Understanding the Links between Labour and Economic Development

The World Development Report of 2013 places labour in the spotlight of development research and policymaking today. Yet, there are few systematic analyses of the multifaceted nature of the link between labour and economic development. This Special Issue identifies some analytical and data-driven constraints to advances in our understanding of the role of labour in economic development, highlights some new paradigms, and offers new interpretations of phenomena in the interrelated areas of labour informality, self-employment, internal (rural-urban) and international migration, and labour force discouragement. It re-emphasizes the postulate that the mobility of labour from low-productivity towards higher-productivity jobs both geographically and across sectors and enterprises is a crucial ingredient in ensuring sustainable growth and poverty alleviation. Hence, government (and international) policy effort should focus on dismantling institutional constraints to this successful transition.