Showing posts with label Inclusive Growth. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2016
International Jobs Report: Global Unemployment Inching Up Again
The latest update of the International Jobs Report shows that:
- The global unemployment rate inched up to 5.7 percent this year after several years of decline. This reflects sharp increases in unemployment in the Latin America and Caribbean region and among fuel-exporting countries. Hence, while the total number of people unemployed around the globe will remain somewhat stable at about 175 million, several million people will be added to the ranks of the unemployed in these two groups of countries.
- For fuel exporters, the unemployment rate is expected to shoot up to 8 ½ percent next year. This is a percentage point above the level in 2015 and implies that an additional 4 million more people will join the ranks of the unemployed. For the Latin America and the Caribbean region, the unemployment rate is forecast to reach 9 percent in 2017, which is 2 percentage points above the 2015 level and will add nearly 6 million people to the ranks of the unemployed.
- Unemployment rates are expected to decline in most advanced economies, but remain well above historical averages in a few countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain.
Read the full report.
The latest update of the International Jobs Report shows that:
- The global unemployment rate inched up to 5.7 percent this year after several years of decline. This reflects sharp increases in unemployment in the Latin America and Caribbean region and among fuel-exporting countries. Hence, while the total number of people unemployed around the globe will remain somewhat stable at about 175 million, several million people will be added to the ranks of the unemployed in these two groups of countries.
Posted by at 2:47 PM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Was Krugman Right? Unemployment during the Great Recession
Paul Krugman wrote in 2011 that unemployment was high “because growth is weak — period, full stop, end of story.” Six years later, has he been proven right? Read my post for Econbrowser to get the answer.
Paul Krugman wrote in 2011 that unemployment was high “because growth is weak — period, full stop, end of story.” Six years later, has he been proven right? Read my post for Econbrowser to get the answer.
Posted by at 7:55 AM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Employment, Efficiency, Equity: Evolution in IMF Thought
Fear of “others” taking “our” jobs is a staple of economic discourse. Sometimes it is a fear of China, sometimes of robots; today it is a fear of the effects of Chinese investment in robots. Digital technology and the ‘sharing’ economy have transformed the world of work, but they have also fueled familiar fears about the impact of technology on jobs.
Technological advancements boost productivity, the demand for labor and the quantity and quality of jobs. They contribute to national and global long-run efficiency and more arguably, to long-run equity at a global level.
But along with these benefits, policymakers must acknowledge and address the displacement that results from the use of new technology. Without appropriate policy frameworks to manage these changes, fears about the short-run job losses will trump the longer-run benefits of technology adoption.
In the last few years, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) policy advice is increasingly geared toward balancing the efficiency and equity effects of labor market developments. The evolution in its thinking and advice has three aspects, and is pertinent to how policymakers deal with labor market impacts of new technology.
First, more so now than in the past, the IMF is paying attention to the distributional consequences of economic developments and policies. Second, its framework for thinking about labor market policies is one that increasingly recognizes that many policies need to strike a balance between promoting efficiency and protecting the basic needs of workers. Third, the institution has tried to elevate the importance of job creation in policy discussions with a ‘two-handed’ approach – one that recognizes the importance of both aggregate demand and aggregate supply, and advocates policies to boost both.
This evolution bodes well for the IMF’s ability to offer good advice on employment, including how to manage the effects of technology on the quantity and quality of jobs.
Continue reading here.
Fear of “others” taking “our” jobs is a staple of economic discourse. Sometimes it is a fear of China, sometimes of robots; today it is a fear of the effects of Chinese investment in robots. Digital technology and the ‘sharing’ economy have transformed the world of work, but they have also fueled familiar fears about the impact of technology on jobs.
Technological advancements boost productivity, the demand for labor and the quantity and quality of jobs.
Posted by at 10:01 AM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
Technology, Efficiency and Equity
From Just Jobs Network:
Technology is fundamentally reshaping the nature of work worldwide, spurring heated debate. While some worry that deepening automation and the rapid growth of online and “on-demand” labor platforms are eroding job quantity and quality, others claim that productivity gains will translate into more and better jobs in the long run. With its 2016 signature volume, JustJobs Network introduces real case studies from around the world, examining how technology in its different dimensions is changing employment outcomes.
Key Themes
- The discourse on technology highlights the trade-off between efficiency and equity, and policy frameworks must strike a balance between the two.
- The on-demand economy demands new forms of regulation and worker representation. Policymakers must be proactive about harnessing its benefits and minimizing its costs.
- Technology holds the promise of improving livelihoods and enabling labor market access for marginalized communities, but these effects should not be overestimated.
- Workers are leveraging digital technologies to empower and organize themselves.
- New technologies require rethinking “work design” – the way labor and technology are deployed, how work is executed and the kinds of tasks and interactions it involves.
Click here to see the report.
From Just Jobs Network:
Technology is fundamentally reshaping the nature of work worldwide, spurring heated debate. While some worry that deepening automation and the rapid growth of online and “on-demand” labor platforms are eroding job quantity and quality, others claim that productivity gains will translate into more and better jobs in the long run. With its 2016 signature volume, JustJobs Network introduces real case studies from around the world, examining how technology in its different dimensions is changing employment outcomes.
Posted by at 9:54 AM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Does Growth Create Jobs? Evidence for Advanced and Developing Economies
Global job creation remains sluggish, prompting calls for policy actions to raise economic growth. Will growth create jobs? Recent IMF research documents a striking variation among countries in the extent to which employment responds to GDP growth over the course of a year. In some countries, labor markets are quite responsive: when growth picks up, employment goes up and unemployment falls; in other countries the response is quite muted. Thus, a pick-up in growth— through aggregate demand stimulus for instance—will result in more jobs, but the extent of job creation in the short run could vary sharply across countries. Some structural measures can thus serve as useful complementary policies, as also discussed in IMF research.
Continue reading IMF Research Bulletin.
Global job creation remains sluggish, prompting calls for policy actions to raise economic growth. Will growth create jobs? Recent IMF research documents a striking variation among countries in the extent to which employment responds to GDP growth over the course of a year. In some countries, labor markets are quite responsive: when growth picks up, employment goes up and unemployment falls; in other countries the response is quite muted. Thus, a pick-up in growth— through aggregate demand stimulus for instance—will result in more jobs,
Posted by at 9:14 PM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
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