This report consists of seven chapters and is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on the minimum wage policy, its historical evolution, and the current institutional context across ASEAN countries.
... See More + Part two delves into the socio?economic impacts of the minimum wage policy on workers, households, firms, the economy, and the ASEAN region. Part III links the findings from each country to the ASEAN regional context and brings all the analysis together into a policy and operational discussion. Specifically, part one of the report includes this chapter (chapter one) and chapter two. The rest of chapter one summarizes the findings from all chapters in the report and presents an overview of lessons detailed in the final chapter. To provide some background and context for the remainder of the report, chapter two briefly describes the history of minimum wage policy around the world and the theoretical principles behind wage setting and its effects. Part two consists of four chapters. Chapter three, which describes how the minimum wage policy is structured and managed in each ASEAN country, includes details on the objectives that countries have set out for the policy and how the policy is enforced in each country. Chapter four summarizes results from primary and secondary empirical research on the impacts of minimum wage changes on employment, wages, and informal work in the four focus ASEAN countries. The discussion in this chapter takes into account the existence of complementary worker protection programs in each country. Chapter five discusses empirical results on whether changes in the minimum wage policy affect poverty and inequality. Since each country has distinct poverty programs, the discussion takes into account the presence of various social programs that potentially complement income earned from wage labor. Chapter six focuses on how wage and labor costs affect firms, especially in terms of investment decisions and productivity. Due to the limited availability of evidence on the impact of minimum wages on firm performance and private sector activity in ASEAN countries, a large part of the discussion in this chapter includes evidence from non-ASEAN countries. Lastly, this chapter reviews the status of the main labor market institutions legislated in the region and provides some evidence on how other labor institutions might interact with the minimum wage policy to shape its effect. Part three comprises chapter seven, which reflects on the material presented in previous chapters and provides policy?oriented insights. It discusses the political economy of the minimum wage policy and draws out the implications of having such diverse wage policies and institutional arrangements for wage management in an increasingly interlinked regional bloc such as ASEAN. The chapter also synthesizes the lessons learned throughout the report and frames the main labor policy issues to provide guidance for, and elicit action from, policymakers going forward.
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Vote-buying is pervasive, but not everywhere. What explains significant variations across countries in the greater use of pre-electoral transfers to mobilize voters relative to the use of pre-electoral promises of post-electoral transfers?
... See More + This paper explicitly models the trade-offs that politicians incur when they decide between mobilizing support with vote-buying or promises of post-electoral benefits. Politicians rely more on vote-buying when they are less credible, target vote-buying to those who do not believe their political promises, and only buy votes from those who would have received post-electoral transfers in a world of full political credibility. The enforcement of a prohibition on vote-buying reduces the welfare of those targeted with vote-buying, but improves the welfare of all other groups in society.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6653 OCT 01, 2013
The national severance pay scheme, its regulation in the law and in other sources, its practice and practical application, and all the amendments of the statutory basis are the consequence of considering individual and social implications of the termination of an employment contract or the termination of employment, in one of the ways regulated by the Labor Act.
... See More + The term 'severance pay' in the Republic of Croatia is most often defined as the pecuniary amount, which the employer pays to the worker, for whom it terminates the employment contract, besides the worker's salary. This amount belongs to the worker after the expiry of the period of notice, after the termination of the employment contract. Although it has be originally conceived as reward to the workers for their loyalty to the employer, in essence the severance pay should alleviate the negative consequences of the dismissal for the worker, and it is frequently considered a means of ensuring an income, or a replacement income, so that it contains elements of social security. Each change in the national severance pay scheme is necessarily connected with redefining and newly balancing worker's and employer's interests, with aspects of employment security and flexibility and it requires processing and analyzing various aspects of the national severance pay scheme. To this end, this report aims to present and analyze all the interconnected determinants of the national severance pay scheme, such as: overview of theoretical qualifications and determinants within the national severance pay scheme; overview of arrangements within the national severance pay scheme through legal and other regulatory arrangements; overview of arrangements in different comparable national severance pay schemes; special overview of the current reforms of the severance pay scheme in the context of other relevant countries; presenting the plan for the amendments to legal and other regulatory arrangements; assessing the practical implications of the planned amendments to legal and regulatory arrangements and their effects on the national severance pay scheme; and final proposals and comments. With this, the current definitions and arrangements within the severance pay scheme would be lost, and a new scheme would be set up, which is mostly based on the characteristics of a globally innovative model for a reformed severance pay scheme as exists in the Republic of Austria.
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The national severance pay scheme, its regulation in the law and in other sources, its practice and practical application, and all the amendments of the statutory basis are the consequence of considering individual and social implications of the termination of an employment contract or the termination of employment, in one of the ways regulated by the Labor Act.
... See More + The term 'severance pay' in the Republic of Croatia is most often defined as the pecuniary amount, which the employer pays to the worker, for whom it terminates the employment contract, besides the worker's salary. This amount belongs to the worker after the expiry of the period of notice, after the termination of the employment contract. Although it has be originally conceived as reward to the workers for their loyalty to the employer, in essence the severance pay should alleviate the negative consequences of the dismissal for the worker, and it is frequently considered a means of ensuring an income, or a replacement income, so that it contains elements of social security. Each change in the national severance pay scheme is necessarily connected with redefining and newly balancing worker's and employer's interests, with aspects of employment security and flexibility and it requires processing and analyzing various aspects of the national severance pay scheme. To this end, this report aims to present and analyze all the interconnected determinants of the national severance pay scheme, such as: overview of theoretical qualifications and determinants within the national severance pay scheme; overview of arrangements within the national severance pay scheme through legal and other regulatory arrangements; overview of arrangements in different comparable national severance pay schemes; special overview of the current reforms of the severance pay scheme in the context of other relevant countries; presenting the plan for the amendments to legal and other regulatory arrangements; assessing the practical implications of the planned amendments to legal and regulatory arrangements and their effects on the national severance pay scheme; and final proposals and comments. With this, the current definitions and arrangements within the severance pay scheme would be lost, and a new scheme would be set up, which is mostly based on the characteristics of a globally innovative model for a reformed severance pay scheme as exists in the Republic of Austria.
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As developing economies continue to mature and enter the next phase of reforms, labor market issues and key policy instruments such as the minimum wage increasingly come to the forefront.
... See More + Increased globalization and wider competition compel countries to make labor markets more flexible so as not to hurt competitiveness. At the same time, policymakers face pressure to rethink labor market regulations (and social safety nets) to avoid disadvantaging workers, especially the most vulnerable who are more prone to employment insecurity. Evidence of the impact of minimum wage policies in the East Asian context and in Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, more specifically remains very limited. A thorough literature search identified only a few rigorous studies of the impact of minimum wages on important welfare outcomes in ASEAN countries, and some of the evidence was narrowly focused on one sector and period or from a time when the institutional setup and management of the policy was different from today. Given the relevance of the minimum wage policy in ASEAN economies, which are experiencing rapid economic growth accompanied by rising income inequality and persistent poverty among unskilled workers, having this evidence seems critical. The objective of this report is to contribute to the ongoing (and renewed) debate on the use of minimum wage policy as a tool for addressing various socioeconomic issues. It assumes minimum wages will remain in place, and the analysis seeks to address knowledge gaps on the policy's effects on worker outcomes and firm performance in order to provide guidance to policymakers in ASEAN countries (and similar contexts) on how to best manage the policy. This report consists of seven chapters and is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on the minimum wage policy, its historical evolution, and the current institutional context across ASEAN countries. Part two delves into the socio-economic impacts of the minimum wage policy on workers, households, firms, the economy, and the ASEAN region. Part three links the findings from each country to the ASEAN regional context and brings all the analysis together into a policy and operational discussion.
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This paper first reviews the history of social insurance policy and coverage in urban China, documenting the evolution in the coverage of pensions and medical and unemployment insurance for both local residents and migrants, and highlighting obstacles to expanding coverage.
... See More + The paper then uses two waves of the China Urban Labor Survey, conducted in 2005 and 2010, to examine the correlates of social insurance participation before and after implementation of the 2008 Labor Contract Law. A higher labor tax wedge is associated with a lower probability that local employed residents participate in social insurance programs, but is not associated with participation of wage-earning migrants, who are more likely to be dissuaded by fragmentation of the social insurance system. The existing gender gap in social insurance coverage is explained by differences in coverage across industrial sectors and firm ownership classes in which men and women work.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6497 JUN 01, 2013
The main lesson from women, business and the law 2012 on legal gender inequality when it comes to getting a job is that there is room for improvement in all regions.
... See More + All regions place restrictions on when and where women can work. Introduced to protect women, such laws ultimately limit their choices and prevent them from finding employment in some fields. A good mix of maternity, paternity, and parental leave is needed so that employers do not have incentives to discriminate against hiring women. There appears to be no ideal mix of leave, different governments will opt for different options and the benefits thus vary widely by region. Europe and Central Asia has the most generous benefits, often with heavy government funding. More legislation is needed in all regions to prohibit employers from asking about the family status of prospective employees, because, given the opportunity, women will enter a wide array of careers. The importance of these issues cannot be overestimated. Against the background of an increasingly complex global economy governments everywhere are recognizing the need to boost productivity and confront weaknesses in the policies and institutions that underpin economies' competitiveness. A proper utilization of human resources, including expanding the range of employment opportunities for women, making the law the ally of inclusion and equality is an absolutely essential prerequisite.
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The 2013 World Development Report on jobs helps to explain and analyze the connection between jobs and important dimensions of economic and social development.
... See More + It provides analytical tools to identify the obstacles to sustained job creation and examine differences in the nature of jobs. Jobs are the cornerstone of economic and social development. This report takes the centrality of jobs in the development process as its starting point and challenges and reframes how we think about work. Adopting a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach, the report looks at why some jobs do more for development than others. The report finds that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more in their children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and as less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs foster diversity and provide alternatives to conflict. The report advances a three-stage approach to help governments meet these objectives. First, policy fundamentals, including macroeconomic stability, an enabling business environment, investments in human capital, and the rule of law, are essential for both growth and job creation. Second, well-designed labor policies can help ensure that growth translates into employment opportunities, but they need to be complemented by a broader approach to job creation that looks beyond the labor market. Third, governments should strategically identify which jobs would do the most for development given their specific country context, and remove or offset the obstacles that prevent the private sector from creating more of those jobs.
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World Development Report 73068 JAN 01, 2013
Rama, Martin; Beegle, Kathleen; Hentschel, JeskoEnglish,
Japanese
The 2013 World Development Report on jobs helps to explain and analyze the connection between jobs and important dimensions of economic and social development.
... See More + It provides analytical tools to identify the obstacles to sustained job creation and examine differences in the nature of jobs. Jobs are the cornerstone of economic and social development. This report takes the centrality of jobs in the development process as its starting point and challenges and reframes how we think about work. Adopting a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach, the report looks at why some jobs do more for development than others. The report finds that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more in their children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and as less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs foster diversity and provide alternatives to conflict. The report advances a three-stage approach to help governments meet these objectives. First, policy fundamentals, including macroeconomic stability, an enabling business environment, investments in human capital, and the rule of law, are essential for both growth and job creation. Second, well-designed labor policies can help ensure that growth translates into employment opportunities, but they need to be complemented by a broader approach to job creation that looks beyond the labor market. Third, governments should strategically identify which jobs would do the most for development given their specific country context, and remove or offset the obstacles that prevent the private sector from creating more of those jobs.
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World Development Report 73068 OCT 01, 2012
Rama, Martin; Beegle, Kathleen; Hentschel, JeskoJapanese,
Chinese
The 2013 World Development Report on jobs helps to explain and analyze the connection between jobs and important dimensions of economic and social development.
... See More + It provides analytical tools to identify the obstacles to sustained job creation and examine differences in the nature of jobs. Jobs are the cornerstone of economic and social development. This report takes the centrality of jobs in the development process as its starting point and challenges and reframes how we think about work. Adopting a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach, the report looks at why some jobs do more for development than others. The report finds that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more in their children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and as less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs foster diversity and provide alternatives to conflict. The report advances a three-stage approach to help governments meet these objectives. First, policy fundamentals, including macroeconomic stability, an enabling business environment, investments in human capital, and the rule of law, are essential for both growth and job creation. Second, well-designed labor policies can help ensure that growth translates into employment opportunities, but they need to be complemented by a broader approach to job creation that looks beyond the labor market. Third, governments should strategically identify which jobs would do the most for development given their specific country context, and remove or offset the obstacles that prevent the private sector from creating more of those jobs.
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World Development Report 73068 OCT 01, 2012
Rama, Martin; Beegle, Kathleen; Hentschel, JeskoEnglish,
Chinese
This paper contributes new evidence from two large household surveys on the compliance of firms with severance pay regulations in Indonesia, and the extent to which changes in severance pay regulations could affect employment rigidity.
... See More + Compliance appears to be low, as only one-third of workers entitled to severance pay report receiving it, and on average workers only collect 40 percent of the payment due to them. Eligible female and low-wage workers are least likely to report receiving payments. Widespread non-compliance is consistent with trends in employment rigidity, which remained essentially unchanged following the large increases in severance mandated by the 2003 law. These results suggest that workers may benefit from a compromise that relaxes severance pay regulations while improving enforcement of severance pay statutes, and possibly establishing a system of unemployment benefits.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS5933 JAN 01, 2012
The paper examines severance pay programs around the world by providing the first ever overview of existing programs, examining their historic development, assessing their economic rationale and describing current reform attempts.
... See More + While a significant part of the paper is devoted to a comprehensive 183 cross country review of existing severance arrangements and their characteristics, the paper goes beyond a mere description. It develops and empirically tests three hypotheses about the economic rationale of the program, namely severance pay being: (i) a primitive income protection program, (ii) an efficiency enhancing human resource instrument, and (iii) a job protection instrument. The paper also reviews the recent reforms of Austria, Chile, Italy, and Korea.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 62726 MAY 22, 2011
Holzmann, Robert; Pouget, Yann; Vodopivec, Milan; Weber, Michael
Decision number 440 of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal concerns the judgment for L.T. Mpoy-Kamulayi, applicant, versus The World Bank, respondent, of an application received on February 22, 2010 by L.T.
... See More + Mpoy-Kamulayi against the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This case is about whether the Application is admissible before the Tribunal. The Applicant?s claim relates to the timing of a benefits claim in connection with some $19,000 in home leave benefits for travel expenses incurred in 2003. The amount itself does not appear to be in dispute. The Applicant contends that his Application should be admissible because he prudently sought to give [the Bank] an opportunity to decide his claim without taking the matter to the relatively cumbersome process of the CRS. The nature of the claim is one that justifies resorting to the Ombudsman and other higher authorities, which he did. He claims that the Ombudsman intervened and sought reconsideration by HR. HR refused to reconsider on 16 June 2009, and he brought his claim to PRS within the statutory 120-day limit. The Bank submits that as the Tribunal stated in previous judgments, ignorance of the law was no excuse for submitting his claim late; the Applicant is a seasoned lawyer with 25 years of experience in Legal who is well versed in the applicable procedures and it is clear from his own assertions in his e-mail message to the Bank on 21 October 2008 that he was aware of the decision. Accordingly, the Tribunal concludes that the Application is not admissible because it was untimely and the Applicant failed to exhaust internal remedies as required by the Statute. For the foregoing reasons, the Tribunal dismisses the Application.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 86128 OCT 29, 2010
This note provides an introduction to the impact evaluation of labor market programs, with particular reference to developing countries. Its focus is on the main issues that need to be considered when planning an impact evaluation, including the importance of rigorous design for an evaluation, and on the statistical techniques used to estimate program impacts.
... See More + To help the exposition, a prototype of a training program is referred to intermittently throughout the note. This hypothetical training program, which authors call get-to-work, provides training to the unemployed to help them find work. The note describes some general issues that are important for any impact evaluation of employment programs, both in the design and analysis stages, regardless of the specific evaluation techniques used. It then describes the main evaluation techniques, including the data requirements and the main assumptions invoked by each.
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