IMF Working Papers

Labor Market Issues in the Caribbean : Scope to Mobilize Employment Growth

Author/Editor:

Magda E. Kandil ; Genevieve M Lindow ; Mario Mansilla ; Joel Chiedu Okwuokei ; Jochen M. Schmittmann ; Qiaoe Chen ; Xin Li ; Marika Santoro ; Solomon Stavis

Publication Date:

July 1, 2014

Electronic Access:

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Summary:

The paper examines the determinants of employment growth, drawing on data available across a sample of Caribbean countries. To that end, the paper analyzes estimates of the employment-output elasticity and the response of employment growth to major sources of labor market determinants, in the long and short run. The main determinants of employment include government investment and private sector credit, while the major determinants of external performance are real effective exchange rate, the price of major exporting commodities, the number of tourists, and growth in major trading partners. The paper concludes with a menu of policy recommendations and structural reforms towards sustaining high employment growth and higher living standards in the Caribbean.

Series:

Working Paper No. 14/115

Subject:

Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Barbados Business cycles Caribbean Dominica Dominican Republic Economic growth Economic indicators Economic reforms Employment Exports Grenada Gross domestic product Haiti Jamaica Job creation Labor market characteristics Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Unemployment