Colombia: Selected Issues
IMF Staff Country Reports, April 17, 2020
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- Canonical URL
- Colombia: Selected Issues
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Bibliographic details
- Published: April 17, 2020
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513540641.002
Overview
- Focus: Venezuelan migration and the labor market.
- Magnitude: Over 2 million migrants have crossed the border from Venezuela and continue to join Colombia’s labor market.
- General labor market condition: Remains weak overall with rising unemployment and falling participation.
Findings on labor market impacts
- Displacement effects: There is so far little evidence of displacement effects on account of immigration.
- Absorption channel: The Colombian informal sector has capably absorbed most of the migrant inflow.
- Local labor markets: A more granular view of Colombia’s local labor markets does not show weaker employment outcomes in those that have received the most migrants.
- Skills and allocation:
- Many migrant workers are highly skilled.
- A large share of these skilled workers are attached to the informal sector.
- Evidence of labor misallocation highlights integration challenges.
Policy responses and recommendations
- Continue and strengthen integration policies to address labor misallocation and better match skills to formal sector opportunities.
- Government action: Efforts are underway to accelerate the validation of Venezuelan degrees to ease the integration of professional migrants.
- Education integration: Measures aim to assist high-school educated migrants who wish to continue their university studies in Colombia.
Colombia: Selected Issues, April 17, 2020
Content in this bundle
- Colombia: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 20/105; April 2, 2020