The Challenges of Social Security Coverage and Early Retirement in Jordan

Jordan has undergone a profound social security reform since 2010, primarily aiming to ensure the financial sustainability of the system over time. Using data from the 2010 and 2016 Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS), this chapter examines the dynamics of Jordanian workers’ access to social security and trends in early retirement incidence before and after the reform. The chapter also explores the time it takes to acquire social security coverage on the labor market before and after the reform. Our findings show that the overall incidence of social insurance coverage slightly increased in 2016, for private sector wage workers, irregular wage workers, and non-wage workers (employers and self-employed). Public sector employees were the most likely to acquire social insurance coverage at the start of their jobs, followed by the private sector wage workers inside establishments. Both men and women who started their first job after the 2010 reform experienced a decline in their probability of acquiring social insurance coverage upon their job start. Moreover, the average incidence of early retirement slightly declined among men while still being highly prevalent around ages 40–46.

Housing and Living Conditions in Jordan, 2010–2016

This chapter uses a new and original dataset, the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) of 2010 and 2016, to study living and housing conditions in Jordan. In 2016 the JLMPS oversampled regions with a high concentration of refugees enabling us to investigate the housing conditions of refugees living out-of- and in-refugee camps. The chapter documents changes in housing characteristics for Jordanian households during 2010–16 and compares the living and housing conditions in 2016 for out-of- and in-camp refugees to that of locals. It shows that living conditions for local households improved: the share of home ownership and share of households living in private houses increased between 2010 and 2016. The chapter further shows that while the majority of refugees live out-of-refugee camps, those who live in-camps have worse living conditions manifested in smaller living areas, worse access to public facilities, and less ownership of durable assets.

Marriage and Fertility Patterns among Jordanians and Syrian Refugees in Jordan

This chapter examines changes in marriage and fertility among Jordanians and Syrian refugees in Jordan. It finds considerable continuity in marriage practices among Jordanians from 2010 to 2016. Jordanians witnessed very modest increases in median age at first marriage. Education is the main factor associated with later ages at marriage and first birth among women. The cost of marriage among Jordanians has declined since 2010 and is unlikely to have contributed to trends in marriage age. Despite the small increase in age at first marriage, fertility declined among Jordanians from a total fertility rate of 3.9 in 2010 to 3.3 in 2016. Compared to the Jordanians, Syrian refugees experienced an earlier transition to marriage and a higher total fertility rate of 4.4 in 2016. The marriage and fertility patterns of Syrian refugees point to high selection on factors associated with earlier marriage and higher fertility.

Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Since 2011, Jordan has been hosting a substantial number of refugees from Syria. This chapter profiles the Syrian refugee population in Jordan in terms of demographic characteristics, participation in the labor market, education, and health outcomes. Syrian refugees are disproportionately young, with half of the refugee population under age 15. Despite the availability of work permits, less than a fifth of refugees are working, and those who do work are primarily in informal employment and working without permits. Low enrollment rates suggest that refugees face challenges in persisting in school in Jordan through even basic education. Refugees have limited access to health insurance and although most do access health services, they are more likely than Jordanians to rely on charitable organizations and pharmacies. Although the majority receive food supports, refugees, particularly those residing in camps, experience higher levels of food insecurity than Jordanians.

Introduction

After a period of fairly rapid growth for most of the 2000s, Jordan’s economy was exposed to a series of external shocks, starting with the global financial crisis in 2008. This crisis was followed by regional instability brought about by the Arab Spring and civil conflicts in neighboring countries, including Iraq and Syria. These shocks resulted in a dramatic slowdown of economic growth, which dropped to an average of 2.5 percent per annum after 2010, as compared to 6.5 percent per annum from 2000 to 2009 (...

Migration Dynamics during the Refugee Influx in Jordan

This chapter provides overall evidence of the migration dynamics in Jordan between 2010 and 2016, a period with a large influx of Syrian refugees. It gives a detailed description of immigration with particular focus on the composition, characteristics and labor market activities of immigrants in Jordan. It examines emigration and return migration patterns of Jordanians and the changes in their migration dynamics before and after the Syrian refugee inflow. The chapter provides evidence that temporary international migration of Jordanians decreased, and that almost half of current emigrants had left Jordan with their entire family, suggesting a trend towards permanent migration. It finds that return migration decreased between the two years and also finds a change in immigrants’ geographical distribution in 2016 compared to 2010, with a decreased proportion in Amman. Despite similar distribution across occupations of immigrants and refugees in 2016, a lower share of immigrants in sectors like manufacturing is found, in which refugees were concentrated. Immigrants themselves engaged more in informal work in 2010 relative to 2016 and differed in occupations and economic activities, suggesting that immigrants may have been affected by the refugee influx.

The Composition of Labor Supply and Its Evolution from 2010 to 2016 in Jordan

This chapter investigates the changing character of labor supply in Jordan from 2010 to 2016. We examine recent demographic developments as well as the rapid increases in educational attainment among Jordanians. A particular focus of the chapter is on the demographic changes, such as the large increase in the working age population, generated by the recent refugee influx. Labor force participation, as well as its components of unemployment and employment, are examined using a variety of definitions. We examine differential patterns of participation by age, sex, education, and place of residence. Data from the Jordan Labor Market Panel Surveys of 2010 and 2016 are supplemented with annual data from the Jordanian Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS) for the intervening years.

Education of Jordanians

This chapter investigates the educational enrollment and attainment of Jordanians, as well as variations in school characteristics and student performance. While enrollment in education deteriorated slightly in 2016 compared to 2010, educational attainment has improved in 2016 relative to 2010. Household socioeconomic conditions, especially the wealth and education of parents, are related to enrollment in education and educational attainment. There were disparities in enrollment based on gender, between urban and rural areas, and across the Middle, North, and South regions. Enrollment rates were higher among women than men and the urban South region was disadvantaged. Disease, poverty, and the wishes of parents and individuals were the main barriers to entering education for the younger generations, while poverty, traditions, and lack of schools were the main barriers for older generations. The decline in lower levels of educational attainment was offset by more adults who obtained a university degree.

Own Account Workers in Jordan

In this chapter we compare own account workers to private sector wage workers in Jordan using the Jordan Labor Market Panel Surveys of 2010 and 2016. Our results demonstrate that own account workers are demographically dissimilar from wage workers in the private sector. Own account workers tend to be older male and have more work experience. While they have lower educational attainment than private sector wage workers own account workers exhibit relatively higher wealth outcomes. Capital transfers from fathers who were also own account workers are an important determinant of a worker being an employer or self-employed. In terms of job characteristics the self-employed were more likely than other private sector workers to work outside of a fixed establishment with many engaged in transportation and wholesale and retail trades. Own account workers frequently reported being overqualified for their jobs and the self-employed exhibited the lowest levels of job satisfaction of all job types.

The Structure of Employment and Job Creation in Jordan, 2010–2016

In this chapter, we analyze the structure of employment and job creation in Jordan over the period from 2010 to 2016. This period coincided with a notable downturn in the economy, which substantially reduced the rate of job creation. Nonetheless, Jordan continued to rely on a growing population of migrant workers whose numbers were further boosted by the influx of Syrian refugees, resulting in approximately one out of two new jobs going to a non-Jordanian. For Jordanians, employment rates continued to fall, and employment became more precarious for the poorest, least educated workers, despite an increase in the share of public sector employment. Unskilled Jordanian males shifted out of informal regular wage employment into irregular work as well as non-employment. With regard to labor market dynamics, the share of the public sector in the first-time employment of new entrants had started to increase after an extended decline. The increase has now reversed again, but many recent entrants still managed to obtain public sector jobs five years after entry. The transition from school to work is very protracted, with a large fraction of youth remaining in the not in education, employment or training (NEET) state for an extended period of time.