The OECD Black Sea and Central Asian Economic Outlook

Promoting work and well-being

Labour Market Policies in the Global Environment

Richard Pomfret

2

Labour Market Policies in the Global Environment

SHOCKS:• transition•globalization

Firms(chapter 4)

Households(chapter 5)

Governments(chapter 6)

3

Labour Market Outcomes

• Transition in an open economy → – more severe recession than expected– ↑ volatility and job insecurity

• during the 1990s labour market policy responses were limited

• The Outlook describes how labour market policies evolved during the 2000s– but the context was also set by

households’ responses during the 1990s

4

Households’ Coping Mechanisms

• Short-term coping mechanisms– family and community support

• Longer-term coping mechanisms– informality– migration

• Vulnerable groups and coping mechanisms– gender roles, urban-rural gaps, ethnic

relations, pensioners, children

5

Policy Responses

• ILO Conventions and improving the labour market environment– employment protection, unemployment

insurance, minimum wage legislation, reducing informality

• Active Labour Market Policies– public employment, vocational training,

microfinance, youth employment

• Public redistribution– targeting social assistance

• Facilitating private redistribution

6

Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

• Investment on statistics• Regularising informal activities• Active labour market policies• Employment-oriented social polices

and targeted assistance• Migration, remittances and migrant

workers’ rights• Sustaining reforms for better job

creation

7

The OECD Black Sea and Central Asian Economic Outlook

Promoting work and well-being