Publication: Mauritius Addressing Inequality through More Equitable Labor Markets
Loading...
Files in English
1,855 downloads
Published
2018-03-26
ISSN
Date
2017-12-18
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Mauritius is often cited as one of the few African success stories, and with good reason. In the aftermath of independence (1968), this small island nation in the Indian Ocean seemed to be bound for economic failure because of its high poverty rate and numerous vulnerabilities, including high population growth, ethnic tensions, substantial unemployment, and an economy greatly dependent on the production of sugar for international markets. However, Mauritius was successful in diversifying the economy and accomplishing an unprecedented structural transformation.The Inclusiveness of Growth and Shared Prosperity report (World Bank 2015a) turned the spotlight on the expanding gap of inequality in household incomes that occurred between 2007 and 2012 and on the negative impact on poverty. The report estimates that the incidence of absolute poverty between 2007 and 2012 would have declined twice as quickly had growth been shared more widely and inequality not worsened. Building on these earlier findings, this study investigates the driving forces behind the growing income inequality and identifies policy levers that could mitigate and, in the long run, possibly reverse the upward trend.This study takes a comprehensive approach to the determinants of inequality by including the role of the choices of households and individuals, markets, and institutions. The report is structured as follows. Chapter one sets the stage by presenting stylized facts on the trends in household income inequality between 2001 and 2015, comparing these trends with trends in consumption inequality, and identifying the main culprit behind the rapidly rising inequality in household incomes, that is, household labor income. Chapter two supplies a set of descriptive trends of the two groups of factors, namely, household demographics and labor market forces, that contribute to changes in household laborincome and follows up with a decomposition exercise on changes in household labor income between 2001 and 2015.Because the analysis indicates that an unequal increase in female labor force participation and rising inequality in individual earnings are among the main contributors to the expanding inequality in household labor income, Chapter three takes a deep dive into the issue of gender inequality in the labor market. The chapter illustrates the gender gap in labor market participation, describes the differences in the activities of working women in the labor market relative to men, and concludes with a detailed analysis of gender gaps in wages separately in the public and private sectors. Chapter four resumes the main analysis of the drivers of increasing inequality in individual earnings. The chapter first presents stylized facts about overall inequality in wages and then separates out changes in inequality between and within groups defined by demographic characteristics. The chapter distinguishes the role of changes in prices (or wages) and the role of changes in the composition of the workforce in rising earnings inequality. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the analysis of the role of the main potential drivers of expanding earnings inequality. The possible candidates include the interaction of changes in labor supply and labor demand, giving rise to skills shortages or surpluses, and changes in labor market institutions, namely, remuneration orders (ROs). The chapter concludes with an analysis of an additional source of skills mismatches among the employed population, namely, education mismatches, and advances potential explanations for the coexistence of a substantial skills shortage, over education, particularly among youth, and a large share of highly educated youth among the unemployed.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2018. Mauritius Addressing Inequality through More Equitable Labor Markets. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29034 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 International Migration and Gender Differentials in the Home Labor Market : Evidence from Albania(2009-04-01)This paper examines the role of male-dominated international migration in shaping labor market outcomes by gender in migrant-sending households in Albania. Using detailed information on family migration experience from the latest Living Standards Measurement Study survey, the authors find that male and female labor supplies respond differently to the current and past migration episodes of household members. Controlling for the potential endogeneity of migration and for the income (remittances) effect, the estimates show that having a migrant abroad decreases female paid labor supply and increases unpaid work. However, women with past family migration experience are significantly more likely to engage in self-employment and less likely to supply unpaid work. The same relationships do not hold for men. These findings suggest that over time male-dominated Albanian migration may lead to women's empowerment in access to income-earning opportunities at the origin.Publication Recent Labor Market Performance in Vietnam through a Gender Lens(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)This paper provides an overview of the recent performance of the labor market in Vietnam during the Great Recession. The analysis uses data from the Labor Force Survey and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey. The author finds that, notwithstanding the global crisis and domestic volatility, job creation has been sustained in Vietnam, especially in the formal sector, but that the overall quality of employment has suffered. Gender differentials are found to affect older women especially, while educated women benefit from a skills wage premium. Reassuringly given the large youth share of the total workforce, the youth labor market is dynamic and outcomes for youths have improved. Meanwhile, participation in poverty alleviation programs and labor market programs has not changed, and few workers use the newly created employment services and unemployment benefits.Publication Kyrgyz Republic : Poverty Assessment, Volume 2. Labor Market Dimensions of Poverty(Washington, DC, 2007-10-19)This report, which has been prepared by the World Bank in cooperation with the National Statistical Committee, provides an assessment of poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic using the most recent data available. The objective of this report is to understand to what extent economic growth has reduced poverty and led to improved living conditions for the population during 2000-2005. The report also attempts to answer three questions about the Kyrgyz Republic: what is the profile of poor? How has economic growth affected the level and composition of poverty? How has the labor market contributed to changes in poverty? The report is divided into two volumes. The first volume begins with this chapter which provides an international comparison of social and other key indicators of the Kyrgyz Republic followed by a profile of the poor based upon 2005 household survey data. The second chapter analyzes the linkages between growth and poverty during 2000-2005. The third chapter provides our key findings of labor market outcomes and poverty and what the implications are for policy making. The final chapter synthesizes the information from the earlier chapters and provides some policy directions. The second volume provides a more thorough analysis of labor markets. It covers developments in the labor market, urban labor markets, rural labor markets and differences between men and women in the labor market.Publication More Jobs, Better Jobs : A Priority for Egypt(Washington, DC, 2014-06)Much of the current debate around the recent economic crisis in the Arab Republic of Egypt has focused on unemployment. Although unemployment is an important marker of labor market health, the jobs problem in Egypt precedes the recent crisis and is manifested markedly in other labor market metrics. Indeed, the link between growth and unemployment in Egypt is weak, particularly for men. This chapter argues that the reason for this weak link is partly related to decades of flawed industrial policies that have discouraged investment in employment-generating activities. Industrial policies, including those implemented in the mid-2000s, were never focused on mitigating market failures to promote the emergence of fast-growing, high-productivity firms. Instead, they have worked to preserve insider privileges, leading to growth in sectors that are not labor intensive. Policy makers therefore need to look beyond supply-side focused labor market policies to accelerate employment growth.Publication Exclusion and Discrimination in the Labor Market(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01)The frameworks developed in this paper are based on a review of the literature on processes of discrimination and the norms and attitudes that accompany them. Intended as a background paper to the World Development Report 2013 this paper will also feed into the Social Inclusion Flagship Report by the Social Development Department at the World Bank. It is divided into six sections. This section one is an introduction to the objectives and provides the context for this work. Section two is a brief discussion of the conceptual underpinnings and measurement of labor market discrimination from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Section three lays out a typology of processes of discrimination, while section four is a discussion of the mechanisms of discrimination and the ways in which candidates are screened. Section five addresses the question of how discriminated groups react to discrimination. The final section addresses some of the ways in which occupational and labor market mobility is possible for disadvantaged groups and what policy implications it could have.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Mozambique - Analysis of Public Expenditure in Agriculture : Core Analysis(World Bank, 2011-02-19)The objective of this Agriculture Public Expenditure Review (AgPER) is to provide an assessment of the present situation and to offer recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending in agriculture in Mozambique. The report provides a sectorwide picture of the magnitude and structure of public spending for agriculture in Mozambique over the past six years, and an overall assessment of the budget process in agriculture. It is intended that this analysis will inform future decisions over priority public expenditures for agriculture and the shifts in expenditure allocations and other measures that are necessary to make the most effective and efficient use of government budgetary resources and donors' contributions in the agriculture sector. The information is also meant to inform the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) secretariat about the level and structure of spending in agriculture in Mozambique, and help the Ministry of Agriculture; since 2005 (MINAG) to report suitable figures to NEPAD. The report discusses the budget process in agriculture (budget planning, execution, and reporting) and the linkages between agricultural sector policies and strategy and public expenditures. It suggests possible ways to raise the effectiveness and efficiency of current public spending in agriculture, with a view to enhancing its contribution to Mozambique's economic growth and poverty reduction objectives. An analysis of the spatial pattern of expenditure is also provided. Some emphasis is placed on the adequacy of data sources and planning and on the budgeting procedures necessary in order to continuously align expenditure to objectives, and to maximize their impact. The report also draws some broad conclusions with regard to key options of agricultural policy on the basis of the data collected and available information on the relationship between costs and effects of selected activity strata.Publication Texting Parents about Early Child Development(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12)Parenting interventions have the potential to improve early childhood development. Text messages are considered a promising channel to deliver parenting information at large scale. This paper tests whether sending text messages about parenting practices impacts early childhood development. Households in rural Nicaragua were randomly assigned to receive messages about nutrition, health, stimulation, or the home environment. The intervention led to significant changes in self-reported parenting practices. However, it did not translate into improvements in children's cognitive development. When local opinion leaders were randomly exposed to the same text message intervention, parental investments declined and children's outcomes deteriorated. Since interactions between parents and leaders about child development also decreased, the negative effects may have resulted from a crowding-out of some local leaders.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 Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth : Prudence or Abstinence(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008)This volume covers the conduct of fiscal policy in Latin America, and its consequences for macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. The volume's chapters examine different aspects of these problems, ranging from the purely economic to the institutional and political economy dimensions. The book is organized as follows. This chapter offers an integrated overview of the themes covered in the rest of the volume. The chapter guides the reader through the rest of the volume, but it has been written as a self-standing essay for the benefit of those readers who may not have the time to indulge in the details of every chapter. The rest of the volume is organized in two parts. The first part deals with the pro-cyclical bias of fiscal policy, and the second part with the anti-investment bias of fiscal discipline -- popularly (albeit somewhat confusingly) known as the fiscal space problem. The rest of this introductory chapter consists of four sections. Section II examines recent trends in fiscal policy in the region and introduces the two main themes of the book. Sections III and IV present an overview of the topics covered in the two parts of the book, as well as the conclusions of the corresponding chapters. Section V summarizes the implications for future fiscal analysis and policy management.Publication Pricing, Subsidies, and the Poor : Demand for Improved Water Services in Central America(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2000-11)Reformulating tariff and subsidy policies is central to improving water and sanitation services in developing countries. The traditional model of state enterprise service provision, coupled with residential tariffs set well below the cost of service, has generally delivered unsatisfactory results. Low internal generation of funds has impeded expansion of networks into poor communities and has resulted in very poor services there. Most of the subsidy has benefited higher-income groups. Reformers have proposed private provision to improve efficiency, cost-reflective tariffs to permit the systems to meet demand, and better-targeted subsidies. But is there empirical evidence that existing subsidies are ineffective and that the poor could pay the full cost of water services? Analyzing household survey and water company data from cities of Central America and Venezuela, the authors confirm that: 1) Households without piped connections pay a lot for small amounts of water from "coping sources." 2) Most public water companies undercharge hugely, providing an implicit, generalized subsidy and accelerating their systems' decapitalization. 3) There is little income-related differentiation in consumption and therefore in effective piped water tariffs. Volume-based tariffs would generate cross-subsidies from the rich to the poor if the rich consumed more water. But the data indicate that consumption of piped water varies little with income, so most of the water subsidy is captured by the nonpoor. 4) Poor households that are not presently connected would clearly benefit from access to piped water supply. This would require increasing tariffs to cost-reflective levels. But where the urban poor already enjoy access, such tariff increases would have a disproportionate impact on this income group. This impact should be mitigated through better-targeted, temporary subsidies. 5) The poor are often willing to pay much more than the present tariff for access to piped water but not necessarily the full cost of the monthly consumption assumed by planners (30 cubic meters). If tariffs were set to cover long-run financial costs, many poor households would consume much less. Improving the design of tariff structures and extending metering to such households would permit them to regulate their expenditures on water by controlling their consumption.