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Government wage bills have been growing across the world, but are exceptionally high in the MENA region relative to countries’ state of development, whether measured as a share of GDP, or of government revenue and spending (World Bank, 2004). Across the region government wage bills threaten fiscal sustainability. There are many drivers behind the large wage bills, whether of central government alone or of general government. Government employment numbers also seem to grow inexorably, in many areas faster than required to deliver services in line with population growth. Other factors have been weak staff control systems, the authorization of new recruitment outside budget frameworks, and laxly applied staff performance assessment systems, in addition to absenteeism, and the difficulty under public service rules of disciplining and ultimately terminating poorly performing staff. This paper takes a look at government wage bill growth, alongside current approaches to recruitment, staff performance assessments and promotions, with particular emphasis on Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. These country examples are complemented by a broader regional analysis to illustrate overarching trends in public sector employment.The objective is to identify the various forces at work, how they interact, and thereby document and understand better the dynamic of public sector wage bill expansion in the Middle East as well as potential linkages to public sector performance. The paper also looks at reform efforts, extracts lessons and identify potential reform options to better control wage bill growth and the unbalancing effects it has had on the efficiency and effectiveness of government spending generally. Furthermore, while the paper does not present a comprehensive overview of the nature of public employment in MENA, it aims to identify potential areas for further research in this domain.

The rise in unemployment during an economic crisis poses a significant concern to policy makers. This paper measures the effect of a program in Mexico that granted firms in certain industries wage subsidies if they decided to keep their workers instead of letting them go during the recent economic crisis. The analysis uses monthly administrative data on employment at the industry level, along with propensity score matching to construct groups of eligible and ineligible durable goods manufacturing industries that display statistically identical pre-program trends in employment. Difference-in-difference results show a positive but not statistically significant effect of the wage subsidies on employment during the program’s eight-month duration, ranging from 5.7 to 13.2 percent in magnitude, depending on the specification. The size of the effect increases to 24 percent after the program ended and the results indicate that employment after the program recovered faster in eligible industries than in ineligible industries.

As countries become increasingly integrated into the global economy, increased trade links with other countries translate into increased access to better or cheaper imports and increased demand for exports. Both can have an impact on consumers, producers and workers through household consumption, household production, and labor incentives. The channels through which increased trade integration can affect labor include: (i) the consumption channel, typically leading to an increase in purchasing power and therefore higher real wages, and (ii) the employment effect due to increased labor demand. The extent of these gains to trade will depend on the incidence of trade policies or trade shocks; in other words, the impact will depend on which products become less expensive, which sectors increase demand for skilled or unskilled labor, and which workers can access these new jobs. This report utilizes a range of methodologies and datasets that implicitly link trade and jobs; by using these complementary analytical approaches, we generate multiple perspectives on Lao PDR’s recent labor market outcomes, and their implications for Lao PDR’s current and future trade competitiveness.

The study includes an analysis of inequality patterns in terms of labor force participation as well as a review of policy responses, and areas for possible further policy action. In particular, the report looks at the two main dimensions of inequality that characterize Macedonia’s labor market: gender and ethnicity. Almost half the female working age population is inactive, whereas male inactivity is considerably lower. Labor market outcomes also vary significantly with ethnicity. In particular, a strong interaction exists between gender and ethnicity, with ethnic minority women forming a particularly vulnerable group. Hence, it is worthwhile to investigate in more detail how gender and ethnicity shape the Macedonian labor market, and how public policy could be used to increase labor market participation and job opportunities for women and ethnic minorities. This report is organized as follows. First, the report describes the main characteristics of the Macedonian labor market, emphasizing the most important patterns of inequality in terms of labor market participation (section two). Section three addresses the possible causes of these inequality patterns. Section four discusses potential policy responses and concludes.

Fast growth in Rwanda since the turn of the century has been accompanied by solid poverty reduction. Between 2000 and 2013, gross domestic product (GDP) grew at eight percent per year, resulting in a 170 percent increase in real GDP. As the poor almost uniquely depend on labor to generate income, the strong reduction in poverty suggests tangible improvements in employment outcomes over this period. This jobs and employment study focuses on the recent dynamics in Rwanda’s jobs’ landscape. Using data from a variety of sources, mainly the three integrated households living conditions surveys (EICV1, EICV2, and EICV3) and the 2011 establishment census, the report looks at what workers in Rwanda are doing and what they are making, and how this has changed over the past ten to fifteen years. Most of the report focuses on the five years between 2006 and 2011, although at times, the authors will also look at the evolution since 2001. The report concludes with a number of ideas to address Rwanda’s jobs challenge in the near future.

Part of the rationale for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was that it will increase trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, creating jobs and reducing migration to the United States (U.S.). Since poor data on illegal migration to the United States make direct measurement difficult, data on migration within Mexico, where census data permit careful analysis, are used instead to evaluate the mechanism behind predictions on migration to the United States. Specifications are provided for migration within Mexico, incorporating measures of cost of living, amenities, and networks. Contrary to much of the literature, labor market variables enter very significantly and as predicted once possible credit constraint effects are controlled for. Greater exposure to FDI and trade deters outmigration, with the effects working partly through the labor market. Finally, some tentative inferences are presented about the impact of increased FDI on Mexico- U.S. migration. On average, a doubling of FDI inflows leads to a 1.5 to 2 percent drop in migration.

This joint study, by the World Bank and the Turkish Ministry of Development, explores the status and effects of good jobs in Turkey s current economy. After a brief account of economic events, it examines the relationship between growth and employment in Turkey, with a particular regard to the participation of different social groups in the labor market, such as women and youth. It then analyzes where jobs are being created and which activities are the most productive for the Turkish economy, and assesses if jobs have moved to more productive activities in recent years. Finally, the report proceeds to measure the impact of different types of jobs on the welfare of an entire household and on the household s relative position in the overall income distribution.

Kot je razvidno iz vsebine mojega diplomskega dela so OVE v Sloveniji v veliki ali majhni meri prisotni že od nekdaj. Pa kljub vsemu, lahko rečem, da se njihova vloga najbolje uveljavlja šele v zadnjih desetih letih. Tako slovenska podjetja kot gospodinjstva si vse bolj prizadevajo znižati stroške porabe energije, ki pa so iz dneva v dan vse višji. Poleg raznih subvencij in ugodnostih, ki jih nudi slovenska država pri uvajanju OVE ter direktive o OVE za katero se je Slovenska vlada zavezala, da bo vključila v svojo zakonodajo pa je na žalost prav trenutna finančna kriza, ki je zajela Evropo in Svet pokazala kako dobro se ti v trenutni situaciji tržijo, ter kako trenutne politične razmere v Evropi in Svetu vplivajo nanje. Iz primerov navedenih v diplomskem delu je dobro razvodno, kako so določena podjetja ter posamezniki z investicijami v tehnologije, ki temeljijo na obnovljivih virih zmanjšala stroške ter v mnogih primerih ustvarila nova delovna mesta. Kljub vsemu rečenemu se moramo zavedat, da se bodo v naši državi, zaradi geografskih ter trenutnih političnih in gospodarskih razlogov nekatere investicije v OVE obnesle bolj druge pa manj. Gospodarska in politična situacija kateri smo bili priča v preteklem in tekočem letu je pokazala, da se gospodarstveniki vse bolj zatekajo k investicijam, ki zajemajo razvoj, ter uvajanje novih tehnologij prav v to področje pa spada predvsem energetika ter z njo povezani OVE. Prav te investicije, ki zajemajo vse od vgraditve ogrevalnega sistema na biomaso v zasebnem domu pa do postavitve večjih gospodarskih objektov, ki poleg proizvajanja energije še ustvarjajo delovna mesta pa so se v preteklosti izkazale kot zelo konkurenčne in ugodne. As can be seen from the contents of my diploma paper the renewable energy sources (RES) in Slovenia have to a large or small extent always been present. And despite everything, I can say that their role has been best exercised only in the last ten years. Thus Slovenian companies as well as households are increasingly making efforts to reduce energy costs, which are becoming higher by the day. In addition, various subsidies and benefits offered by the Slovenian state in the introduction of RES and the RES Directive for which the Slovenian government has committed that it will include in its legislation, it is unfortunate how has the current financial crisis, which hit Europe and the world in general, showed how well those in the current market situation are worth and how the current political situation in Europe and the world is affecting them. The examples mentioned in my diploma paper show clearly how specific companies and individuals that have invested in technologies based on renewable resources have been able to reduce costs and in many cases create new jobs. The economic and political situation which we have witnessed in the previous and current years showed that economists increasingly resort to investments that include the development and introduction of new technologies. And right into this field fall primarily the energy and associated renewable energy. These investments, covering everything from installation of biomass heating system in a private home and the layout of larger facilities in addition to energy production and creating jobs, have in the past proved to be very competitive and affordable.

The regional and local development in many Brazilian cities and especially in the Northeast from the 1990s, was based on tax incentives that did not take into account the aspects of identity and culture with the potential of these places, with the argument of persuasion generation employment and income for localities more humble. Given this scenario was implemented in the 2000s in the municipality of Frei Paulo (SE) the footwear industry "Vulcabrás Azaleia", which generates significant direct jobs and contributes substantially to socioeconomic changes of the city, but out of sync with the prevailing theme of local development and also to sustainable development. Thus this paper aims to examine sustainability from the perspective of local development in the municipality of Frei Paulo (SE) checking the proportionate influences from the footwear industry. This is an investigation of descriptive and explanatory character of quantitative and qualitative nature, data were collected by means of semi-structured questionnaire with open and closed questions, applied to the actors involved in the municipal context. The study concluded that there was job creation and which substantially increased the purchasing power of the population and therefore GDP growth of the city with a better distribution of income to the population through the HDI. Finally it is shown that the actors involved in the county in its entirety unaware of environmental responsibility actions performed by the footwear industry in favor of the locality, but also understand little or nothing of the issues involving sustainable development and local development O desenvolvimento regional e local em diversos municípios brasileiros e principalmente na região Nordeste a partir da década de 1990, teve como base incentivos fiscais que não levaram em consideração os aspectos de identidade com as potencialidades e cultura destas localidades, tendo como argumento de persuasão a geração de emprego e renda para localidades mais humildes. Diante deste cenário foi implantada na primeira década de 2000 no município de Frei Paulo (SE) a indústria calçadista Vulcabrás Azaleia , a qual gera significativos empregos diretos e que contribui substancialmente para mudanças socioeconômicas da cidade, mas sem sincronia com a temática vigente de desenvolvimento local e também com o desenvolvimento sustentável. Sendo assim este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar sob a perspectiva da sustentabilidade o desenvolvimento local do município de Frei Paulo (SE) verificando as influências proporcionadas a partir da indústria calçadista. Trata-se de uma investigação do tipo descritivo de caráter explicativo e de natureza quanti-qualitativa, os dados foram coletados mediante aplicação de questionário semi-estruturado com questões abertas e fechadas, aplicados aos atores envolvidos no contexto municipal. O estudo concluiu que houve geração de empregos e que aumentou substancialmente o poder aquisitivo da população e consequentemente aumento do PIB do município com uma melhor distribuição de renda para população, através do IDH. Por fim é demonstrado que os atores envolvidos no município desconhecem em sua totalidade ações de responsabilidade socioambiental realizada pela indústria calçadista em favor da localidade, como também pouco ou nada entendem dos aspectos que envolvem o desenvolvimento sustentável e o desenvolvimento local

The scope of this report is twofold. First, it documents skills gaps and mismatches and attempts to understand the reasons for them. Second, it provides a framework for thinking about skills development, drawing on international best practices, with the intent of stimulating further discussion. Given the breadth of the task, in this report we narrow the focus on a particular segment of the labor force: unskilled youth. There are several reasons sustaining this choice. First, unskilled youth, most of whom are out of school and have little chance to integrate themselves into the labor market, represent a significant share of the labor force that will remain active for the next 30 or 40 years. If nothing is done, out-of school youth will benefit at best only marginally from growth, and may even become an obstacle to sustaining growth in the long term. Second, the current educational system still faces a strong challenge in retaining students, and unskilled youth are likely to remain high on the agenda in the next decade or even longer. Finally, in the past decade, training programs designed specifically for out-of-school youth have begun to emerge around the developing world, in particular in Latin America, and recent evaluations suggest that they can be effective in increasing productivity and the chance of finding employment. Nevertheless, many of the findings of this report extend to overall skills development in Cambodia. In particular, the report points to significant market failures preventing both firms and training providers from offering quality training at all levels, as well as the need to develop certification and accreditation systems that are valued and recognized by employers and span all levels of education. The report proceeds in four chapters. The first covers demographic trends and the labor market. The second looks at skills gaps and mismatches. The third reviews existing training providers. The concluding chapter considers policy options in going forward.