Publication: Guatemala Jobs Diagnostic
Loading...
Published
2021-04-01
ISSN
Date
2021-04-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Building back better’ has become a popular theme guiding the world’s post-Covid19 recovery efforts; in few middle-income countries this appears to be more pressing than in Guatemala. Over a decade of lackluster growth and stagnating productivity improvements have led to an acute shortage of quality jobs, the effects of which started to show well before the Covid19 pandemic. By applying the World Bank’s jobs diagnostics methodology and drawing on both micro- and macro-level data covering the period 2004–18, this report casts light on Guatemala’s most pressing structural jobs challenges. The report first documents Guatemala’s labor market symptoms, including high levels of informality, declining labor earnings, low female labor force participation, rising emigration, and limited internal migration. The symptoms are then analyzed in-depth to identify what drives Guatemala’s poor labor market performance. The report finds that insufficient formal job creation, a lacking dynamism in the formal sector, and low quality education in rural areas are key drivers of Guatemala’s labor market outcomes. The report concludes by proposing a set of key strategic priorities to unleash Guatemala’s jobs potential.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Eberhard-Ruiz, Andreas. 2021. Guatemala Jobs Diagnostic. Job Series;No. 27. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35367 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Shaping the Future : A Long-Term Perspective of People and Job Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa(Washington, DC, 2009-01)The objective of this study is to provide a long-term perspective for the ongoing policy dialogue on the management of labor migration in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. It is organized as follows. Chapter one puts the report and migration in the context of the economic and social development in MENA countries. Chapter two provides the historical context of MENA migration patterns and an overview of the presence and skill characteristics of migrants in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries today. This chapter also discusses the potential for insourcing, that is, migration of jobs into the region as an alternative or complement to labor migration. Chapter three analyzes the demand and supply framework for migration, the determinants of migration patterns, and the potential demand for labor in the European Union (EU), and the characteristics and trends of MENA labor supply. Chapter four looks to the worldwide impact of demographic and labor force developments in the decades ahead and their implications on labor and job mobility. The chapter analyzes the likely population and labor force growth in Europe and MENA, the challenges this growth poses, and the scope for demographic arbitrage between the two regions. This chapter provides the basis for the fifth and concluding chapter. Chapter five covers the institutional setup and the various economic and social protection policies and practices worldwide that have a strong and positive bearing on migration flows and presents a conceptual framework on both the labor and job sending and receiving sides that can be used by policy makers to articulate, defend, and implement a collaborative approach to the challenges ahead.Publication Characteristics and Determinants of Internal Labor Mobility in Ukraine(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)Over the past 20 years Ukraine experienced fundamental structural changes due to transition to a market economy and integration with the world. Transition reforms accompanied by the collapse of traditional trade and production links with the other republics of the former USSR and Comecon countries entailed asymmetric effects on regions, reflecting an uneven distribution of winners and losers from transition. Geographical mobility of labor is one of the major mechanisms (alongside with capital mobility, wage and price flexibility, and institutional mechanisms for redistributing income across regions) in facilitating regional adjustment to idiosyncratic shocks. The ability of workers to move freely from one geographical location to another inside the borders of their country, in pursuing the same occupation or changing occupations, is of particular importance for efficient matching of labor demand and supply and reducing structural unemployment. This paper seeks to fill gap in the literature on patterns of internal labor mobility in Ukraine, its main characteristics and potential for reducing persistent regional labor market disparities and imbalances in economic and human development. The next chapters of the paper are organized as follows: second chapter evaluates the magnitude of disparities in regional labor market and socio-economic indicators over time, with a special focus on its potential impact on decision of individuals to migrate to another settlement; third chapter provides an overview of the available data sources on internal labor mobility in Ukraine, quantifies internal migration based on aggregate administrative data, discusses its trends over time and compares it levels to those found in developed and transition economies. Fourth chapter provides multivariate statistical analysis of the determinants of inter-regional migration in 2002-2010 based on administrative region-level data. Fifth chapter summarizes the findings of empirical studies on determinants of the migration decision of Ukrainians. Sixth chapter examines short-term labor migration including everyday commuting in 2005-2010 and measures its covariates using individual-level Labor Force Survey (LFS) data. Seventh chapter summarizes the main findings and concludes.Publication Europe 2020(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-03)This technical note highlights some of the work the World Bank has recently conducted in support of the growth agenda outlined in the Europe 2020 strategy. The World Bank is actively supporting the new member states, as well as accession and neighborhood countries, in achieving the Europe 2020 targets of smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. The engagement consists of policy and program lending in these areas as well as analytical work. This note focuses on highlighting some of the Bank's analytical Europe 2020 work pertaining to raising employment rates and skills levels as well as to spur innovation and technology absorption. The technical note is structured as follows: section one provides the macroeconomic background, and highlights how the economies of the European Union (EU)-10 countries were steadily catching up with those of the EU-15 countries, but then the catching-up was interrupted by the onset of the global financial and economic crisis. Section two focuses on low employment rates in EU-10 countries, particularly among older and less-educated workers, women, and minority groups, in particular Roma, and highlights some key issues in the organization of labor markets and labor market related institutions. Section three focuses more specifically on skills development across the life cycle, with a brief discussion on selected policy areas: (1) expansion of early childhood development programs to universal coverage; (2) adopting ambitious, comprehensive approaches to schooling to support higher levels of generic skills for all; and (3) strengthening access to and efficiency of tertiary education through higher education financing reform and data collection as a basis for system steering. Section four focuses on innovation and technology absorption, highlighting how more and more efficient research and development (R&D) spending will boost economic growth in EU10 countries.Publication Colombia Jobs Diagnostic(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-05-05)In mid-2020, the Government of Colombia launched a labor reform consultation process (Misión de Empleo) in response to a deterioration in pre-Covid19 employment indicators and changing economic and labor market conditions. Based on a comprehensive review of Colombia’s labor market performance for the 2009-2019 period, this report seeks to provide analytical underpinnings to this process. At the macro level, the report shows that employment in Colombia is insufficiently diversified relying almost exclusively on job creation in the services sectors. This exposes the labor market to cyclical changes in internal demand that are typical for commodity rich economies like Colombia. At the worker level, the report shows that the economy generates too few formal employment opportunities for those with fewer skills and those living in rural areas, implying low earnings, high rates of self-employment, and high levels of informality. At the firm level, the reports shows that the labor regulatory regime has contributed to strong increases in labor costs with important effects on entry and exit dynamics of firms contributing to a compositional shift towards larger, more capitalized, and more skill-intensive firms.Publication Youth in Africa's Labor Market(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Youth and Africa have received increased attention in recent policy discussions and World Bank work, as articulated in the Africa action plan and the World Development Report 2007: development and the next generation. The Africa action plan offers a framework to support critical policy and public action led by African countries to achieve well-defined goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The World Development report's main message is that the time has never been better to invest in young people living in developing countries. It offers a three pillar policy framework for investing in and preserving the human capital of the next generation. Both frameworks respond to the desire to find solutions to Africa's development challenges and to prepare for and benefit from the next generation of workers, parents, and leaders. This report examines the challenges Africa's youth face in their transition to working life and proposes policies for meeting these challenges. It presents evidence from case studies of 4 countries - Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda and from household data on 13 countries. The four case studies include a stocktaking of existing policies and programs to address youth employment and labor markets. The overarching message of the report is the call to further invest in the human capital of youth in Sub-Saharan Africa to take advantage of the large youth cohorts there. Youth in Africa leave school too early and enter the labor market unprepared, limiting their contribution to economic growth and increasing their vulnerability to poverty and economic hardship.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Guyana - Investment Climate Assessment : Volume 1. Main Findings and Policy Recommendations(Washington, DC, 2007-06)This document presents the main findings of the Guyana Investment Climate Survey (ICS) conducted between November 2004 and March 2005. The ICA report provides an evaluation of different aspects of the environment of doing business in Guyana. It covers governance-related obstacles, labor and technology issues, the financial sector, and infrastructure. The ICA is based on the results of the World Bank Guyana Investment Climate Survey (ICS), as well as other sources of information, including an opinion survey of Guyanese commercial bank managers, and interviews with Guyanese entrepreneurs and government leaders. The findings of the survey, combined with relevant information from other sources, provide a practical basis for identifying the most important areas for reform aimed at improving the investment climate.Publication Doing Business 2009 : Comparing Regulation in 181 Economies(Washington, DC : World Bank and Palgave Macmillon, 2008)Doing Business 2009 is the sixth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 181 economies from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and over time. Regulations affecting 10 stages of the life of a business are measured: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business. Data in Doing Business 2009 are current as of June 1, 2008. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where, and why. The methodology for the legal rights of lenders and borrowers, part of the getting credit indicators, changed for Doing Business 2009. The paper includes the following headings: overview, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.Publication Vietnam(World Bank, Hanoi, 2020-05-01)Following from Vietnam’s ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in late 2018 and its effectiveness from January 2019, and the European Parliament’s recent approval of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its subsequent planned ratification by the National Assembly in May 2020, Vietnam has further demonstrated its determination to be a modern, competitive, open economy. As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis has clearly shown, diversified markets and supply chains will be key in the future global context to managing the risk of disruptions in trade and in supply chains due to changing trade relationships, climate change, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks. In those regards, Vietnam is in a stronger position than most countries in the region. The benefits of globalization are increasingly being debated and questioned. However, in the case of Vietnam, the benefits have been clear in terms of high and consistent economic growth and a large reduction in poverty levels. As Vietnam moves to ratify and implement a new generation of free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the CPTPP and EVFTA, it is important to clearly demonstrate, in a transparent manner, the economic gains and distributional impacts (such as sectoral and poverty) from joining these FTAs. In the meantime, it is crucial to highlight the legal gaps that must be addressed to ensure that national laws and regulations are in compliance with Vietnam’s obligations under these FTAs. Readiness to implement this new generation of FTAs at both the national and subnational level is important to ensure that the country maximizes the full economic benefits in terms of trade and investment. This report explores the issues of globalization and the integration of Vietnam into the global economy, particularly through implementation of the EVFTA.Publication Economy Profile of Kyrgyz Republic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11-01)Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Kyrgyz Republic. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Kyrgyz Republic ranks 77. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where, and why.Publication Women, Business and the Law 2016(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015-09-09)By measuring where the law treats men and women differently, this book shines a light on how women's incentives or capacity to work are affected by the legal environment and provides a basis for improving regulation. The fourth edition in a series, this book examines laws and regulations affecting women’s prospects as entrepreneurs and employees in 173 economies, across seven areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit, going to court, and protecting women from violence. The report's quantitative indicators are intended to inform research and policy discussions on how to improve women's economic opportunities and outcomes.