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This paper examines issues raised by the evolution of a rapidly growing small open economy—Singapore—from a labor-intensive, low-technology production base to a capital-intensive, high-technology, knowledge-and-skill-intensive emphasis as it approached the limits of its resource constraints in the labor market. In order to analyze the process of restructuring a model of endogenous growth for a small open economy that is driven by increases in labor productivity from learning and that allows for the dynamic acquisition of comparative advantage is developed. In this framework the effects of various policies and exogenous shocks on the direction and pace of restructuring are investigated.

Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Economic theory --- Employment --- Income economics --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Labor costs --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Labor force --- Labor market --- Labor --- Labour --- Unemployment --- Wage adjustments --- Wages --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Singapore

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We discuss existing shortfalls and inequalities in the accumulation of human capital—knowledge, skills, and health. We analyze their immediate and systemic causes, and assess the scope for public intervention. The broad policy goals should be to improve: the quality, and not just the quantity, of education and health care; outcomes for disadvantaged groups; and lifelong outcomes. The means to achieve these goals, while maximizing value for money, include: focusing on results rather than just inputs; moving from piecemeal interventions to systemic reform; and adopting a “whole-of-society” approach. Reforms must be underpinned by a robust evidence base.

Ghana --- Education, Higher. --- Ghana. --- Labor. --- Health Policy. --- Health: General. --- Health: Government Policy. --- Regulation. --- Public Health. --- Education: General. --- Education: Government Policy. --- Human Capital. --- Skills. --- Occupational Choice. --- Labor Productivity. --- Analysis of Health Care Markets. --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure. --- Education. --- Health economics. --- Labour. --- income economics. --- Health systems & services. --- Health. --- Health care. --- Labor force. --- Medical care. --- Labor market. --- Analysis of Health Care Markets --- Education --- Education: General --- Education: Government Policy --- Health care --- Health economics --- Health Policy --- Health systems & services --- Health --- Health: General --- Health: Government Policy --- Human Capital --- Human capital --- Income economics --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Labor force --- Labor market --- Labor Productivity --- Labor --- Labour --- Medical care --- Occupational Choice --- Public Health --- Regulation --- Skills

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Estimates of a supply-side model of the nonprimary sectors, in which particular attention has been paid to modeling key characteristics of the evolution of the apartheid system, are presented. These imply that the wage differential between white and nonwhite workers doing similar jobs fell significantly over the last two decades to around 14 percent in 1990. This relatively small gap implies that medium-term prospects for the advancement of the disadvantaged groups in South Africa depend heavily on their ability to take up skilled employment, with the direct gains from the elimination of apartheid being relatively small.

Labor --- Macroeconomics --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Labor Economics: General --- Aggregate Factor Income Distribution --- Demand and Supply of Labor: General --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Labour --- income economics --- Income --- Labor markets --- National accounts --- Labor force --- Economic theory --- Labor economics --- Labor market --- South Africa --- Income economics

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A more market-oriented labor market has emerged in China in the past twenty years with growing importance of the urban private sector, as state-owned enterprises have downsized. Despite the progress on reforms, a sizable surplus of labor still exists in the rural sector and state-owned enterprises. The main challenge facing China’s labor market in coming years is to absorb the surplus labor into quality jobs while adjusting to World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. This paper estimates that if annual GDP growth averages 7 percent and the employment elasticity is one-half, urban unemployment could double to about 10 percent over the next three to four years. These pressures would be limited by stronger economic growth, especially in the private sector and more labor-intensive service industries which have generated the most jobs in recent years. Therefore, policy should focus on encouraging private sector development while reducing barriers to labor mobility, improving worker skills, upgrading job search services, and strengthening the social safety net.

Labor market --- Unemployment --- Labor --- Macroeconomics --- Demand and Supply of Labor: General --- Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search --- Employment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Labor Economics: General --- Labour --- income economics --- Labor force --- Labor markets --- Economic theory --- Labor economics --- China, People's Republic of --- Income economics

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Spain has the most serious and persistent unemployment problem in Europe, with an unemployment rate that reached 24.6 percent in early 1994. This paper explores the characteristics of this unemployment problem, its causes, and provides a brief discussion of recent labor market reform measures and their likely Impact. A demographic shift in recent years has produced a large rise in female labor force participation and a decrease in agricultural jobs to which the economy has been unable to adjust. The effects of generous unemployment benefits and the large underground economy may explain 6–12 percentage points of the resulting unemployment, but the remainder must be explained by failures and rigidities in the labor market. The paper presents econometric evidence that unemployment displays hysteresis, and that wages are not responsive to changes in the unemployment rate. This evidence supports the claim that insider-outsider factors and rigidities in the legal structure of the labor market are responsible for much of the high unemployment rate. Recent reforms have improved the functioning of the labor market, but they are unlikely to be sufficient to reduce unemployment to single digit rates without further action.

Labor --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies: General --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search --- Demand and Supply of Labor: General --- Labour --- income economics --- Labor force --- Labor markets --- Unemployment rate --- Labor market --- Economic theory --- Spain --- Income economics