES, Population, PRODUCTION UNITS, EMPLOYMENT PATTERN, RETIREMENT PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT LEVELS, FEMALE WORKER, POLICY RESEARCH, JOB SEPARATION, CHILD CARE, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, FEMALE LABOR, UNDP, GENDER ISSUES, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, COMPENSATION PACKAGE, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE, FEMALE WAGE EMPLOYMENT, Earnings, business.industry, TRAINING VOUCHER, GENDER PERSPECTIVE, DIVISION OF LABOR, RETIREMENT PROGRAM, SELF-RELIANCE, FEMALE WORKERS, WORK EXPERIENCE, Private sector, LABOR FORCE, TRANSPORTATION, SOCIAL INSURANCE, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, WAGE GAP, GENDER BIASES, PRESENT VALUE, WORKING-AGE POPULATION, GENDER, MARKET ECONOMY, WORKING HOURS, Business, LABOR-INTENSIVE GROWTH
Abstract

Men and women may be affected differently by the transition from central planning to a market economy and especially by the privatization and restructuring of state-owned enterprises. After briefly reviewing the international evidence on this issue, the author looks at the recent experience of Vietnam and the prospects of its new reform program. During the massive downsizing in Vietnam in the early 1990s, many more women than men were laid off. Women withdrew from the labor force in larger numbers than men after separation, but the difference nearly vanished after a year. Economic reforms were associated with a considerable decline in the gender gap in earnings, both in the state sector and outside it. Women are less likely to be retrenched in large numbers in the downsizing in the early part of this decade. Labor redundancies are concentrated in male-dominated sectors, such as mining, transport, and construction; redundancies are smaller in female-dominated sectors, such as footwear, textiles, and garments. Moreover, temporary and short-term contracts are more prevalent in female-dominated sectors, suggesting demand for women's work. Assistance programs for redundant workers have potential gender biases. The authors shows that separation packages defined as a multiple of earnings favor men more, while lump-sum packages favor women more. Packages based on seniority are roughly gender neutral, but require a substantially higher expenditure to reach the same acceptance rate as the other two.

Published
2002