Labor Regulations throughout the World

Abstract

Between 2007 and 2017, 99 countries initiated reforms in labor regulations that affected World Bank Doing Business labor indicators. The most common topics for reforms are (i) procedural requirements in case of contract termination, and changes in notification arrangements; (ii) fixed-term contracts; (iii) severance payments; (iv) annual leave arrangements, and (v) working time arrangements. Approximately 48 percent of the reforms made labor legislation more flexible, and 52 percent enforced more worker protection. The objective of this study is to document these reforms, and identify key benchmarks in labor legislation by country groups.