The financial and economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 has taken its toll on the South African economy. The economy contracted for the first time since 1998, and entered recession during the fourth quarter of 2008. The GDP contraction was soon transmitted to the labor market. Between the second...

This paper explores how cross-sectional data can be exploited jointly with longitudinal data,in order to increase estimation efficiency while properly tackling the potential bias due tounobserved individual characteristics. We propose an innovative procedure and we show itsimplementation by...

This paper assesses labor market segmentation across formal and informal salaried jobs andself-employment in three Latin American and three transition countries. It looks separately atthe markets for skilled and unskilled labor, inquiring if segmentation is an exclusive feature ofthe latter....

In recent years, the private sector has been recognized as a key engine of Africa's economic development. Yet, the most simple and fundamental question remains unanswered: how large is the African private sector? We present novel estimates of the size of the private sector in 50 African...

This paper explores how cross-sectional data can be exploited jointly with longitudinal data, in order to increase estimation efficiency while properly tackling the potential bias due to unobserved individual characteristics. We propose an innovative procedure and we show its implementation by...

We propose a novel procedure, built within a Generalized Method of Moments framework, which exploits unpaired observations (singletons) to increase the efficiency of longitudinal fixed effect estimates. The approach allows increasing estimation efficiency, while properly tackling the bias due to...

This paper assesses labor market segmentation across formal and informal salaried jobs and self-employment in three Latin American and three transition countries. It looks separately at the markets for skilled and unskilled labor, inquiring if segmentation is an exclusive feature of the latter....

This paper analyzes the dynamics of the youth labor market in Tunisia using unique labor force survey data from 2005 to 2007 that include a longitudinal component. It first shows that sustained economic growth will reduce youth unemployment over the next few years. Second, forecasts indicate...

We use data from time-use surveys and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) to analyze the relationship between family long-term care (LTC) and female labor supply in four Latin American countries. Time-use survey data from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico shows that: (i) women provide...