The paper analyzes the link between firm characteristics and labor market regulation in five Asian economies - Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Labor market policies and labor standards do not only affects workers, but also influence firms' investment and...

The paper provides a review of the literature that links housing, housing finance, and economic development. The housing sector may support poverty reduction and inclusive growth in two general ways. First, housing construction contributes to economic output, creates employment, and generates a...

The paper analyzes the labor market outcomes of graduates of post-secondary technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the Philippines. Based on human capital theory, our guiding assumption is that investment in education is rewarded through higher wages and a greater likelihood...

The paper provides a review of the literature that links housing, housing finance, and economic development. The housing sector may support poverty reduction and inclusive growth in two general ways. First, housing construction contributes to economic output, creates employment, and generates a...

The paper analyzes the link between firm characteristics and labor market regulation in five Asian economies—Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Labor market policies and labor standards do not only affects workers, but also influence firms’ investment and...

Policies and programs designed to protect workers may, paradoxically, have a negative impact on labor as a whole by increasing unemployment. A key question is which policies have this effect. Using a 3-year panel of 90 countries, the study finds that the unemployment rate is affected by the...

Over the past 2 decades, income inequality has moderated in three middle-income countries in Southeast Asia-the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam-with multiple factors at play. In each country, wage, nonfarm business income, and overseas remittance concentrations declined as less well-off...

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the role of financial sector development, with a view to deepening understanding of the rationale of development assistance to the financial sector of developing countries. The review leads to the following broad conclusions: (i)...

We estimate the People's Republic of China's (PRC's potential growth rate in 2012 at 8.7% and at 9.2% for the average of 2008-2012, about the same as the average actual growth rate for this period. This rate is the natural growth rate, that is, the rate consistent with a constant unemployment...

The central question addressed by this study is whether countries with above-average governance grew faster than countries with below-average governance. Using the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators to measure governance performance, it examines whether a country with governance...