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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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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Addressing youth issues is essential to promoting stability and preventing violence in fragile and conflict-affected states. However, there is little evidence that youth programming and policies have helped reduce violence in these settings.
... See More + This can reflect the lack of understanding about youth issues and how problems affecting them encourage their participation in violence. This study set out to understand youth violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two countries in which there has historically been a great deal of youth participation in group violence, where the risk of youth mobilization into violence persists, and where interpersonal and gender-based violence are still a concern. In addition to having young populations, both countries have governments that have emphasized improving youths' lives by both reducing poverty and preventing violence. In turn, programming and policies in these (and many other conflict-affected) countries tend to be focused on employment generation due to the assumption that youth become prone to violent behavior as the result of economic exclusion (their inability to achieve a stable source of livelihood). The findings from this study will be useful to help governments (particularly of fragile and conflict-affected states) and donors better understand youth issues, design more effective interventions to address youth violence, and promote longer-term stability. The report begins with a review of literature on existing theories of youth exclusion and drivers of youth violence, with a greater focus on history of violence in West Africa. It proceeds with an outline of the study methodology for data collection, sample selection, and analysis. The analysis follows, highlighting key findings. The report concludes with recommendations for policies and youth programming.
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This Papua New Guinea (PNG) Urban Youth Employment Project (UYEP) newsletter includes the following headings: eligibility screening for intake two set for October 29; youths assured eligibility survey fair, transparent; ethnicity no barrier to work; and World Bank commends National Capital District Commission (NCDC), Project Management Unit (PMU) for start of youth project.
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Overcoming the twin challenges of child labor and youth employment will be critical to Indonesia's progress towards the millennium development goals.
... See More + Estimates presented in this report indicate that some 2.3 million Indonesian children aged 7-14 years still work in employment. The current report examines the related issues of child labor and youth employment in the context of Indonesia. The report was developed jointly by the Government and the three Understanding Children's Work (UCW) partner agencies. As such, it provides an important common basis for action in addressing child labor and youth employment issues. Four related objectives are served by the report: 1) improve the information base on child labor and youth employment, in order to inform policy and programmatic responses; 2) promote policy dialogue on child labor and the lack of opportunities for decent and productive work for youth; 3) analyze the relationship between early school leaving, child labor and future status in the labor market; and 4) build national capacity for regular collection and analysis of data relating to child labor and youth employment. The remainder of the report is structured as follows. Chapter two briefly describes the national context, including socio-economic trends and key human development challenges facing the country. A chapter three and four presents descriptive data relating to the extent and nature of children's work, and to how children divide their time between work and school. Chapter five assesses the impact of children's work on their health and educational status. Chapter six employs econometric tools to assess key determinants of children's work and schooling and their implications for policy. Chapter seven assesses the extent of child labor in accordance with national legislation.
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This Understanding Children's Work (UCW) newsletter includes some of the following headlines: about us; featured research; project news; and references.
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The Subcommittee (SC) of the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) considered an Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) approach paper entitled IEG Evaluation on youth employment.
... See More + IEG commented that the evaluation recognizes the significant cost that youth unemployment has for individuals and societies. The evaluation will take stock of international evidence on effectiveness of youth employment initiatives and will identify lessons from World Bank Group (WBG) support. It will use the Bank's MILES framework, focusing on three aspects: skills development and individual attributes, labor market issues pertinent to youth, and firms' demand for young workers in self employment, while also recognizing the importance of macro-economic growth and social protection systems. The evaluation will draw from a number of sources including a review of the Bank' lending portfolio, economic and sector work and country case studies. The analysis will examine where WBG support has reached youth, including young women and poor and disabled young people. Overall findings will help identify factors that affect the success of interventions and inform future lending, technical advice as well as policy dialogue, including the operationalization of the 2013 World Development Report (WDR) on jobs. Members noted that the evaluation will be highly relevant, particularly for regions such as Africa and for fragile and conflict-affected states. A member noted that the WBG does not have a specific strategy for youth employment. Members remarked as to the application of the MILES framework to youth employment as well as to low-income countries. Members recognized the timeliness of the evaluation and broadly supported the approach paper. Both IEG and management looked forward to continued cooperation. IEG noted that both the approach paper and the report to the Board will guide the evaluation process.
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Child labour constitutes an important obstacle to achieving universal primary education and other millennium development goals in Bangladesh. It not only harms the welfare of individual children, but also slows broader national poverty reduction and development efforts.
... See More + Children forced out of school and into labour to help their families make ends meet are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for gainful future employment, thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The current report provides an overview of the child labour phenomenon in Bangladesh its extent and nature, its determinants, and its consequences on education. The report also addresses the national response to child labour, and policy options for its elimination. The analysis considers the various causes of child labour and follows a cross-sectoral approach, especially in the identification of determinants and strategic options. Particular attention is given to the links between child labour and schooling and to the importance of child labour as a constraint to education for all. Three related objectives are served by the report: (1) to improve the information base on child labour, in order to inform policy and program design; (2) to promote policy dialogue on child labour and accelerated progress towards national child labour reduction targets; and (3) to promote regular child labour data collection and analysis. The remainder of the report is organized as follows. Section two outlines the process by which the report was developed. Section three briefly reviews the national context and the socio-economic conditions underlying the child labour phenomenon in the country. Section four present's descriptive data on the nature and extent of children's work and Section five assesses the sub-group of working children in child labour in accordance with international child labour measurement standards. Section six looks at the educational and health impact of child labour and section seven at factors influencing household decisions to involve their children in work rather than schooling. Section eight discusses the national response to child labour. Section nine looks at policy options for the progressive elimination of child labour.
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Overcoming the related challenges of child labor and the lack of decent work opportunities for youth will be critical to Rwanda's progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
... See More + The effects of child labor and poor youth employment outcomes are well-documented: both can lead to social vulnerability and societal marginalization, and both can permanently impair productive potential and therefore influence lifetime patterns of employment and pay. The report is divided into ten chapters. Following this introduction, chapter two briefly describes the national context, including socio-economic trends and key human development challenges facing the country. Chapter three and four presents descriptive data relating to the extent and nature of children's work, and to how children divide their time between work and school. Chapter five assesses the impact of children's work on their health and educational status, and chapter six assesses the extent of child labor. Chapter seven employs econometric tools to assess key determinants of child labor and their implications for policy. Chapter 8 addresses youth labor market outcomes. Chapter nine reviews national responses to child labor and youth employment issue. The final chapter discusses policy options for progressively eliminating child labor and improving youth employment outcomes.
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Brazil has witnessed dramatic progress towards eliminating child labor and achieving universal basic school enrolment in the last two decades. Indeed, in the period from 1992 to 2009, economic activity among 7-15 year-olds fell by more than half, from 18 percent to less than seven percent, while school attendance rose from 85 percent to 97 percent.
... See More + What were the factors underlying this success? Was it driven primarily by policy? And, if so, which policies were most influential? Or, alternatively, was the progress more a product of demographic trends or of broader changes in the Brazilian macro-economy and labor market? The current report takes up these questions using data from the multi-year Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilios (PNAD) survey program. It looks in detail at trends in child labor and schooling over the 1992-2008 period, and analyses the reasons behind these trends, in an attempt to draw concrete policy lessons from the Brazilian experience applicable in countries lagging behind in terms of child labor elimination efforts.
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This Understanding Children's Work (UCW) newsletter includes some of the following headlines: building on success in reducing child labor: drawing lessons from the Brazilian experience; project news; and references.
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This edition of the newsletter looks in detail at a recent Understanding Children's Work (UCW) research report on trends in child labor in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
... See More + The report represents part of a broader effort to improve understanding of how child labor is changing over time in the region, and to ensure that policies relating to child labor adequately reflect these changes. The report draws on an accompanying set of UCW country briefs on child labor developed for 15 countries in the LAC region.
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The current report presents and overview of the child labour phenomenon in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region over recent years. It represents part of a broader effort to improve understanding of how child labour is changing over time in the region, and to ensure that policies relating to child labour adequately reflect these changes.
... See More + The report draws on an accompanying set of country briefs on child labour developed for 15 countries in the LAC region. International Labour Organization (ILO) global estimates have highlighted the LAC region as a particular success story in fighting child labour. In the period from 2000 to 2008, the ILO estimates that children in employment in the region fell from 16 to 9 percent and by almost seven million children in absolute terms. However, the current report, based on more recent data, suggests that the sub-regional-level picture behind these regional estimates is more mixed.
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The current report presents and overview of the child labour phenomenon in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region over recent years. It represents part of a broader effort to improve understanding of how child labour is changing over time in the region, and to ensure that policies relating to child labour adequately reflect these changes.
... See More + The report draws on an accompanying set of country briefs on child labour developed for 15 countries in the LAC region. International Labour Organization (ILO) global estimates have highlighted the LAC region as a particular success story in fighting child labour. In the period from 2000 to 2008, the ILO estimates that children in employment in the region fell from 16 to 9 percent and by almost seven million children in absolute terms. However, the current report, based on more recent data, suggests that the sub-regional-level picture behind these regional estimates is more mixed.
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Domestic work remains one of the most common and traditional forms of work for children, particularly for girls. Child domestic work is carried out in private homes, and thus it is hidden from view and eludes public supervision and control.
... See More + This makes child domestic workers (CDWs) particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including excessively long hours, and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The number of child domestic workers worldwide is not known, and the array of factors underlying the phenomenon remains insufficiently understood. Relatively little empirical research has been done on the determinants pushing or pulling children into domestic work. These information gaps hamper advocacy effortsaimed at drawing attention to the issue of child domestic workers and impede the development of informed policy responses to it. The current working paper looks at how standard household surveys for child labor measurement could be used to help fill the information gaps on the CDW phenomenon.
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This Understanding Children's Work (UCW) newsletter includes some of the following headlines: assessing the cost of child labour elimination in Zambia; internal migration, youth employment and child labour in West Africa; and understanding children's work in Bangladesh.
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The report highlights the close linkages between child labor and broader development objectives, and the consequent need to address child labor as an important component of national development strategies.
... See More + It also illustrates the wide array of factors contributing to child labor, and the resulting importance of a broad, integrated policy response to it. Finally, the report underscores the importance of concerted action by international development agencies in support of Government efforts in the fight against child labor. International development agencies have a support role to play both in the development of integrated national strategies against child labor, and in the implementation of such strategies, in accordance with the relative strengths of each agency.
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The report highlights the close linkages between child labor and broader development objectives, and the consequent need to address child labor as an important component of national development strategies.
... See More + It also illustrates the wide array of factors contributing to child labor, and the resulting importance of a broad, integrated policy response to it. Finally, the report underscores the importance of concerted action by international development agencies in support of Government efforts in the fight against child labor. International development agencies have a support role to play both in the development of integrated national strategies against child labor, and in the implementation of such strategies, in accordance with the relative strengths of each agency.
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The report highlights the close linkages between child labor and broader development objectives, and the consequent need to address child labor as an important component of national development strategies.
... See More + It also illustrates the wide array of factors contributing to child labor, and the resulting importance of a broad, integrated policy response to it. Finally, the report underscores the importance of concerted action by international development agencies in support of Government efforts in the fight against child labor. International development agencies have a support role to play both in the development of integrated national strategies against child labor, and in the implementation of such strategies, in accordance with the relative strengths of each agency.
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