{
  "title": "Mauritius: Unemployment and the Role of Institutions",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, November 1, 2003",
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  "summary": "Despite strong economic growth, a \"U\"-curve unemployment phenomenon in Mauritius can be observed. Unemployment plunged from 21 percent to less than 4 percent between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, but this trend was reversed and the rate increased to 10 percent by end-2002.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Despite strong economic growth, a \"U\"-curve unemployment phenomenon in Mauritius is documented.\n- Unemployment plunged from 21 percent to less than 4 percent between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, but this trend was reversed and the rate increased to 10 percent by end-2002.\n- The paper provides an analytical framework to explain this development, attributing the pattern to sectoral skill composition and labor market rigidities."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings and statistics",
      "content": "- Unemployment time path:\n  - 21 percent (early 1980s)\n  - less than 4 percent (early 1990s)\n  - 10 percent (by end-2002)\n- Primary explanatory factors identified:\n  - Growth of higher-skilled sectors.\n  - Rigidities in the labor market that impede adjustment.\n- Page length: 18 pages."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Analytical explanations (framework)",
      "content": "- The growth of higher-skilled sectors increased demand for skilled labor relative to unskilled labor.\n- Skills mismatch between labor supply and demand contributed to rising unemployment when skill-intensive growth accelerated.\n- Labor market rigidities, including institutional pay-setting mechanisms, limited the labor market’s ability to reallocate workers across sectors and skill levels, amplifying unemployment persistence."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations",
      "content": "- Invest in education to reduce skills mismatch and improve alignment of labor supply with the skill requirements of growing sectors.\n- Reform pay-setting institutions to increase labor market flexibility and improve employment prospects.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Wp03211\n  - Wp03211 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Wp03211 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/30/mauritius-unemployment-and-the-role-of-institutions-16926"
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    "Authors: James Y. Yao, Calvin A McDonald",
    "Published: November 1, 2003",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451874860.001",
    "Despite strong economic growth, a \"U\"-curve unemployment phenomenon in Mauritius is documented.",
    "Unemployment plunged from 21 percent to less than 4 percent between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, but this trend was reversed and the rate increased to 10 percent by end-2002.",
    "The paper provides an analytical framework to explain this development, attributing the pattern to sectoral skill composition and labor market rigidities.",
    "Unemployment time path:",
    "Primary explanatory factors identified:",
    "Page length: 18 pages.",
    "The growth of higher-skilled sectors increased demand for skilled labor relative to unskilled labor.",
    "Skills mismatch between labor supply and demand contributed to rising unemployment when skill-intensive growth accelerated.",
    "Labor market rigidities, including institutional pay-setting mechanisms, limited the labor market’s ability to reallocate workers across sectors and skill levels, amplifying unemployment persistence.",
    "Invest in education to reduce skills mismatch and improve alignment of labor supply with the skill requirements of growing sectors.",
    "Reform pay-setting institutions to increase labor market flexibility and improve employment prospects.",
    "**Wp03211**"
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