April 13

Real Wage, Labor Productivity, And Employment Trends In South Africa: A Closer Look.

South Africa Employment and work Wages Trackbacks (0)

IMF Working Paper by Nir Klein.

The paper looks at the dynamics of employment in South Africa and examines the factors that contributed to the job-shedding observed during the recent financial crisis. The paper finds that the rapid growth of the real wage, which outpaced the labor productivity growth in most sectors, played an important role in suppressing employment creation. The paper also finds that while there is a co-integrating link between the real wage and labor productivity, the deviations from equilibrium are persistent and thus contribute to a weak link between real wage growth and labor productivity growth in the short term. This finding is also supported by a cross-country analysis, which shows that in South Africa the link between the real wage and labor productivity is substantially weaker than in other emerging markets, even after controlling for labor market tightness indicators.
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January 11

Global Wage Report 2010/11. ILO

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Wage policies in times of crisis

UN Pulse| Permanent Link: Global Wage Report 2010/11. Wage policies in times of crisis

The International Labour organization (ILO) has issued the second in a series of ILO reports focusing on wage developments. This volume reviews the global and regional wage trends during the years of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The report shows that policy strategies and design are crucial to ensure that low-paid workers benefit from union representation and minimum wages, and argues that wage policies must be complemented with carefully crafted in-work benefits and other income transfers. Part III concludes with a summary of the report and highlights issues that are critical for improving wage policies. The report is available full-text in English, Spanish, and French.

November 05

Economic Crisis Erodes Wages. ILO

Economic conditions and policy Wages Trackbacks (0)
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released its Global Wage Report: 2009 Update. The report indicates that growth in wages has slowed because of the global economic crisis (news release). From: UN PULSE: Permanent Link: Economic Crisis Erodes Wages