## _wp11154

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---

### I. Introduction
- Purpose: Document a new panel dataset on labor market regulations covering a broad sample of countries during 1980-2005 representing all income groups and regions.
- Scope of labor market indicators:
  - Minimum wages
  - Unemployment benefits
  - Employment protection
- Nature of the dataset:
  - Based on de jure labor market institutions as enshrined in current legislation (distinct from survey-based de facto datasets).
- Key caveat:
  - De jure measures do not guarantee application or enforcement in practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with large informal sectors.
- Structure of the paper:
  - Section II: construction of each subcomponent, sources, methodological difficulties
  - Section III: survey of existing labor market datasets
  - Section IV: descriptive statistics of the dataset
  - Section V: conclusions
  - Appendix I: detailed coding rules
  - Appendix II: exhaustive list of data sources

### II. Construction of the Data
- Three dimensions captured:
  - Minimum wages
  - Unemployment benefits
  - Employment protection legislation (EPL)
- Methodology:
  - Follows the OECD methodology for collecting and coding information (see Appendix I).
  - Country coverage listed in Table 1.
  - Variables listed in Table 2.
- Data-use guidance:
  - The database makes explicit where assumptions were required to calculate indices; users are urged to adjust measures where appropriate for their research questions.

### Minimum Wages — construction and measurement issues
- Reported measures:
  - Nominal minimum wages in national currency (monthly basis)
  - Minimum wages as a ratio to the mean wage
  - In some cases, minimum wages relative to the median wage
- Main data sources:
  - IMF, OECD, Eurostat, ECLAC, Inter-American Development Bank, CIS statistics, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, national statistics offices
  - Average wages: primarily ILO KILM and ILO Laborsta; supplemental national sources
  - Appendix II contains country-by-country sources
- Conversion and assumptions:
  - When minimum wages are set on bases other than monthly, converted to monthly using assumptions (see Appendix I), including a 40-hour working week (ILO C47 Forty-Hour Week Convention, 1935)
  - Note: the C47 assumption may not be appropriate where the Convention has not been ratified or is not applied
  - Users invited to adjust monthly measures to actual hours worked when additional information is available
- Measurement shortcomings documented:
  - Reflect only the formal sector
  - Multiple minimum wages within a country (regions, sectors, skill types, enterprise types) — the database reports the simple average of existing minimum wages.
  - In countries with multiple resets within a year, only the minimum wage in effect on the first of July 1 of the corresponding year is reported
  - Countries without statutory minimum wages but with collective wage agreements are marked explicitly; collective agreements may form de facto wage floors and reporting minimum wage as zero would be misleading.
- Relative-wage indicators:
  - Minimum-to-mean wage ratio used as the baseline indicator to maximize coverage
  - Median wages less frequently available; mean wages have measurement inconsistencies across countries (detrended in some cases; coverage often corresponds to manufacturing full-time wages)

### Unemployment Insurance — indicators and construction
- Two UI indicators constructed:
  - Gross replacement rate (GRR): captures generosity; ratio of UI benefits to worker’s last gross earning
    - GRR measures included for the first year of unemployment, the second year of unemployment, and the average of the two.
  - Number of UI benefit recipients: number of individuals receiving UI benefits at a given point in time; used relative to the number of unemployed as a proxy for reach or exclusivity of the UI system
- Construction of GRR — information collected:
  - Earnings base
  - Waiting period
  - Rules of UI payment
  - Maximum duration
  - Minimum and maximum payments (UI benefit ceilings)
  - Year of introduction of first legislation and years of consecutive reforms; rules/procedures set out by each law recorded
- Six-step verification and coding procedure for GRR and reforms:
  1. Use Social Security Programs Throughout the World (2002–08) country reports to determine whether any UI regulation exists and obtain the year of first legislation
  2. Verify reform years and track reform changes using the ILO NATLEX
  3. For European countries, verify latest rules and reform years with the MISSOC and LABREF databases
  4. For OECD countries, verify procedures with the OECD Benefits and Wages database and country-specific chapters
  5. For Latin American countries, verify with country information from Heckman and Pages (2004)

### Data sources, special cases, and methodological choices for UI
- Primary qualitative sources: US Department of State Reports on Human Rights Practices; national legislation databases; direct contacts with national experts; press and analytical reports in multiple languages.
- Sources for number of UI benefit recipients: national statistics offices and national statistical yearbooks; ministries of labor, social protection, and employment; social security administrations; labor funds; ministries of finance and economy; national central banks; local research institutes; national libraries.
- Measurement of GRRs and calculation approach:
  - GRRs calculated predominantly on a de jure basis where UI rules are expressed in percent of previous earnings.
  - Where UI payments are set as a percentage of a minimum wage, a subsistence minimum, or as a flat rate, GRRs are calculated de facto as the ratio of these payments to previous earnings proxied by the average wage in manufacturing.
  - Unemployment assistance is generally excluded from UI calculations; exception: Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand — GRRs calculated on unemployment assistance for these countries.
  - Countries with mixed systems or reforms: example Chile (2002–05) and Venezuela (2002–05). Chilean UI: individual capitalization accounts plus a common fund; benefit amounts computed for reference individuals with maximal legislatively set length of contributions.
- UI coverage conceptual and measurement challenges:
  - Conceptual target: fraction of unemployed individuals who collect UI benefits (coverage index).
  - Numerator (UI recipients): typically highly accurate; typically reported on a cumulative basis (number of recipients during a period).
  - Denominator (unemployed individuals): measured with less precision, especially in non-OECD countries; can yield coverage ratios exceeding one.
  - Temporal/statistical differences: unemployed counts often point-in-time; recipient counts cumulative over period (month/quarter/year). Database reports both recipients and unemployed to allow researcher choice.

### Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) indicators and construction
- Main EPL indicators:
  - Advance notice requirements and legally mandated severance payments for workers with 9 months, 4 years, and 20 years of experience.
  - Reported both in monthly salary equivalents and coded according to the OECD methodology.
- Construction method:
  - Followed same six steps as for UI indicators, based on various EPL publications.
  - All EPL indices are de jure, based on legislative provisions (labor codes, employment protection acts, other laws).
- Data coverage and special national schemes:
  - EPL present in vast majority of countries during 1980–2005.
  - Colombia: Severance Payments Savings Accounts (SPSA) from 1991; employers deposit a percentage of wages into guaranteed individual accounts withdrawable at separation — resembles unemployment insurance and can yield relatively high payments compared to standard severance or UI schemes.

### Comparison with other datasets
- OECD Benefits and Wages, Minimum Wages, and EPL Databases:
  - Cover 1960 to 2005 for OECD countries; used directly for OECD countries (except UI coverage, constructed by authors). Authors apply OECD coding methodology to non-OECD countries and provide raw data.
- Social Security Programs throughout the World (SSPTW): descriptive; used as main information source for coding current UI regulations and existence of regulations.
- World Bank Doing Business (DB) Indicators:
  - Covers 181 countries starting in 2004; includes firing cost and difficulty of firing workers.
  - DB based on experts’ assessments and survey questionnaires; considered more subjective than authors' descriptive coding of laws.
- Other datasets noted:
  - Botero et al. (2004): covers 85 countries for a one-year snapshot (1997).
  - Rama and Artecona (2002): 121 countries, 1945-1999, 44 labor market indicators reported as five-year averages.
  - Other related datasets referenced (LIS Comparative Welfare States Dataset; Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti Social Reforms Database; Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of the World; Harvard Global Labor Survey).

### Descriptive statistics and stylized findings
- Time and sample coverage references:
  - OECD indicators: 1960 to 2005.
  - EPL present in most countries during 1980–2005.
  - DB database begins in 2004.
  - Rapid changes particularly notable during 1990–2005 in many transition economies.
- Key statistical patterns (selected exact values preserved):
  - On average, substantial labor market regulations exist, but medians for many regulations are zero (e.g., UI systems and severance pay at short tenures), driven by low- and middle-income countries in early sample periods.
  - High-income countries: fairly high levels of UI benefits and EPL regulations throughout sample; limited variation over time.
  - Other income groups: expanded labor regulations dramatically from low initial levels.
  - Little overall convergence in UI replacement rates; exception: marked increase in replacement rates in middle-income countries around 1990 (driven largely by Emerging Europe and Central Asia).
  - EPL:
    - Advance notice requirements broadly converged by end of sample at the high level of high-income countries.
    - Large differences in severance pay requirements across income groups persisted.
    - Severance pay: high-income countries score as the least regulated group in this category.
  - Minimum wages:
    - Low-income countries converged with and briefly exceeded average minimum wage levels in higher income countries in early 1990s, then fell back.
    - By 2005 minimum wages in low-income countries were about a quarter the level of those in other countries.
- Key descriptive statistics (Table 4, selected variables):
  - mw_mnw: N = 1490; Mean = 0.34; Median = 0.35; Standard Deviation = 0.22; Min = 0.00; Max = 1.32
  - UB_grr1: N = 2310; Mean = 0.17; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.23; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.87
  - UB_grr2: N = 2310; Mean = 0.06; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.14; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.66
  - UB_grr12: N = 2310; Mean = 0.12; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.17; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.72
  - UB_coverage: N = 2109; Mean = 0.21; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.37; Min = 0.00; Max = 3.23
  - EPL_an9m: N = 2340; Mean = 0.77; Median = 0.83; Standard Deviation = 0.66; Min = 0.00; Max = 3.00
  - EPL_an9moecd: N = 2340; Mean = 2.30; Median = 2.00; Standard Deviation = 1.70; Min = 0.00; Max = 6.00
  - EPL_spmax: N = 2340; Mean = 7.39; Median = 3.00; Standard Deviation = 8.66; Min = 0.00; Max = 46.83
  - EPL_sp20y: N = 2340; Mean = 6.88; Median = 3.00; Standard Deviation = 8.53; Min = 0.00; Max = 46.83
- Regional averages (Table 5, selected exact values):
  - mw_mnw (All): East Asia & Pacific = 0.27; Europe & Central Asia = 0.30; Latin America & Caribbean = 0.41; Middle East & North Africa = 0.29; North America = 0.36; South Asia = 0.58; Sub-Saharan Africa = 0.18; Western Europe = 0.40; All = 0.34
  - UB_grr1 (All): East Asia & Pacific = 0.12; Europe & Central Asia = 0.18; Latin America & Caribbean = 0.05; Middle East & North Africa = 0.21; North America = 0.39; South Asia = 0.05; Sub-Saharan Africa = 0.01; Western Europe = 0.50; All = 0.17
  - EPL_spmax (All): East Asia & Pacific = 9.22; Europe & Central Asia = 3.07; Latin America & Caribbean = 16.31; Middle East & North Africa = 8.20; North America = 1.13; South Asia = 11.74; Sub-Saharan Africa = 4.61; Western Europe = 3.40; All = 7.39
- Income-level averages (selected exact values):
  - High income: OECD — mw_mnw = 0.38; UB_grr1 = 0.41; UB_grr2 = 0.20; UB_coverage = 0.62; EPL_spmax = 3.90; EPL_sp20y = 3.58
  - High income: Non-OECD — mw_mnw = 0.20; UB_grr1 = 0.16; UB_grr2 = 0.00; UB_coverage = 0.12; EPL_spmax = 12.18; EPL_sp20y = 10.75
  - All — mw_mnw = 0.34; UB_grr1 = 0.17; UB_grr2 = 0.06; UB_coverage = 0.21; EPL_spmax = 7.39; EPL_sp20y = 6.88
- Correlations among institutions (Table 6, selected exact values):
  - Levels:
    - Correlation between mw_mnw and UB_grr1 = 0.10
    - Correlation between mw_mnw and EPL_an4y = 0.06
    - Correlation between mw_mnw and EPL_sp4y = 0.13
  - Changes:
    - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dUB_grr1 = 0.06
    - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dEPL_an4y = -0.03
    - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dEPL_sp4y = -0.02
- Stylized regional insights:
  - Western Europe: on average more regulations, especially UI benefits and advance notice requirements.
  - South Asia: substantially higher minimum wages than Western Europe.
  - Western Europe and North America: broadly on par for minimum wages, with Western Europe rising after 2000 and North America slightly decreasing.
  - Severance pay highest in Latin America, lowest in North America and Western Europe (reflecting Latin American provisions combining severance and unemployment elements).

### Data limitations and user considerations
- De jure focus:
  - Provides objective criteria for timing of regulatory changes but leaves enforcement and de facto application unmeasured.
- Minimum-wage measures:
  - Formal-sector focus limits applicability where informal employment is large.
  - Simple averages used when multiple statutory minima exist; weighted averages by employment distribution were not possible due to lack of data.
- GRR focus:
  - Uses gross rather than net replacement rates due to data constraints; net replacement rates require detailed tax and individual characteristic data rarely available even for OECD countries.
- Recommendations for users:
  - Adjust monthly minimum-wage measures for actual hours worked when information is available.
  - Consider alternative denominators for cross-country comparisons (e.g., ratio to value added per worker, labor productivity, subsistence minimum, or poverty line) when mean-wage coverage gaps persist.

### Appendix I — Coding rules and methodological assumptions (selected)
- Statutory minimum wages:
  - Reported values correspond to the values in effect on July 1st of each year, unless otherwise specified.
  - When several minimum wages apply, a simple average minimum wage is constructed.
  - Recalculation assumptions (when original data are on weekly/daily basis):
    - working day: 8 hours
    - working week: 40 hours
    - working month: 22 days
    - working year: 52 weeks, 12 months
  - Data coding: 0 = no minimum wage legislation; . = missing value; n/a = no statutory minimum wage arrangement; c/a = wages determined by collective agreements.
- Unemployment benefits (Gross Replacement Rates and Coverage):
  - GRR follow OECD methodology; reported for year 1, year 2, and average over 2 years.
  - Calculation assumptions preserved exactly:
    - Worker profile: 40 years of age, continuously full-time employed, maximum amount of contributions for a given profile.
    - GRR calculated for 100% earners; family situation: single worker without children.
    - Ceilings are taken into account; 2-year unemployment period is assumed.
    - Gross base assumed irrespective of reported earnings base; no unemployment assistance included.
  - Unemployment Benefit Coverage = ratio of number of UI Benefit recipients to number of unemployed.
  - Data coding: 0 = no legislation or provision in place; . = missing value.
- Employment protection (notice and severance pay for no-fault individual dismissals):
  - Collected indicators:
    - Maximum advance notice; Advance notice after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months); Maximum severance payment; Severance payment after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months).
  - Data collected for regular contracts of unspecified duration, dismissals for personal grounds or individual redundancy at employer initiative, fair dismissals only, workers paid on monthly basis. Where rules differ by reason or by skill type, averages are taken. Assume start of work at 20 years of age when rules depend on age. Maximum AN and SP reflect the maximally possible provisions at 20 years of service.
  - OECD coding: AN and SP values coded according to OECD methodology assigning numerical strictness scores 0 through 6 based on months of entitlement (examples preserved in Table A1).

### Appendix II — Information Sources by Country (selected examples)
- Minimum Wage and Average Wage: country-level sources listed for Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, China, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, etc., including national statistics offices and ILO KILM/Laborsta.
- Unemployment Benefits and Coverage: country-level sources listed for Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Germany, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, etc., including SSPTW, national ministries, and ILO.
- Employment Protection: country-level sources listed for Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, etc., including ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest, national labor codes, and OECD Employment Outlook.

### Conclusions and implications for research
- Contribution: A new, descriptive database on labor market regulations (UI, minimum wages, EPL) extended to non-OECD countries, including lower-income economies, and adding UI coverage information for all countries.
- Research implications:
  - Substantial variation across countries and over time, especially in developing economies, offers opportunities to study effects of labor market reforms beyond advanced economies.
  - Caveats: large informal sectors in many low- and middle-income economies lie outside the regulatory framework; measurement and comparability issues (e.g., GRR de facto vs de jure, UI coverage numerator/denominator differences) must be considered.
- Intended use: database as a useful resource for researchers studying labor market functioning in emerging and developing economies as well as advanced countries.

*Source: _wp11154 (IMF Working Paper content provided).*

### References .............................................................................................................

### _wp11154 - References .............................................................................................................

### I. Introduction
- Purpose: Document a new panel dataset on labor market regulations covering a broad sample of countries during 1980-2005 representing all income groups and regions.
- Scope of labor market indicators:
  - Minimum wages
  - Unemployment benefits
  - Employment protection
- Nature of the dataset:
  - Based on de jure labor market institutions as enshrined in current legislation (distinct from survey-based de facto datasets).
- Key caveat:
  - De jure measures do not guarantee application or enforcement in practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with large informal sectors.
- Structure of the paper:
  - Section II: construction of each subcomponent, sources, methodological difficulties
  - Section III: survey of existing labor market datasets
  - Section IV: descriptive statistics of the dataset
  - Section V: conclusions
  - Appendix I: detailed coding rules
  - Appendix II: exhaustive list of data sources

### II. Construction of the Data
- Three dimensions captured:
  - Minimum wages
  - Unemployment benefits
  - Employment protection legislation
- Methodology:
  - Follows the OECD methodology for collecting and coding information (see Appendix I).
  - Country coverage listed in Table 1.
  - Variables listed in Table 2.
- Data-use guidance:
  - The database makes explicit where assumptions were required to calculate indices; users are urged to adjust measures where appropriate for their research questions.

### Minimum Wages — construction and measurement issues
- Reported measures:
  - Nominal minimum wages in national currency (monthly basis)
  - Minimum wages as a ratio to the mean wage
  - In some cases, minimum wages relative to the median wage
- Main data sources:
  - IMF, OECD, Eurostat, ECLAC, Inter-American Development Bank, CIS statistics, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, national statistics offices
  - Average wages: primarily ILO KILM and ILO Laborsta; supplemental national sources
  - Appendix II contains country-by-country sources
- Conversion and assumptions:
  - When minimum wages are set on bases other than monthly, converted to monthly using assumptions (see Appendix I), including a 40-hour working week (ILO C47 Forty-Hour Week Convention, 1935)
  - Note: the C47 assumption may not be appropriate where the Convention has not been ratified or is not applied
  - Users invited to adjust monthly measures to actual hours worked when additional information is available
- Measurement shortcomings documented:
  - Reflect only the formal sector
  - Multiple minimum wages within a country (regions, sectors, skill types, enterprise types) — the database reports the simple average of existing minimum wages.2
  - In countries with multiple resets within a year, only the minimum wage in effect on the first of July 1 of the corresponding year is reported
  - Countries without statutory minimum wages but with collective wage agreements are marked explicitly; collective agreements may form de facto wage floors and reporting minimum wage as zero would be misleading.3
- Relative-wage indicators:
  - Minimum-to-mean wage ratio used as the baseline indicator to maximize coverage4
  - Median wages less frequently available; mean wages have measurement inconsistencies across countries (detrended in some cases; coverage often corresponds to manufacturing full-time wages)

### Unemployment Insurance — indicators and construction
- Two UI indicators constructed:
  - Gross replacement rate (GRR): captures generosity; ratio of UI benefits to worker’s last gross earning
    - GRR measures included for the first year of unemployment, the second year of unemployment, and the average of the two.5
  - Number of UI benefit recipients: number of individuals receiving UI benefits at a given point in time; used relative to the number of unemployed as a proxy for reach or exclusivity of the UI system
- Construction of GRR — information collected:
  - Earnings base
  - Waiting period
  - Rules of UI payment
  - Maximum duration
  - Minimum and maximum payments (UI benefit ceilings)
  - Year of introduction of first legislation and years of consecutive reforms; rules/procedures set out by each law recorded
- Six-step verification and coding procedure for GRR and reforms:
  1. Use Social Security Programs Throughout the World (2002–08) country reports to determine whether any UI regulation exists and obtain the year of first legislation
  2. Verify reform years and track reform changes using the ILO NATLEX
  3. For European countries, verify latest rules and reform years with the MISSOC and LABREF databases
  4. For OECD countries, verify procedures with the OECD Benefits and Wages database and country-specific chapters
  5. For Latin American countries, verify with country information from Heckman and Pages (2004)

### Data limitations and user considerations
- De jure focus provides objective criteria for timing of regulatory changes but leaves enforcement and de facto application unmeasured.
- Minimum-wage measures:
  - Formal-sector focus limits applicability where informal employment is large.
  - Simple averages used when multiple statutory minima exist; weighted averages by employment distribution were not possible due to lack of data.
- GRR focus:
  - Uses gross rather than net replacement rates due to data constraints; net replacement rates require detailed tax and individual characteristic data rarely available even for OECD countries.5
- Recommendations for users:
  - Adjust monthly minimum-wage measures for actual hours worked when information is available.
  - Consider alternative denominators for cross-country comparisons (e.g., ratio to value added per worker, labor productivity, subsistence minimum, or poverty line) when mean-wage coverage gaps persist.4

*Source: _wp11154 - References (content as provided in the supplied PDF).*

### 6. For all other countries and for earlier years, explore further the US Department of

### _wp11154 - 6. For all other countries and for earlier years, explore further the US Department of 

### Data sources and compilation
- Primary qualitative sources: US Department of State Reports on Human Rights Practices; national legislation databases; direct contacts with national experts, researchers, policy-makers, representatives of trade unions and employers organizations; press, business news and analytical reports in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, and other Slavic languages.
- Sources for number of UI benefit recipients: national statistics offices and national statistical yearbooks; ministries of labor, social protection, and employment; social security administrations; labor funds; bodies administering programs; ministries of finance and economy; national central banks; local research institutes; national libraries.
- Additional institutional sources for Employment Protection Legislation (EPL): ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest; ILO Library Archives; ILO NORMES Database; Tonin (2007) database for transition economies.

### Measurement of UI benefits, GRRs, and calculation approach
- General approach:
  - GRRs calculated predominantly on a de jure basis where UI rules are expressed in percent of previous earnings.
  - Where UI payments are set as a percentage of a minimum wage, a subsistence minimum, or as a flat rate, GRRs are calculated de facto as the ratio of these payments to previous earnings proxied by the average wage in manufacturing.
  - This de facto procedure may affect comparability of calculated GRRs across countries.
- Special cases and methodological choices:
  - Unemployment assistance is generally excluded from UI calculations; exception: Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand (no unemployment benefit system but highly developed unemployment assistance schemes) — GRRs calculated on unemployment assistance for these countries.
  - Countries with mixed systems or reforms (example): Chile (2002–05) and Venezuela (2002–05).
  - Chilean UI example: unemployment insurance based on individual capitalization accounts (workers contribute) plus a common fund (employer and state contribute). Benefit amounts computed for reference individuals with the maximal legislatively set length of contributions to individual savings accounts.

### UI coverage: conceptual and measurement challenges
- Conceptual target: fraction of unemployed individuals who collect UI benefits (coverage index).
- Numerator (UI recipients):
  - Typically highly accurate; collected by payment offices and aggregated by administering bodies (UI boards, national insurance institutes, national employment offices).
  - Typically reported on a cumulative basis (number of recipients during a period: month, quarter, or year).
- Denominator (unemployed individuals):
  - Measured with less precision, especially in non-OECD countries.
  - Challenges: unofficial/hidden unemployment, labor force surveys focused on metropolitan regions, underestimation of actual unemployment.
  - Consequence: coverage ratios can be implausibly high, sometimes exceeding one.
- Temporal/statistical differences:
  - Unemployed counts usually given for a specific point in time; recipient counts are cumulative over a period (e.g., number of individuals who during a given year received UI benefits for any length of time).
  - Example (Sweden, 2005): ILO reports number of (fully) unemployed individuals (average over monthly measures) as 270,000, while the Swedish Unemployment Insurance Board counts 601,370 UI benefit recipients (the latter includes individuals receiving benefits for some period, including one day, or those receiving benefits while partly employed).
- Database practice:
  - Both the number of recipients and the number of unemployed are reported to allow researchers to choose the preferred denominator.
- Note on ideal measure (footnote): Ideally measure fraction of labor force potentially eligible for UI benefits at any point in time, but infeasible.

### Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) indicators and construction
- Main EPL indicators:
  - Advance notice requirements and legally mandated severance payments for workers with 9 months, 4 years, and 20 years of experience.
  - Reported both in monthly salary equivalents and coded according to the OECD methodology.
- Construction method:
  - Followed same six steps as for UI indicators, based on various EPL publications.
  - All EPL indices are de jure, based on legislative provisions (labor codes, employment protection acts, other laws).
- Data coverage: EPL present in vast majority of countries during 1980–2005.
- Special national schemes:
  - Colombia: Severance Payments Savings Accounts (SPSA) from 1991; employers deposit a percentage of wages into guaranteed individual accounts withdrawable at separation — resembles unemployment insurance and can yield relatively high payments compared to standard severance or UI schemes.

### Comparison with other datasets
- OECD Benefits and Wages, Minimum Wages, and EPL Databases:
  - Cover 1960 to 2005 for OECD countries; used directly for OECD countries (except UI coverage, constructed by authors).
  - Authors apply OECD coding methodology to non-OECD countries and provide raw data.
- Social Security Programs throughout the World (SSPTW):
  - Descriptive; used as main information source for coding current UI regulations and existence of regulations.
- World Bank Doing Business (DB) Indicators:
  - Covers 181 countries starting in 2004; includes firing cost and difficulty of firing workers.
  - DB based on experts’ assessments and survey questionnaires (local law firms); considered more subjective.
  - Authors’ database is descriptive coding of actual laws and regulations and does not evaluate desirability.
- Botero et al. (2004):
  - Covers 85 countries for a one-year snapshot (1997); authors’ database provides time series to track reforms.
- Rama and Artecona (2002):
  - 121 countries, 1945-1999, 44 labor market indicators reported as five-year averages — aggregates hinder dating of reforms and rapid changes.
- Other related datasets noted (no details extracted here): LIS Comparative Welfare States Dataset; Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti Social Reforms Database; Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of the World Annual Reports; Harvard Labor and Work Life Program’s Global Labor Survey (Chor and Freeman, 2004; Freeman, 2007).

### Descriptive statistics and stylized findings
- Time and sample coverage references:
  - OECD indicators: 1960 to 2005.
  - EPL present in most countries during 1980–2005.
  - DB database begins in 2004.
  - Rapid changes particularly notable during 1990–2005 in many transition economies.
- Key statistical patterns:
  - On average, substantial labor market regulations exist, but medians for many regulations are zero (e.g., UI systems and severance pay at short tenures), driven by low- and middle-income countries in early sample periods.
  - High-income countries: fairly high levels of UI benefits and EPL regulations throughout sample; limited variation over time.
  - Other income groups: expanded labor regulations dramatically from low initial levels.
  - Little overall convergence in UI replacement rates; exception: marked increase in replacement rates in middle-income countries around 1990 (driven largely by Emerging Europe and Central Asia).
  - EPL:
    - Advance notice requirements broadly converged by end of sample at the high level of high-income countries.
    - Large differences in severance pay requirements across income groups persisted.
    - Severance pay: high-income countries score as the least regulated group in this category.
  - Minimum wages:
    - Low-income countries converged with and briefly exceeded average minimum wage levels in higher income countries in early 1990s, then fell back.
    - By 2005 minimum wages in low-income countries were about a quarter the level of those in other countries.
  - Regional insights (Figure 2 summary):
    - Western Europe: on average more regulations, especially UI benefits and advance notice requirements.
    - South Asia: substantially higher minimum wages than Western Europe.
    - Western Europe and North America: broadly on par for minimum wages, with Western Europe rising after 2000 and North America slightly decreasing.
    - Severance pay highest in Latin America, lowest in North America and Western Europe (reflecting Latin American provisions combining severance and unemployment elements).
- Correlations between institutions (Table 6):
  - Regulations are generally fairly uncorrelated, suggesting policymakers do not treat various labor market reforms as a single package.
  - Two noted correlations:
    - UI benefit levels and advance notice requirements positively correlated in levels (.28).
    - Severance pay and advance notice requirements positively correlated in changes (.34).

### Conclusions and implications for research
- Contribution: A new, descriptive database on labor market regulations (UI, minimum wages, EPL) extended to non-OECD countries, including lower-income economies, and adding UI coverage information for all countries.
- Research implications:
  - Substantial variation across countries and over time, especially in developing economies, offers opportunities to study effects of labor market reforms beyond advanced economies.
  - Caveats: large informal sectors in many low- and middle-income economies lie outside the regulatory framework; measurement and comparability issues (e.g., GRR de facto vs de jure, UI coverage numerator/denominator differences) must be considered.
- Intended use: database as a useful resource for researchers studying labor market functioning in emerging and developing economies as well as advanced countries.

*Source: _wp11154 - 6. For all other countries and for earlier years, explore further the US Department of (IMF WP content provided).*

### References

### _wp11154 - References

### Bibliographic and data sources
- Extensive bibliographic list including academic articles, working papers, datasets, and institutional databases (examples preserved from source):  
  - Acemoglu, Daron, and Robert Shimer, 2000, “Productivity Gains from Unemployment Insurance,” European Economic Review, Vol. 44, Issue 7, pp. 1195–1224.  
  - Acevedo, German, Patricio Eskenazi, and Carmen Pagés, 2006, “Unemployment Insurance in Chile: A New Model of Income Support for Unemployed Workers,” The World Bank Social Protection DP No. 0612.  
  - Botero, Juan, Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, and Andrei Shleifer, 2004, “The Regulation of Labor,” Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 119, Issue 4, pp. 1339–1382.  
  - OECD (1994, 2004, 2007) Employment Outlook and related databases.  
  - International Labour Office: KILM Database, NATLEX Country Profiles Database, Termination of Employment Legislation Digest.  
  - Databases and data providers cited: European Commission Eurostat, LABREF, Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti Social Reforms Database, Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of the World, Doing Business (World Bank), CIS Statistics Database, MISSOC Comparative Tables, US Social Security Administration Social Security Programs Throughout the World, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.  

### Dataset structure and variables (Table 2)
- Core identifiers and country codes: Country, IFS (IFS 3-digit country code), ISO2, ISO3, Year.  
- Minimum wage variables:
  - mw_orig: Minimum wage data in original units, National currency  
  - mnw: Mean wage data in original units, National currency  
  - mw_mthly: Monthly minimum wage, National currency  
  - mw_mnw: Ratio of minimum wage to mean wage  
  - mdw: Median wage  
  - mw_mdw: Ratio of minimum wage to median wage  
- Unemployment benefit variables:
  - UB_yearlaw: Year of first law introducing unemployment benefits legislation  
  - UB_grr1: Gross Replacement Rate, year 1  
  - UB_grr2: Gross Replacement Rate, year 2  
  - UB_grr12: Gross Replacement Rate, average over 2 years  
  - UB_coverage: Unemployment Benefits Coverage  
- Employment protection variables (advance notice (AN) and severance pay (SP)):
  - EPL_anmax: Advance Notice (maximum, in months)  
  - EPL_an9m, EPL_an4y, EPL_an20y: Advance Notice Period after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months)  
  - EPL_an9moecd, EPL_an4yoecd, EPL_an20yoecd: OECD Score for Advance Notice at those tenures  
  - EPL_spmax: Severance Pay (maximum, in months)  
  - EPL_sp9m, EPL_sp4y, EPL_sp20y: Severance Pay after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months)  
  - EPL_sp9moecd, EPL_sp4yoecd, EPL_sp20yoecd: OECD Score for Severance Pay at those tenures

### Key descriptive statistics (Table 4)
- Observations and summary statistics (selected variables, preserving values exactly):
  - mw_mnw: N = 1490; Mean = 0.34; Median = 0.35; Standard Deviation = 0.22; Min = 0.00; Max = 1.32  
  - UB_grr1: N = 2310; Mean = 0.17; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.23; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.87  
  - UB_grr2: N = 2310; Mean = 0.06; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.14; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.66  
  - UB_grr12: N = 2310; Mean = 0.12; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.17; Min = 0.00; Max = 0.72  
  - UB_coverage: N = 2109; Mean = 0.21; Median = 0.00; Standard Deviation = 0.37; Min = 0.00; Max = 3.23  
  - EPL_an9m: N = 2340; Mean = 0.77; Median = 0.83; Standard Deviation = 0.66; Min = 0.00; Max = 3.00  
  - EPL_an9moecd: N = 2340; Mean = 2.30; Median = 2.00; Standard Deviation = 1.70; Min = 0.00; Max = 6.00  
  - EPL_spmax: N = 2340; Mean = 7.39; Median = 3.00; Standard Deviation = 8.66; Min = 0.00; Max = 46.83  
  - EPL_sp20y: N = 2340; Mean = 6.88; Median = 3.00; Standard Deviation = 8.53; Min = 0.00; Max = 46.83

### Regional and income-level averages (Table 5, selected entries)
- Regional averages (selected variables, values preserved):
  - mw_mnw (All): East Asia & Pacific = 0.27; Europe & Central Asia = 0.30; Latin America & Caribbean = 0.41; Middle East & North Africa = 0.29; North America = 0.36; South Asia = 0.58; Sub-Saharan Africa = 0.18; Western Europe = 0.40; All = 0.34  
  - UB_grr1 (All): East Asia & Pacific = 0.12; Europe & Central Asia = 0.18; Latin America & Caribbean = 0.05; Middle East & North Africa = 0.21; North America = 0.39; South Asia = 0.05; Sub-Saharan Africa = 0.01; Western Europe = 0.50; All = 0.17  
  - EPL_spmax (All): East Asia & Pacific = 9.22; Europe & Central Asia = 3.07; Latin America & Caribbean = 16.31; Middle East & North Africa = 8.20; North America = 1.13; South Asia = 11.74; Sub-Saharan Africa = 4.61; Western Europe = 3.40; All = 7.39
- Income-level averages (selected):
  - High income: OECD — mw_mnw = 0.38; UB_grr1 = 0.41; UB_grr2 = 0.20; UB_coverage = 0.62; EPL_spmax = 3.90; EPL_sp20y = 3.58  
  - High income: Non-OECD — mw_mnw = 0.20; UB_grr1 = 0.16; UB_grr2 = 0.00; UB_coverage = 0.12; EPL_spmax = 12.18; EPL_sp20y = 10.75  
  - All — mw_mnw = 0.34; UB_grr1 = 0.17; UB_grr2 = 0.06; UB_coverage = 0.21; EPL_spmax = 7.39; EPL_sp20y = 6.88

### Correlations among key labor market regulations (Table 6)
- Levels (selected correlations, values preserved):
  - Correlation between mw_mnw and UB_grr1 = 0.10  
  - Correlation between mw_mnw and EPL_an4y = 0.06  
  - Correlation between mw_mnw and EPL_sp4y = 0.13
- Changes (selected correlations, values preserved):
  - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dUB_grr1 = 0.06  
  - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dEPL_an4y = -0.03  
  - Correlation between dmw_mnw and dEPL_sp4y = -0.02

### Appendix I — Coding rules and methodological assumptions
- Statutory minimum wages:
  - Reported values correspond to the values in effect on July 1st of each year, unless otherwise specified.  
  - When several minimum wages apply, a simple average minimum wage is constructed.  
  - Recalculation assumptions (when original data are on weekly/daily basis):
    - working day: 8 hours  
    - working week: 40 hours  
    - working month: 22 days  
    - working year: 52 weeks, 12 months  
  - Data coding: 0 = no minimum wage legislation; . = missing value; n/a = no statutory minimum wage arrangement; c/a = wages determined by collective agreements.
- Unemployment benefits (Gross Replacement Rates and Coverage):
  - Gross Replacement Rates (GRR) follow OECD methodology; reported for year 1, year 2, and average over 2 years.  
  - Calculation assumptions preserved exactly:
    - Worker profile: 40 years of age, continuously full-time employed, maximum amount of contributions for a given profile.  
    - GRR calculated for 100% earners; family situation: single worker without children.  
    - Ceilings are taken into account; 2-year unemployment period is assumed.  
    - Gross base assumed irrespective of reported earnings base; no unemployment assistance included.  
  - Unemployment Benefit Coverage = ratio of number of UI Benefit recipients to number of unemployed.  
  - Data coding: 0 = no legislation or provision in place; . = missing value.
- Employment protection (notice and severance pay for no-fault individual dismissals):
  - Collected indicators:
    - Maximum advance notice; Advance notice after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months); Maximum severance payment; Severance payment after 9 months, 4 years, 20 years (months).  
  - Data collected for regular contracts of unspecified duration, dismissals for personal grounds or individual redundancy at employer initiative, fair dismissals only, workers paid on monthly basis. Where rules differ by reason or by skill type, averages are taken. Assume start of work at 20 years of age when rules depend on age. Maximum AN and SP reflect the maximally possible provisions at 20 years of service.  
  - OECD coding: AN and SP values are also coded according to the OECD methodology (Table A1), assigning numerical strictness scores 0 through 6 based on months of entitlement. Example mappings from Table A1 (preserved):
    - Advance notice period at 9 months of tenure: Score 0 = 0 months; Score 6 = ≥2 months.  
    - Severance pay at 4 years of tenure: Score 0 = 0 months pay; Score 6 = ≥4 months pay.

*Source: _wp11154 - References (PDF)._

### Appendix II. Information Sources by Country

### Appendix II. Information Sources by Country

### Minimum Wage and Average Wage
- Albania — National Statistics Bureau of Albania (1997-2004). Albanian Annual Business Structural Survey. National Statistics Bureau of Albania (http://www.instat.gov.al/). Vodopivec M., A. Wörgötter, and D. Raju (2003). “Unemployment Benefit Systems in Central and Eastern Europe: A Review of the 1990s,” The World Bank Social Protection Discussion Paper No. 0310.
- Algeria — Ministère du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale. ILO NATLEX Country Profiles Database. Geneva. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home . ILO Laborsta Database. Geneva. Available at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/ .
- Argentina — ECLAC Statistical Database. Available at: http://websie.eclac.cl/sisgen/ConsultaIntegrada.asp. Accessed: September 10, 2007. ILO Laborsta Database. Geneva. Available at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/. ILO (2006). Para Qui Sirve el Salario Minimo? Elementos Para Su Determinacion En Los Paises Del Cono Sur. (Eds) Marinakis A., J Velasco. ILO: Geneva.
- Australia — OECD Statutory Minimum Wages in 21 OECD Countries. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/document/34/0,3343,en_2649_33927_40917154_1_1_1_1,00.html#minwage. ILO Key Indicators of the Labour Market, Labor Related Establishment Survey. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/empelm/what/lang--en/WCMS_114240.
- China — Chan Anita (2007). “A Race to the Bottom,” China Perspectives, No. 46. China Labor Watch. http://www.chinalaborwatch.org. China Internet Information Centre. http://www.china.org.cn. Xinhua News Agency. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/. (Note on 2001 and 2004 minimum wage calculation reforms preserved in source.)

### Unemployment Benefits and Coverage
- Albania — EBRD (1999). Albania Transition Report. Available at: http://transitionreport.co.uk. ILO and the Council of Europe (2006). Employment Policy Review: Albania. Council of Europe. National Statistics Bureau of Albania (http://www.instat.gov.al/).
- Algeria — Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Social Security Administration (2002-2007). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Annual Country Reports. Available at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/.
- Argentina — Chebez V. and Salvia A. (2001). “Empleo, desocupación y seguro de desempleo en la Argentina. Propuestas de políticas para su mejoramiento,” Congreso Nacional de Estudios del Trabajo. Ministerio de Trabajo. ECLAC Statistical Database. Available at: http://websie.eclac.cl/sisgen/ConsultaIntegrada.asp. Accessed: September 10, 2007. Instituto Nacional De Estadistica y Censos. http://www.indec.gov.ar. Iturriza A., Bedi A. S., Sparrow R. (2007). “Unemployment Assistance and Transition to Unemployment in Argentina,” EUDN Working Paper 2007-02.
- Australia — Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/. Australian Statistical Yearbooks. Various years. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCS). http://www.facsia.gov.au/. OECD Benefits and Wages Database. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/document/0/0,3343,en_2649_34637_34053248_1_1_1_1,00.html
- Germany — Blau, H., Hofmann H., Meyerle W., Munz S., and Vogler-Ludwig K, (1997). “Employment and Labor Market: Labor Market Studies Germany,” European Commission Document. Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung, Statistisches Taschenbuch 2001. Berlin. European Commission. Eurostat Database. Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/.

### Employment Protection
- Albania — Law on Labor Relations (1991). ILO Library Archives. Labor Code of Albania (1966). ILO Legislative Series, 1966-Vol. I. Labor Code of Albania (1995). ILO NATLEX Country Profiles Database. Geneva. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home .
- Algeria — Law on a General Status of a Worker of the Democratic People’s Republic of Algeria (1978). ILO NORMES Database. ILO: Geneva. The World Bank (2004). Unlocking the Employment Potential in the Middle East and North Africa: Toward a New Social Contract. MENA Development Report. The World Bank: Washington, DC.
- Argentina — ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/. Marshall, Adriana (2004). “Labor market policies and regulations in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico: Programmes and Impacts,” Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social: Buenos Aires. Jaramillo, M., and Saavedra, J. (2005). “Severance Payment Programs in Latin America,” Empirica, Vol. 32, No. 3-4, pp. 275–307.
- Australia — OECD (2004). Employment Outlook. Paris: OECD. OECD. (1999). Employment Outlook. Paris: OECD. The Workplace Relations Act 1996.
- Belgium — OECD (2004). Employment Outlook. Paris: OECD. ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/.

*Appendix II. Information Sources by Country — source content drawn from the supplied IMF PDF content unit.*

### 53. ILO Legislative Series.

### 53. ILO Legislative Series.

### Minimum Wage and Average Wage
- United States of America
  - ILO KILM Database. Geneva. Available at:  http://www.ilo.org/empelm/what/lang--en/WCMS_114240
  - ILO Laborsta Database. Geneva. Available at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/
  - OECD Statutory Minimum Wages in 21 OECD Countries. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/document/34/0,3343,en_2649_33927_40917154_1_1_1_1,00.html#minwage
  - US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment and Earnings.
- Uruguay
  - Sulla, Victor, Stefano Scarpetta, Gaëlle Pierre. Database for Labor Market Regulations and Institutions Across Countries.
  - ILO Laborsta Database. Geneva. Available at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/
  - National Institute of Statistics. Available at: http://www.ine.gub.uy/
- Uzbekistan
  - National Laws and Legal Documents
  - Uzbek Economic Trends, Quarterly Issue, 2000. Ministry of Macroeconomics and Statistics.
- Venezuela
  - Banco Central de Venezuela (1995). Anuario de Estadísticas, Precios y Mercado Laboral : Caracas.
  - Cartaya V. (1998) “Empleo, Productividad e Ingresos Venezuela (1990-1996).” ILO: Geneva.
  - Business news, various issues and sources
- Vietnam
  - Decision No 242/LDTBXH-QD. Provided by Vietnam Gateway, VNN: Vietnam.
  - Decision No 708/1999/QD-BLDTBXH (1999). Provided by Vietnam Gateway, VNN: Vietnam.
  - Various business newspapers and journals
  - Vietnam Statistics Yearbook, various issues
- Zimbabwe
  - Collective Bargaining Agreement: Commercial Sectors S.I. 236 (2000), ILO Library Archives.
  - ILO KILM Database, Geneva. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/empelm/what/lang--en/WCMS_114240.
  - Yearbook of Labor Statistics (2004), National Statistics Bureau: Harare.
  - Labor Relations (Specification of Minimum Wages) Notice (1996), S.I. No. 70. Government Gazette, Supplement, 1996-05-17, pp. 491-494.
  - Labor Relations (Specification of Minimum Wages) (Amendment) Notice (2000), No 5. Government Gazette, Supplement, 2000-03-24, 1 p.
  - Labor Relations (Specification of Minimum Wages) (Amendment) Notice (2001), No. 7. Official Gazette, Statutory Instruments, 2001-11-02, No. 335, p. 2137.
  - Shadur M, (1991), “Labor Relations in a Zimbabwean Parastatal,” Zamberia, XIII (i). p 25-35.

### Unemployment Benefits and Coverage
- United States of America
  - ILO Laborsta Database. Geneva. Available at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/
  - OECD (1999). The Public Employment Service in the United States. OECD: Paris.
  - Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Social Security Administration (2002-2007). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Annual Country Reports. Available at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/
  - U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration. Available at: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp
- Uruguay
  - Amarante V., Bucheli M. (2006). “Documento de Trabajo. El Seguro de Desempleo en Uruguay,” Baco Mundial et Ministerio de Trabajo et Seguridad Social.
  - Instituto de Seguridad Social
  - Marshall A. (1997). “State Labour Market Intervention in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay: Common Model, Different Versions,” Employment and Training Papers, ILO: Geneva.
- Uzbekistan
  - Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States. CIS Statistics Database. http//www.cisstat.com
  - ILO Social Security Department Database. ILO: Geneva.
  - Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Employment Protection” No 854-XII, May 7 (1993).
  - Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Social Security Administration (2002-2007). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Annual Country Reports. Available at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/
- Venezuela
  - Mazza J. (1999). “Unemployment Insurance: Case Studies and Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean,” Inter-American Development Bank, SDS and RE2/SO2. Technical Study.
  - Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Social Security Administration (2002-2007). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Annual Country Reports. Available at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/
- Vietnam
  - Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, US Social Security Administration (2002-2007). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Annual Country Reports. Available at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/
- Zimbabwe
  - (No specific unemployment benefits sources beyond general labor statistics and legislative notices listed under other themes.)

### Employment Protection
- United States of America
  - ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/
  - OECD (2004). Employment Outlook. Paris: OECD.
- Uruguay
  - Jaramillo, M., and Saavedra, J (2005). “Severance Payment Programs in Latin America,” Empirica, Vol. 32, No. 3-4. pp. 275-307.
  - ILO NATLEX Country Profiles Database. Geneva. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home
  - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. Doing Business Indicators. Available at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/
- Uzbekistan
  - Labor Code of Uzbekistan (1995) Provided by FINMANCONSULT: http://www.fmc.uz/legisl.php?id=k_trud Accessed March 21, 2008
  - Labor Code of Uzbekistan (1977). With amendments of 1993.
- Venezuela
  - ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/
  - Jaramillo, M., and Saavedra, J. (2005). “Severance Payment Programs in Latin America,” Empirica, Vol. 32, No. 3-4. pp. 275-307.
  - Venezuela Law on Labor (1973). ILO Legislation Series. ILO: Geneva.
  - Venezuela Law on Labor (1983). ILO Legislation Series. ILO: Geneva.
- Vietnam
  - ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/
  - Vietnam Labor Code (1952). ILO Legislation Series.
- Zimbabwe
  - ILO NATLEX Country Profiles Database. Geneva. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home.
  - ILO Termination of Employment Legislation Digest. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/termination/.

*Content compiled from: 53. ILO Legislative Series. (source PDF content provided).*

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