Labour Regulations, Growth and Employment: A South Asian Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-191
Author(s):  
Iyanatul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Significant Incidence ◽  
Working Poverty

Drawing on the experience of four South Asian economies (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), this article argues that properly designed labour market institutions and regulations play a pivotal role in engendering desirable economic and social dividends. The alternative is a Hobbesian world of an unregulated labour market, which is likely to produce poor wages and working conditions. Policymakers in the region should acknowledge common challenges pertaining to low utilisation of the skills and talents of young people, entrenched gender disparities, high, and in many cases rising, informality, significant incidence of working poverty and vulnerability. They should focus on designing complementary interventions to tackle such shared challenges rather than being fixated on the narrowly conceived notion of deregulating labour markets.

Health risks of a sales assistant at work

2018 ◽  
Vol 557 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Łastowiecka-Moras
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Total Employment ◽  
Materials Handling ◽  
Manual Materials Handling ◽  
Trade Sector ◽  
Sales Assistants

In Poland, 3.6 million people work in the trade sector, that is 26% of the total employment. Nearly two thirds of them are women. This sector also offers many jobs for young people who are entering the labour market, and for people with lower qualifications. A sales assistant is a service occupation, in which work load depends on the range of goods sold, duties, working conditions, and the size of the store. In large stores, tasks are divided between employees. In smaller ones, one worker must be able to perform all or most activities. Typical for sales assistants types of workload, such as manual materials handling, forced posture, repetitive motions and accompanying stress, cause many health problems, especially those of musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Gender inequalities in the initial labour market experience of young Europeans

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Berloffa ◽  
Eleonora Matteazzi ◽  
Alina Şandor ◽  
Paola Villa
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Labour Market Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Youth Labour Market ◽  
Market Experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences in employment status trajectories of young Europeans during their initial labour market experience, and the way in which they are affected by some labour market institutions. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis is based on EU-SILC longitudinal data (waves 2006–2012), and focusses on young people aged 16–34. Monthly information on self-declared employment statuses for 36 months is used to define “employment status trajectories”. Young people are observed in two different phases: the first three years after leaving education (first phase) and a three-year window, starting around four years after the end of education (2nd phase). Multinomial logit models are used to estimate the probability of following different trajectory types as a function of individual characteristics, macroeconomic conditions and institutional indicators. Findings Results show that, in the first phase, women and men face on average the same difficulties in entering the labour market. When controlling for the presence of children, non-mothers have higher chances than men to enter rapidly and successfully into the labour market, whereas young mothers have the same chances. In contrast, in the second phase women experience more fragmented pathways than men, even if they do not have children. A less stringent regulation on dismissals of employees with regular contracts could enhance women’s employment opportunities in the school-to-work transition, but it would have detrimental effects for both men and women in the subsequent years. On the contrary, a more stringent regulation on the use of temporary contracts would have beneficial effects for women, with no adverse effects for men. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it takes a broader perspective on youth labour market integration by considering two phases of individuals’ initial working life. Second, it combines an explicit attention to the first “significant” employment experience with a focus on individual trajectories, by adopting a new method to group trajectories. Third, it shows how the effects of labour market institutions vary by gender, highlighting the importance of considering gender-specific consequences when discussing or adopting labour market reforms.

scholarly journals Supporting NEETs — challenges facing labor market institutions in Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-173
Author(s):  
Sylwia Saczyńska-Sokół
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Public Employment ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Employment Services ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Labour Market Institutions ◽  
Wide Range

Research background: Various and complicated reasons for belonging to the NEET category (not in education, employment or training), resulting largely from young people’s personal and family circumstances, cause that the activation programmes undertaken by public employment services, both in the professional and educational sphere, prove inadequate. Despite the fact that labour market instruments dedicated to young people represent a wide range of possibilities for supporting them in combating professional and educational inactivity, the background of their problems requires new actions that should be undertaken by labour market institutions and their partners. Purpose of the article: Taking the above into consideration, the aim of this study is to identify the challenges faced by the public employment services and other labour market institutions in the area of activating youth experiencing the most difficult situation in the labour market. Methods: The article is based partly on the results of quantitative and qualitative research, conducted in the framework of the project implemented by the Provincial Labour Office in Bialystok Podlasie open to young people, financed by Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development (PO WER). Findings & Value added: The results of the study have led to the identification of necessary actions which should be undertaken by labour market institutions to support young people representing the NEET generation. These actions can be classified into different categories. They include preventing inclusion into the NEET group, developing the most effective solutions in the area of getting in touch with this group of young people and supporting them as well as creating a culture of cooperation for their benefit. The study has also revealed the need to carry out in-depth research of the NEET population.

THE TROUBLED JOURNEYS OF SCHOOL DROP-OUTS: WASTAGE, REDEMPTION AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Andile Dube ◽  
Mokubung Nkomo
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Second Chance Education ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Drop Outs ◽  
Second Chance

The study traces the pathways of young people who dropped out of school between grades 1 to 11 as they seek re-entrance to the education, training and development (ETD) system, or entrance into the labour market. Particular attention is given to the factors that determine the choices that drop-outs make in either re-entering the ETD system or entering the labour market. An analysis of the experiences of the interviewed sample of drop-outs is presented. The study employs a qualitative research methodology, using interviews to elicit the experiences of drop-outs and school managers. Through snowballing, 14 youths and three principals were selected from a township south of Durban. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted. The findings provide insights into the drop-outs’ perceptions regarding the value of investing in education. They are discussed further in relation to the respective theories used in the study. The concluding section suggests the need for investments in second chance education by government and the private sector, and proposes an integrated model to assist young people who re-enter psychologically and emotionally.

The Fight against Idleness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony F. Heath ◽  
Elisabeth Garratt ◽  
Ridhi Kashyap ◽  
Yaojun Li ◽  
Lindsay Richards
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Educational Expansion ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Wide Range

Unemployment has a wide range of adverse consequences over and above the effects of the low income which people out of work receive. In the first decades after the war Britain tended to have a lower unemployment rate than most peer countries but this changed in the 1980s and 1990s, when Britain’s unemployment rate surged during the two recessions—possibly as a result of policies designed to tackle inflation. The young, those with less education, and ethnic minorities have higher risks of unemployment and these risks are cumulative. The evidence suggests that the problems facing young men with only low qualifications became relatively worse in the 1990s and 2000s. This perhaps reflects the dark side of educational expansion, young people with low qualifications being left behind and exposed in the labour market.

scholarly journals Does Foreign Direct Investment Influence Renewable Energy Consumption? Empirical Evidence from South Asian Countries

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3470
Author(s):  
Xueqing Kang ◽  
Farman Ullah Khan ◽  
Raza Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Arif ◽  
Shams Ur Rehman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
The Relationship

In selected South Asian countries, the study intends to investigate the relationship between urban population (UP), carbon dioxide (CO2), trade openness (TO), gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy (RE). Fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models for estimation were used in the study, which covered yearly data from 1990 to 2019. We used Levin–Lin–Chu, Im–Pesaran–Shin, and Fisher PP tests for the stationarity of the variables. The outcomes of the panel cointegration approach looked at whether there was a long-run equilibrium nexus between selected variables in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The FMOLS approach was also used to assess the relationship, and the results suggest that there is a significant and negative nexus between FDI and renewable energy in south Asian nations. The study’s findings reveal a strong and favorable relationship between GDP and renewable energy use. In South Asian nations (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh), the FMOLS and DOLS findings are nearly identical, but the authors used the DOLS model for robustification. According to the findings, policymakers in South Asian economies (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) should view GDP and FDI as fundamental policy instruments for environmental sustainability. To reduce reliance on hazardous energy sources, the government should also reassure financial sectors to participate in renewable energy.

scholarly journals The Australian labour market in 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110022
Author(s):  
Elisa Birch ◽  
Alison Preston
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Older People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Food Services ◽  
Hours Worked ◽  
The Future

This article provides a review of the Australian labour market in 2020. It outlines the monetary and fiscal responses to COVID-19 (including JobKeeper, JobSeeker and JobMaker policies), describes trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment and summarises the Fair Work Commission’s 2020 minimum wage decision. Data show that in the year to September 2020, total monthly hours worked fell by 5.9% for males and 3.8% for females. Job loss was proportionately larger amongst young people (aged 20–29) and older people. It was also disproportionately higher in female-dominated sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services. Unlike the earlier recession (1991), when more than 90% of jobs lost were previously held by males, a significant share (around 40%) of the job loss in the 2020 recession (year to August 2020) were jobs previously held by females. Notwithstanding a pick-up in employment towards year’s end, the future remains uncertain.

scholarly journals Associations between labour market policies and work stressors

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Lunau ◽  
M Rigó
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Job Strain ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Psychosocial Work ◽  
Work Stressors ◽  
Labour Market Policies ◽  
Psychosocial Working Conditions ◽  
European Working

Abstract Background Many studies have shown that psychosocial work stressors have a negative impact on health. It is therefore important to understand how psychosocial work stressors can be reduced. First cross-sectional studies have shown that working conditions are influenced at the political level. With this study, we want to extend the existing studies by specifically looking at the longitudinal dimension and test if changing labour market policies are related to changes in psychosocial work stressors. Methods We used comparative longitudinal survey data from the European Working Conditions Survey (27 countries; years 2005, 2010, 2015). The measure of psychosocial work stressors is based on two established work stress models: job strain and effort-reward imbalance. To measure labour market policies we used information on active (ALMP) and passive labour market policies (PLMP). 64659 participants were eligible for the ERI analysis and 67114 participants for the analyses on job strain. Estimation results are provided by three-level multilevel regressions. Results An increase in ALMP investments lead to a decrease of ERI and therefore to an improvement in psychosocial working conditions. The analyses for the subcomponents showed that these results are mainly driven by reward: an increase in ALMP investments lead to an increase in rewards. We didn't find significant associations between ALMP and job strain and between a change in PLMP measures and the observed work stressors. Discussion The study extends current knowledge with longitudinal information by showing that an increase in ALMP lead to an increase in rewards and a decrease of ERI. These longitudinal analyses are more closely related to a causal interpretation than previous cross-country analyses. The findings of this study may have important policy implications. Our main result suggests that investments into ALMP can improve certain working conditions and therefore improve workers' health. Key messages Psychosocial work stressors have a negative impact on health. Investments into active labour market policies can improve psychosocial working conditions.

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