World gone wrong: the financial crisis,labor market transitions and earnings in Serbia

While results are starting to emerge, not much is known yet about the dynamics of the labor markets of the former Eastern economies, especially in the context of the current financial crisis. Arguably, this is mainly due to paucity of (panel) data. By examining labor market transitions and earnings growth and their correlates using a recent panel data set for Serbia, this paper combines both of these issues. Estimation of gross transition probabilities reveals that females are disadvantaged in the Serbian labor market in terms of moving out of the two undesirable states, unemployment and economic inactivity, relative to males during the first year of the financial crisis—though males are harder hit than females in terms of the levels of unemployment. In terms of earnings growth, the picture is reversed, with females experiencing smaller earnings decreases than males (though, owing to the gender earnings gap, from a much lower base). Examining the determinants of employment, unemployment, and inactivity transitions and of earnings growth reveal substantial gender differences related to individual, job, and firm characteristics. The overall results therefore hint at both males and females being hit in terms of employment and earnings, though in different ways. Finally, the paper discusses policy implications and provides suggestions for further research.     

A Teenager in Love: Multidimensional Human Capital and Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana

I examine teenage pregnancy in Ghana, focusing on the role and interplay of Ghanaian and English reading skills, formal educational attainment, and adult literacy programme participation. Pursuing several alternative identification strategies three main results are established. First, I confirm the finding from previous studies that educational attainment is negatively related to teenage pregnancy. Second, however, once Ghanaian and English reading skills are introduced, the association between educational attainment and teenage pregnancy decreases or disappears altogether. Third, for the girls who have not completed primary school, adult literacy programme participation is associated with a much lower probability of experiencing a teenage pregnancy.

A bright future is the best contraceptive.

–Marian Wright Edelman     

The limited job prospects of displaced workers: evidence from two cities in China

The economic restructuring in China over the past decade has resulted in displacement of millions of workers who had been employed in the state sector. This has posed tremendous challenges economically, socially, politically, and culturally. For several years, Chinese policies attempted to cushion the shock by requiring state-owned enterprises to provide living allowances and reemployment services to workers who had been displaced. There have been few empirical studies that have tracked the experiences of these displaced or xiagang workers. This study uses survey data from two large industrial cities covering the period 1998–2000 to analyze the labor market situation of over 2,000 workers 2 years after they had been observed as displaced and unemployed. The findings point to the high rates of labor force withdrawal and a low proportion who find another wage job in the formal sector. It also documents the large number of workers who find work in the informal sector which seems to act as an important safety net. Not surprisingly, education is an important determinant of post-layoff labor market outcomes. Active labor market interventions do not seem to make a substantial difference although there is some evidence from the duration analysis that training does help workers find employment more quickly than they would have otherwise.