In mid-2008, high employment and low unemployment rates characterised the Estonian labour market in comparison with the average of the EU15 countries. While aggregate outcomes improved during 2000-07, large inequalities persisted across regions, ethnic groups, and workers with different skill...

This paper examines the macroeconomic trends, drivers and the impact of remittances in Africa. First, it documents the increasing share of remittances relative to other foreign capital flows to Africa, the distribution of remittance inflows across countries, and some key properties. This is...

Drawing on the 2007 and 2010 Swaziland Labor Force Surveys, this chapter provides first systematic evidence on youth employment challenges in Swaziland, a small, land-locked country with one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Africa. The chapter first documents the labor market...

This paper develops a model of entrepreneurial start ups in an economy with costly firm creation, costly entry to the skilled labor market, and a mismatch between skilled workers and available jobs, as prevailing in many developing countries. It examines several mitigating policies, such as...

The unemployment rate in Estonia rose sharply in 2010 to one of the highest levels in the EU, after the country entered a severe recession in 2008. While the rate declined relatively rapidly in 2011, it remained high especially for the less educated. In 2009, the Employment Contract Law relaxed...

This symposium includes four papers dealing with labour market-related issues. The papers examine the impacts of the recent financial and economic crisis on labour market outcomes, changes in wage inequality and how the impacts of policies are influenced (amplified or attenuated) by financial...

From 2000 to 2007, Estonia was one of the fastest growing emerging market economies. A housing boom, fuelled by capital inflows and credit, resulted in skyrocketing house prices and an over-expanded construction sector. However, the currency board limited the Bank of Estonia’s ability to curb...

In mid-2008, high employment and low unemployment rates characterised the Estonian labour market in comparison with the average of the EU15 countries. While aggregate outcomes improved during 2000-07, large inequalities persisted across regions, ethnic groups, and workers with different skill...