This paper proposes a new effect of firing costs on firms' behavior that builds from firms' demand for liquidity. When a time gap exists between production and its associated revenues, firing can become a liquidity adjustment tool that allows firms to increase their short-term liquidity. I refer...

The purpose of this paper is to describe the performance of the Venezuelan labor market in the period between 1982 and 1995, and to analyze its impact on the evolution of poverty. This period analyzed is a convulsed one, one within Venezuela that suffered from the consequences of both changes in...

This paper discusses poverty and unemployment in Argentina, beginning with the turbulent years since 1980. Argentina suffered a 25 percent reduction in per capita income, two bouts of hyperinflation and a sharp rise in poverty during the 1980s. In 1990, the Menem government began a profound...

This paper analyzes gender differences in the Chilean labor market, formally addressing the selection of individuals into schooling levels and its impact on gender gaps. The paper utilizes a new and rich data set containing information on labor market outcomes, schooling attainment and schooling...

In this study, the authors use a newly developed panel data set for Venezuela in the period between 1994 and 2002 to analyze three basic questions. The first relates to the influence of personal characteristics and previous labor market experience in the choice of different search methods. The...

From 1978 to 2000 the fraction of adult men in full-year non-employment increased from 17.1 to 21.6 percent. Previous research focused on the role of disability insurance policy and wage structure changes to explain this increase. Using Current Population Surveys from 1979 to 2003 we assess how...

Denmark’s flexicurity model has performed well during the crisis. The actions and the improvement in economic conditions have restored overall stability to the banking system. Private consumption has been dented by the decline in housing prices and net household wealth. Exports have...

Migrant and labor issues are a primary concern in the Arab Gulf countries. With focus on the economic and political conditions that influence actors' decisions when framing labor policies, this study analyzes how preferences of such policies are formed and explains why the governments of the...

Sri Lanka as a developing economy that achieved gender equity in education and a higher literacy rate (both adult and youth) in the South Asian region still records a low labor force participation and high unemployment rate of females when compared to their male counterparts. With the suggestion...

The topics covered in the chapters of the report were presented and discussed in a conference organized by the IDB in Port of Spain on July 13th, 2004. After more than a decade of economic growth and despite encouraging prospects for the future, the Trinidad and Tobagp economy remains overly...