Academic literature on the topic 'Labour party development'

ABSTRACT:The inter-war period saw the decline of the Liberal party, the traditional political ally of the free churches, and the rise of the Labour party. This article traces the responses of the free churches to these developments. The relationship of the free churches with the Labour party in this period is examined at three different levels; that of the free church leadership, that of the chapels and the ordinary people in the pews and that of the nonconformists who became active in the Labour party. Whilst attitudes towards the Labour party changed within free church institutions during the inter-war years they did not become important supporters of the party, or greatly influence it. The number and proportion of individual nonconformists who were active and influential in the party in this period was however considerable. In the process not only did Labour M.P.s become the main carriers of the nonconformist conscience on issues such as drink and gambling. They also made a distinctive and important contribution to the development and ideals of the Labour party.

The article traces the responses of the Church of England, Roman – Catholic Church and “free churches” on the development of the Labour Party. The author underlines that Labour party was assisted by those Christian churches. It is mentioned also that Labour Church and Ethic Church as Labour supporters too. The article touches upon such problems as social inequality in British society, secularization of the working class in urban cotton towns and ports. Anglican Church’s help to the low-income working class is investigated also. The author underlines that British Labour party was deeply influenced by Christian Socialism so it made its relations with Church of England closer. Chaplains supported the Labour party in their sermons, letters and church press. Such favour was especially crucial in rural areas where Labour party had lower election results in comparison with Liberal and Conservative parties. The author analyses contribution of the “free churches” to the development of the Labour party. It is widely recognized that “free churches” are identified as traditional ally of the Liberal party. The author confirmed that “free churches” did not give wide electoral support to the Labour party but gave considerable amount of candidates who were active in trade unions, local Labour parties and in the British Parliament. The author also considers that the Roman – Catholic communities mainly represented by Irish immigrants and their descendants as an important part of the wide social base of the Labour Party. The author comes to conclusion that strong ties between Christian churches and the British Labour party help us to explain its program and election successes in the first third of the XX century.

The article examines the processes of organizational development of the British Labour Party in the early XXth century, the evolution of the party structure and political programme in the twentieths of the XXth century. Special attention is paid to researching the formation of the Social Democratic Federation, Fabian Society and Independent Labour Party till the time of its joining to the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and adopting the “Labour Party” name in 1906. The author’s aim was to comprehensively investigate the political manifests and activities of those organizations on the way of transformation from separate trade-unions and socialist groups to apparent union of labour, and then to the mass and wide represented parliamentary party. However, the variety of social base of those societies is distinguished, and difference of socialist views and tactics of achieving the final purpose are emphasized. Considerable attention is paid to the system of the individual membership and results thereof in the process of the evolution of the Labour Party’s organization. The reorganization of the Labour party in 1918, Representation of the People Act, 1918 and the crisis in the Liberal party were favourable for the further evolution of the Labour Party. It is summarized that the social base, the history of party’s birth, the conditions of formation and the party system had influenced the process of the evolution of the ideological and political concepts of Labourizm.

Since their appearance in the mid-1990s, Chinese labour NGOs have mostly focused on disseminating labour law and guiding labour disputes through official channels. In so doing, they have assisted the Chinese Communist Party in achieving its paramount goal of maintaining social stability. In line with this approach, activists in these organizations have traditionally framed their work in terms of "public interest" or "legality," both of which resonate with the hegemonic discourses of the Party-state. However, earlier this decade a minority of Chinese labour activists began to employ some new counterhegemonic narratives centred on the experience of the labour movement and the practice of collective bargaining that attempted to recode the proletarian experience outside of its official representation. In this paper we analyze this discursive shift through the voices of the activists involved, and argue that the rise of these new counterhegemonic voices was one of the reasons that led to the Party-state cracking down on labour NGOs.

In 1918, the Labour leadership embarked on a plan of reorganisation that it hoped would transform the party from a trade union pressure group into an independent, national political party. It equipped the party with a comprehensive political programme and determined to create a national network of local branches based on a mass individual membership. In essence, the leadership sought to make Labour a modern 'mass' political party. This study assesses how the national leadership's plan of reconstruction fared at grass roots level, by examining Labour's development in Manchester between 1918 and 1931. In doing so, it examines the nature and outlook of local members, in particular Labour's active core, exploring their role in the party and assessing how far their political views matched those expressed by the national leadership. A final section on Labour's electoral progress in Manchester draws these elements together, in an effort to explain the party's record at the polls. The study argues that the reorganisation carried out after 1918 was not the total failure some have suggested. Nevertheless, it concludes that Manchester Labour was largely frustrated in its efforts to create a 'mass' party machine, and remained marginal to the lives of most members of the local community. Furthermore, despite making electoral progress in the city, it is shown that Labour struggled to attract support outside the working class. However, it is argued that these failings cannot simply be blamed on the party's relationship with the trade unions, as many have claimed. Rather, the study shows that Labour's failure to achieve its organisational goals, and the subsequent problems that created, owed to more complex and deep-rooted problems connected to the public's lack of interest in politics. In the process, it reveals much about the nature of Labour organisation, membership and electoral support in this and subsequent periods.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the autonomy and capacity of the state has been under considerable stress in regards to the reduction of public policy choice. 'External' forces of globalisation and technical innovations have led to a loss of economic 'boundary control', initiating cross-national policy change and a convergence of public policies on a neo- liberally-led paradigm. This development has been reflected in the processes of policy change experienced by the British Labour Party and the German Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), in particular in the ideologically charged area of 'social democratic' labour market policy (LMP) choices. This study argues, that although political systems and institutional cultures of 'social democratic' parties and agents differ substantially between the UK and Germany, 'social democratic' parties economic policy approaches are increasingly developing along similar lines. Both parties' responses to the changing contextual 'internal' domestic as well as 'external' socio-economic factors are cross-nationally compared and their constrains encountered by path dependencies and a historically institutionalised economic policy paradigm are investigated. Faced with a general shift in paradigm from 'Keynesian' to 'neo-liberal', party actors - guided by prescriptive social democratic policy templates - were initially inhibited from aligning policy approaches. This contributed significantly to a 'delayed' shift in both parties' economic policy paradigm, electoral failure, and a lack of the parties' public economic policy credibility. Several strata of information have been used to combine analytical and empirical evidence - utilising both quantitative (statistical) data as well as the historical analysis of both parties' policy development processes. Qualitative sources have been backed up by quantitative evidence of the parties' programmatic changes in labour market polices that were gathered with a labour market policy coding frame for the statistical multi-lingual comparison and content analysis of parties policy documents.

AbstractIn wake of the 1970s energy crisis, labour markets in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries changed considerably: deindustrialisation, low economic growth, and high structural unemployment challenged the standard employment relationship (SER), and a flexibilisation of employment was promoted. Tertiarisation and increasing female labour market participation fuelled the spread of non-standard forms of employment (NSER) such as part-time and temporary work. Since the 1990s, EU member countries aligned their NSER regulation to that of the SER, while in other OECD countries, NSERs remained un(der)regulated. The chapter illustrates the transformation of labour markets and the development of NSER regulation for selected countries, relying on national Labour Force Surveys and the Cambridge Labour Regulation Index. It tells the story of how membership in a supranational organisation has shaped national labour legislation.

AbstractNowadays, in the era of flexible and precarious employment, the concept of a ‘career for life’ in one organisation appears to be redundant, as most employees in the global labour market do not have permanent employment (ILO, World employment and social outlook: the changing nature of jobs. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2015). This chapter focuses on the shipping industry as an example of a global industry that employs over a million seafarers (BIMCO, Manpower 2005 update: the worldwide demand for and supply of seafarers. Warwick: Warwick Institute for Employment Research, 2015) as their main labour force in what could termed flexible employment. The chapter explores the idea of having a ‘career’ within the precarious shipping industry by focusing on the reasons for joining, staying, and leaving a seafaring occupation. The chapter is based on existing literature, and on recent data that was collected as part of a study on seafarers’ career development.

AbstractSouth Africa has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment and under-employment around the world, despite having a relatively large formal sector. This is driven, in part, by frictions in labor markets, including lack of information about job applicants’ skills, limited access to job training, and employers’ reliance on referrals through professional networks for hiring. This case study explores whether the online platform LinkedIn can be used to improve the employment outcomes of disadvantaged youth in South Africa. Researchers worked with an NGO, the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, to develop a training for young workseekers in the use of LinkedIn for job search, applications, and networking for referrals. This intervention was randomized across 30 cohorts of youth, with more than 1600 students enrolled in the study. The research team worked with LinkedIn engineers to access data generated by the platform. The evaluation finds that participants exposed to the LinkedIn training (the “treated” participants) were 10% more likely than the control group to find immediate employment, an effect that persisted for at least a year after job readiness training.

AbstractThis chapter presents a theoretical model that links working conditions with men’s and women’s retirement preferences via their physical and psychological health and their subjective age and longevity expectations. The model is based on the assumption that ‘subjective age’ is a central variable in retirement decisions that mediates the relationship between working conditions and individuals’ preferred retirement timing. The theoretical model is tested using survey data from a representative sample of older workers in Austria. Based on findings from multivariate regression analyses, we conclude that improved working conditions – directly and via improved health and feelings of youthfulness – can help delaying the timing of labour market exit. Improvements in working conditions would help to extend working life, because workers who enjoy ‘good working conditions’ tend to feel healthier and younger and would be willing to work until a higher age. Job attributes that help workers to maintain a sense of youthfulness and encourage them to stay part of the active work force until a higher age include high intrinsic job quality (e.g. learning and development opportunities at work, task variety) and employee-led time flexibility. Older workers in ‘bad jobs’ that involve physical work strain and time pressure tend to feel older and to prefer an earlier retirement.

After an initial discussion of recent developments in the Labour Party, this introduction examines New Labour’s critique of ‘Old Labour’. New Labour often declared that Old Labour had been a fundamentally nostalgic party. Although this idea was underdeveloped and lacked analytical depth, it provides a starting point for an examination of Labour’s relationship with nostalgia. Through an engagement with existing studies on memory (and, more specifically, nostalgia), identity and power, this chapter moves on to outline how the idea of the group ‘nostalgia-identity’ offers a useful conceptual lens through which to assess Labour’s post-war development. It provides an overview of the academic literature on Labour and highlights the ways in which a study that explores the impact of nostalgia on the party’s trajectory offers something innovative. This introduction ends with an assessment of the extent, contours and significance of Labour’s male traditional industrial working-class identity in 1951.

This chapter argues that nostalgia has shaped Labour’s political development since 1951 in a number of fundamental ways. Labour’s nostalgia-identity has revolved around positively idealised memories of a late nineteenth and early twentieth century heroic male traditional industrial working class. This nostalgia has proven to be problematic in the face of the social and economic changes that have taken place in Britain. It has limited the extent to which modernising agendas could be pursued, defined the parameters within which senior Labour figures could operate and determined the options available to the party. At certain times, Labour has also actively sought to reinstate and restore nostalgic visions of the past in the present. This chapter explores the significance of this book’s findings for the contemporary Labour Party and it outlines and problematizes potential future developments.

Political parties started to be established in Turkey in the second half of the 19th century with the formation of societies aiming at the reform of the Ottoman Empire. They reaped the fruits of their labour in 1908 when the Young Turk Revolution replaced the Sultan with the Committee of Union and Progress, which disbanded itself on the defeat of the Empire in 1918. Following the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, new parties started to be formed, but experiments with a multi-party system were soon abandoned in favour of a one-party system. From 1930 until the end of the Second World War, the People’s Republican Party (PRP) was the only political party. It was not until after the Second World War that Turkey reverted to a multiparty system. The most significant new parties were the Democrat Party (DP), formed on 7 January 1946, and the Nation Party (NP) formed on 20 July 1948, after a spilt in the DP. However, as a result of the coup of 27 May 1960, the military Government, the Committee of National Union (CNU), declared its intentions of seizing power, restoring rights and privileges infringed by the Democrats, and drawing up a new Constitution, to be brought into being by a free election. In January 1961, the CNU relaxed its initial ban on all political activities, and within a month eleven new parties were formed, in addition to the already established parties. The most important of the new parties were the Justice Party (JP) and New Turkey Party (NTP), which competed with each other for the DP’s electoral support. In the general election of October 1961, the PRP’s failure to win an absolute majority resulted in four coalition Governments, until the elections in October 1965. The General Election of October 1965 returned the JP to power with a clear, overall majority. The poor performance of almost all the minor parties led to the virtual establishment of a two-party system. Neither the JP nor the PRP were, however, completely united. With the General Election of October 1969, the JP was returned to office, although with a reduced share of the vote. The position of the minor parties declined still further. Demirel resigned on 12 March 1971 after receiving a memorandum from the Armed Forces Commanders threatening to take direct control of the country. Thus, an “above-party” Government was formed to restore law and order and carry out reforms in keeping with the policies and ideals of Atatürk. In March 1973, the “above-party” Melen Government resigned, partly because Parliament rejected the military candidate, General Gürler, whom it had supported in the Presidential Elections of March-April 1973. This rejection represented the determination of Parliament not to accept the dictates of the Armed Forces. On 15 April, a new “above party” government was formed by Naim Talu. The fundamental dilemma of Turkish politics was that democracy impeded reform. The democratic process tended to return conservative parties (such as the Democrat and Justice Parties) to power, with the support of the traditional Islamic sectors of Turkish society, which in turn resulted in the frustration of the demands for reform of a powerful minority, including the intellectuals, the Armed Forces and the newly purged PRP. In the last half of the 20th century, this conflict resulted in two periods of military intervention, two direct and one indirect, to secure reform and to quell the disorder resulting from the lack of it. This paper examines the historical development of the Turkish party system, and the factors which have contributed to breakdowns in multiparty democracy.

The paper presents the relationships of organic farming with sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. The promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture and environmental protection are implemented within agri-environmental programs. The aim of these programs is to achieve sustainable rural development and preserve biodiversity. The goal of studies was to assess the sustainability of ecological agriculture at the level of an agricultural holding. Organic farming is perceived as a system that is most favorable from the perspective of environmental protection. Analysis was conducted on the basis of data from ecological farms in the Podlaskie voivodeship registered in the FADN system in 2014. Ecological indicators (share of cereals in crops, vegetation coverage of the soil throughout the year, stocking density, balance of organic substances, agricultural and environmental actions taken) as well as economic indicators: land profitability and productivity and profitability of labor, were accounted for. It was determined that the conditions of environmental sustainability were met with regard to the majority of ecological indicators. From the perspective of economic effects, organic farming achieved a positive financial result, but it was lower than in conventional farms. This result was achieved thanks to public subsidies for ecological production.

The labour market is the main factor of production in a market economy. Its participants are the economically active part of the population, public and private economic entities. The main mechanisms of the functioning of the labour market are the creation of labour force and jobs, through which the demand, supply and distribution of labour force, employment levels of the population are regulated. It is obvious that the efficiency of the economy, as a rule, largely depends on the labour resources of the state. The factors determining the growth of the national economy are labour productivity, labour potential and the level of expertise of the workforce. The paper examines the main trends in the labour market in the conditions of economic modernization, for example, the forced transition from the production to the demand sector, the increase in the vertical and horizontal gap between supply and demand. The labour market of the last decade has been characterized by a worldwide increase in the level of qualification of employees due to an increase in the number of specialists with higher education. This trend can be traced according to the requirements of employers about the availability of the necessary skills of applicants depending on the area of responsibility. The paper analyzes the dynamics of the main indicators of the labour market in modern economic conditions. The problems of functioning of the Russian labour market are revealed.

The aim of this work is to investigate learning motivation peculiarities of rural unemployed people that are unready for labor market. Research object – learning motivation. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature, anonymous questionnaire survey, qualitative and statistic data analysis. Chi square criteria (χ2), significance level p < 0.05 are applied for comparison of results. 76 people unready for labor market in Šakiai region participate in this research: 32 of them are young people under 25 years of age, 18 – returnees from imprisonment, 26 – disabled persons; 36 men and 40 women. Majority of respondents have secondary education, however, only 11.1 % of all returnees from imprisonment are in this group. The researched of all the three groups give preference to the second – modern definition of career. Labor Exchange Office or their own decisions have impact on the respondents mostly. It is worth pointing out that Labor Exchange Office has stronger impact on the disabled (57.7 %) while the youth under 25 tend to decide themselves (53.1 %). Other factors do not have significant influence. The first four learning motives are the most significant to all the three groups of the researched, the least attractive motives are „I am studying for prestige“ and „Random circumstances determined intention to study“. It is unexpected that the motive „I intend to go to further education “is of little importance for the young people. People with disabilities and former prisoners have stronger motivation to learn than unemployed young people under 25 do. Hypothesis is only partly approved – the differences between the groups are not significant and statistically unreliable.

The article analyzes the key problems of the agricultural sector of the Rostov region. The interconnection between the intellectual potential and its influence on the agro-industrial complex is established. The concept of “intellectual potential of labor” within the region has been clarified. Three indices are identified as part of the intellectual potential of labor in the Rostov Region: educational, physical and scientific.The dynamics of the intellectual potential indices of the Rostov region 2015 - 2019 is presented.Recommendations and a forecast for the further development of the intellectual potential of the region, including in the agricultural sector, are given.

Historically, agriculture always fulfilled a social function as well. However, its intensification taking place in the 20th century brought about a number of changes accompanied by putting this and a number of other non-productive functions in the shade. However, recent years have seen the establishment of agricultural directions that contribute to their renewal. This also includes social farming. Social farming is the most complex component of the concept “green care”. In its current form, it creates room for providing for the people who have hardly any chances on the labour market and for their involving in farming activities. While in a number of European countries this concept has been used for many years, in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe it has still been in the early stages and has not been formally defined in many countries yet. In the Czech Republic, the concept of social farming has been developed approximately since 2013, growing and gaining in importance continuously. The article introduces the concept of social farming and describes its current situation in the Czech Republic. The data were obtained through questionnaire surveys and directed interviews in the field. As part of the analysis of the structure of social farming in the Czech Republic, the selected set of thirty entities involved in social farming is described in terms of the structure of the farming production, the main target groups of clients and the funding sources.

The Latvian labor market has been facing the problem of a quality labor force shortage for several years now. The acquisition of demanded specialties in Latvia is possible in the framework of professional education, which is offered at three levels – the level of primary education, professional secondary education, and professional higher education. Since 2015, work-based learning has been introduced in the professional education of Latvia, serving as a measure for the economic enhancement for the entry of quality labor force into the labor market. As a part of this initiative, educational institutions in cooperation with employers develop curricula that match the requirements of the labor market. This learning model is based on an example of a higher professional education model, where practical skills are acquired mostly during the students’ field practice. To conduct the empirical research on work-based learning in higher professional education, at first, it is necessary to look at the historical aspects of this learning model. The given article provides historical evidence, describing the historical development of work-based learning in professional education in Latvia. The beginnings of work-based learning in Latvia date back to the 14-15th century, but for the first time given form of education in its contemporary meaning has been introduced in Soviet times, as historical sources show the calls for get to know work experience as an integral part of communist work schools. After the regaining of independence, Latvia focuses on building the democratic education system, and since 2015 work-based learning is explicit in the Law on Professional Education as a specific form of education. Since its inception, work-based learning has reflected the public’s perceptions of the necessary specialties in the labor market.

Labour market in rural areas is diversified across Poland. Different processes have been influenced it during the last years. The study deals with spatial approach to sectoral structure of employment, including also characteristics for males and females. It was based on the data of the Central Statistical Office of Poland refereeing to the numbers of employees in three sectors: (a) agriculture, forestry and fishing like services; (b) industry and construction; (c) services. A new European Union typology of: predominantly rural, intermediate, and predominantly urban regions, based on a variation of the OECD methodology, was applied. Graphical presentation of the sectoral employment structures across NUTS 3 regions was used. Generally in Poland, very similar proportions of rural inhabitants work in agriculture, forestry and fishing like in the sector of services (third sector). In 2013, in predominantly rural regions, 37 % of inhabitants worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing (respectively 38 % of males, 37 % of females), 25 % of inhabitants worked in industry and construction (respectively 36 % of males, 15 % of females), and 37 % of inhabitants worked in services. Industry and construction is a sector important for employment of male rural inhabitants whereas services were typical for female employment. Agriculture, forestry and fishing is a very important sector of employment in the south-eastern part of Poland whereas the second and third sectors are more popular in the north-western part of Poland. Identification of these spatial patterns contributes to spatial characteristics of rural economies across Poland as well as it proves existence of a functional region, exceeding regional administrative boundaries, of high important of agriculture in the economy.

At present, new technologies are crucial in maintaining the com­petitiveness of businesses. In recent years, the application of management information systems has also increased in the field of human resource man­agement, where they support many decisions concerning human resources. Emphasis is placed on employee training and the use of information systems in terms of achieving a competitive advantage. The practical part is focused on finding the dependence between employee training, the use of informa­tion systems and the competitiveness of the selected enterprise, where re­gression and correlation analysis is applied. Regarding the performed anal­ysis, we confirm the significant impact between the costs spent on employee training, the costs spent on information systems and the accounting profit/ loss, labour productivity in the selected enterprise. Based on the results of the research, generalized findings and suggestions are presented.

The article considers the prospects of innovative entrepreneurship in the preservation of labor resources and attracting young people to ensure sustainable development of rural areas. Rural areas of Ukraine due to social, economic, cultural, demographic and environmental processes lose their attractiveness for the population, which is mainly employed in their own households, such work in most cases leads to the loss of skills, is inefficient, exhausting and does not provide the desired standard of living. According to the results of modelling, which is presented in the article, the biggest part of population over the next decade is likely to focus on areas of activity related to intellectual work that requires higher education. As the opportunity to realize such advantages in rural areas is extremely limited, while maintaining modern conditions, the tendency to reduce the human potential of rural areas will increase. Therefore, according to the experience of the most competitive regions of the world, it is important for Ukraine to form and develop entrepreneurial regional innovation systems, whose main features are mobility, the ability to quickly respond and adequately change external operating conditions. In such systems, new knowledge is transferred between research centers and business structures through both formal and informal channels, by involving scientists in the implementation of innovative projects. Nowadays, about 20% of students want to get a modern higher education and after graduation to work in rural communities as entrepreneurs, but the ambition is higher and the current stage of the development shall be a transformational transition of rural regions of Ukraine to the model of innovative economy.

School-to-work transition data are an important component of labor market information systems (LMIS). Policy makers, researchers, and education providers benefit from knowing how long it takes work-seekers to find employment, how and where they search for employment, the quality of employment obtained, and how steady it is over time. In less-developed countries, these data are poorly collected, or not collected at all, a situation the International Labour Organization and other donors have attempted to change. However, LMIS reform efforts typically miss a critical part of the picture—the geospatial aspects of these transitions. Few LMIS systems fully consider or integrate geospatial school-to-work transition information, ignoring data critical to understanding and supporting successful and sustainable employment: employer locations; transportation infrastructure; commute time, distance, and cost; location of employment services; and other geographic barriers to employment. We provide recently collected geospatial school-to-work transition data from South Africa and Kenya to demonstrate the importance of these data and their implications for labor market and urban development policy.

The article reveals the features of the state mechanism for regulating labor migration in the Jewish Autonomous Region. It is noted that labor migration is an integral part of the economic development of the region. The purpose of the study is the peculiarities of solving the problems of optimizing the mechanisms for regulating labor migration in the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAO). The practical significance of the study is underscored by the growing resource requirements of the Jewish Autonomous Region. The importance of attracting labor migrants from the widest list of countries, to increase the exchange of experience and improve interethnic relations, the organization of programs to increase the flow of willing workers and promising employers, is highlighted. The scientific novelty of the research is in the designation of the latest methods and state programs aimed at improving the efficiency of the labor migration management mechanism. Every year, the number of migrants illegally staying on the territory of Russia is growing, and the authorities of the Russian Federation are trying to improve the methods of control of foreign citizens entering the country, which makes it easier, but at the same time more effective, to exercise control over migrants and distribute it in. areas such as the patent system, employee-to-employer linkage and simplified taxation.

This rapid literature review examines evidence on interventions have been used to create green jobs in developing countries. The ‘green jobs’ concept does not have a singular and universally accepted definition. Many development organisations have come up with their own definitions, however all definitions share both an “environmental” and “decent jobs” component. Green job growth has been mostly documented in developed countries and some rapidly growing middle-income countries. However, it is becoming clearer that a green economy can create more and better jobs in all parts of the world (including the poorer developing countries) – and that these jobs can be ‘decent’. There are, however, some difficulties. Some new (green) jobs created in the food, agriculture, and recycling sectors (particularly in developing countries) can hardly be considered ‘decent’ – i.e., due to their poor labour standards. In some cases, climate change is also having a negative impact on jobs. Donors have a crucial role to play in supporting and financing green jobs initiatives and ‘green employment’ across developing countries – given the inadequate investment in the sector, growing unemployment issues and their unique vulnerability to climate change. Nevertheless, the ‘green jobs’ sector – thus far – has only been able to receive limited financial assistance from donors. Lack of focus and funding by donors and development agencies not only stymies the creation of green jobs in developing countries, but it can also result in the loss of many existing jobs and livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, because of climate change. Furthermore, the funding for most green jobs programmes by donors usually tends to be project-based, which fails to be part of a larger strategy to promote sustainable development – thus, limiting its impact. However, it is worth noting that there is relatively limited donor programming on ‘green jobs’ – i.e., most donor funded jobs creation programmes are not explicitly ‘green’. Another poignant observation is the general lack of proper programme evaluation, especially independent evaluation, on donor interventions around ‘green jobs’ (which are usually small projects). As such, there is a lack of good evidence base.

In this volume, we study gender gaps in the Southern Cone countries which include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. We assess the importance of gender inequalities and present evidence on their economic consequences, their drivers, and the policy tools that can contribute to mitigating them. Gender gaps in access to public services, human capital accumulation, and the labor market limit overall productivity and economic growth, and policies that mitigate these inequalities have the potential to foster economic development and wellbeing. In our current context, a global pandemic has highlighted and even widened gender gaps, meaning policymakers are in urgent need of a new set of policies that can foster gender parity in the recovery phase. This volume is thus a timely compendium of solid evidence to design policies that can effectively tackle gender disparities in Southern Cone countries.

In this volume, we study gender gaps in the Southern Cone countries which include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. We assess the importance of gender inequalities and present evidence on their economic consequences, their drivers, and the policy tools that can contribute to mitigating them. Gender gaps in access to public services, human capital accumulation, and the labor market limit overall productivity and economic growth, and policies that mitigate these inequalities have the potential to foster economic development and wellbeing. In our current context, a global pandemic has highlighted and even widened gender gaps, meaning policymakers are in urgent need of a new set of policies that can foster gender parity in the recovery phase. This volume is thus a timely compendium of solid evidence to design policies that can effectively tackle gender disparities in Southern Cone countries.

This project explores workforce and occupations within the highway, street, and bridge construction industries (NAICS 237310) in Indiana. There are five specific deliverable comprised of three data reports, one policy document, and a website. The first data report includes an assessment of the workforce based on the eight-part framework, which are industry, occupations, job postings, hard-to-fill jobs, Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), GAP Analysis, compatibility, and automation. The report defines a cluster followed by a detailed analysis of the occupations, skills, job postings, etc., in the NAICS 237310 industry in Indiana. The report makes use of specialized labor market databases, such as the Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), CHMURA JobsEQ, etc. The analysis is based only on the jobs covered under the unemployment insurance or the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The second data report analyzes jobs to jobs flows to and from the construction industry in Indiana, with a particular emphasis on the Great Recession, by utilizing the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The third data report looks into the equal employment opportunity or Section 1391 and 1392 data for Indiana and analyzes specific characteristics of that data. The policy report includes a set of recommendations for workforce development for INDOT and a summary of the three data reports. The key data on occupations within the NAICS 237310 are provided in an interactive website. The website provides a data dashboard for individual INDOT Districts. The policy document recommends steps for development of the highways, streets and bridges construction workforce in INDOT Districts.

Autonomous agricultural vehicles are entering the marketplace, performing jobs that current equipment cannot do or are too dangerous for humans to perform. They offer the prospect of greater farm productivity, and they will help to feed the world’s growing population. This report looks at several topics that impact the commercial success of autonomous agricultural vehicles. The economic benefit that an autonomous system brings to a farm will be discussed alongside machine utilization rates, job quality, and labor savings. The need for standards and regulations to help promote the development of safe systems—as well as to define the language around autonomous agriculture—is also considered. Additionally, this report will highlight the importance of reliability in agricultural machinery and how successful commercialization of autonomy will depend on the ability to do the job correctly and consistently. A critical part of commercial success is how the autonomous agricultural vehicle fits into existing farm processes to provide a complete solution for the farmer. It is hoped that this report will help developers interested in commercializing autonomous agricultural vehicles consider more than just the technical problems to solve and make choices beneficial to market adoption.

Women of reproductive age in Cambodia, and many other developing countries, comprise a large part of factories’ workforce. Integrating family planning and reproductive health information and services into factories can improve workers’ health and help countries achieve FP2020 commitments. This case study looks at the process of how the Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training launched, as formal policy, a set of workplace health infirmary guidelines for enterprises. What made this policy process unique for Cambodia—and what can be replicated by health advocates elsewhere—is that a group of organizations typically focused on public health policy successfully engaged on labor policy with a labor ministry. This case study describes the policy process, which was underpinned by the strategic use of evidence in decision-making and has been hailed by government, donors, civil society and industry as a success. The learnings presented in this case study should be useful to health advocates, labor advocates, and program designers.

Macroeconomic summary Several factors contributed to an increase in projected inflation on the forecast horizon, keeping it above the target rate. These included inflation in December that surpassed expectations (5.62%), indexation to higher inflation rates for various baskets in the consumer price index (CPI), a significant real increase in the legal minimum wage, persistent external and domestic inflationary supply shocks, and heightened exchange rate pressures. The CPI for foods was affected by the persistence of external and domestic supply shocks and was the most significant contributor to unexpectedly high inflation in the fourth quarter. Price adjustments for fuels and certain utilities can explain the acceleration in inflation for regulated items, which was more significant than anticipated. Prices in the CPI for goods excluding food and regulated items also rose more than expected. This was partly due to a smaller effect on prices from the national government’s VAT-free day than anticipated by the technical staff and more persistent external pressures, including via peso depreciation. By contrast, the CPI for services excluding food and regulated items accelerated less than expected, partly reflecting strong competition in the communications sector. This was the only major CPI basket for which prices increased below the target inflation rate. The technical staff revised its inflation forecast upward in response to certain external shocks (prices, costs, and depreciation) and domestic shocks (e.g., on meat products) that were stronger and more persistent than anticipated in the previous report. Observed inflation and a real increase in the legal minimum wage also exceeded expectations, which would boost inflation by affecting price indexation, labor costs, and inflation expectations. The technical staff now expects year-end headline inflation of 4.3% in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023; core inflation is projected to be 4.5% and 3.6%, respectively. These forecasts consider the lapse of certain price relief measures associated with the COVID-19 health emergency, which would contribute to temporarily keeping inflation above the target on the forecast horizon. It is important to note that these estimates continue to contain a significant degree of uncertainty, mainly related to the development of external and domestic supply shocks and their ultimate effects on prices. Other contributing factors include high price volatility and measurement uncertainty related to the extension of Colombia’s health emergency and tax relief measures (such as the VAT-free days) associated with the Social Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Social). The as-yet uncertain magnitude of the effects of a recent real increase in the legal minimum wage (that was high by historical standards) and high observed and expected inflation, are additional factors weighing on the overall uncertainty of the estimates in this report. The size of excess productive capacity remaining in the economy and the degree to which it is closing are also uncertain, as the evolution of the pandemic continues to represent a significant forecast risk. margin, could be less dynamic than expected. And the normalization of monetary policy in the United States could come more quickly than projected in this report, which could negatively affect international financing costs. Finally, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty related to the duration of supply chocks and the degree to which macroeconomic and political conditions could negatively affect the recovery in investment. The technical staff revised its GDP growth projection for 2022 from 4.7% to 4.3% (Graph 1.3). This revision accounts for the likelihood that a larger portion of the recent positive dynamic in private consumption would be transitory than previously expected. This estimate also contemplates less dynamic investment behavior than forecast in the previous report amid less favorable financial conditions and a highly uncertain investment environment. Third-quarter GDP growth (12.9%), which was similar to projections from the October report, and the fourth-quarter growth forecast (8.7%) reflect a positive consumption trend, which has been revised upward. This dynamic has been driven by both public and private spending. Investment growth, meanwhile, has been weaker than forecast. Available fourth-quarter data suggest that consumption spending for the period would have exceeded estimates from October, thanks to three consecutive months that included VAT-free days, a relatively low COVID-19 caseload, and mobility indicators similar to their pre-pandemic levels. By contrast, the most recently available figures on new housing developments and machinery and equipment imports suggest that investment, while continuing to rise, is growing at a slower rate than anticipated in the previous report. The trade deficit is expected to have widened, as imports would have grown at a high level and outpaced exports. Given the above, the technical staff now expects fourth-quarter economic growth of 8.7%, with overall growth for 2021 of 9.9%. Several factors should continue to contribute to output recovery in 2022, though some of these may be less significant than previously forecast. International financial conditions are expected to be less favorable, though external demand should continue to recover and terms of trade continue to increase amid higher projected oil prices. Lower unemployment rates and subsequent positive effects on household income, despite increased inflation, would also boost output recovery, as would progress in the national vaccination campaign. The technical staff expects that the conditions that have favored recent high levels of consumption would be, in large part, transitory. Consumption spending is expected to grow at a slower rate in 2022. Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) would continue to recover, approaching its pre-pandemic level, though at a slower rate than anticipated in the previous report. This would be due to lower observed GFCF levels and the potential impact of political and fiscal uncertainty. Meanwhile, the policy interest rate would be less expansionary as the process of monetary policy normalization continues. Given the above, growth in 2022 is forecast to decelerate to 4.3% (previously 4.7%). In 2023, that figure (3.1%) is projected to converge to levels closer to the potential growth rate. In this case, excess productive capacity would be expected to tighten at a similar rate as projected in the previous report. The trade deficit would tighten more than previously projected on the forecast horizon, due to expectations of an improved export dynamic and moderation in imports. The growth forecast for 2022 considers a low basis of comparison from the first half of 2021. However, there remain significant downside risks to this forecast. The current projection does not, for example, account for any additional effects on economic activity resulting from further waves of COVID-19. High private consumption levels, which have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels by a large margin, could be less dynamic than expected. And the normalization of monetary policy in the United States could come more quickly than projected in this report, which could negatively affect international financing costs. Finally, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty related to the duration of supply chocks and the degree to which macroeconomic and political conditions could negatively affect the recovery in investment. External demand for Colombian goods and services should continue to recover amid significant global inflation pressures, high oil prices, and less favorable international financial conditions than those estimated in October. Economic activity among Colombia’s major trade partners recovered in 2021 amid countries reopening and ample international liquidity. However, that growth has been somewhat restricted by global supply chain disruptions and new outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff has revised its growth forecast for Colombia’s main trade partners from 6.3% to 6.9% for 2021, and from 3.4% to 3.3% for 2022; trade partner economies are expected to grow 2.6% in 2023. Colombia’s annual terms of trade increased in 2021, largely on higher oil, coffee, and coal prices. This improvement came despite increased prices for goods and services imports. The expected oil price trajectory has been revised upward, partly to supply restrictions and lagging investment in the sector that would offset reduced growth forecasts in some major economies. Elevated freight and raw materials costs and supply chain disruptions continue to affect global goods production, and have led to increases in global prices. Coupled with the recovery in global demand, this has put upward pressure on external inflation. Several emerging market economies have continued to normalize monetary policy in this context. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Federal Reserve has anticipated an end to its asset buying program. U.S. inflation in December (7.0%) was again surprisingly high and market average inflation forecasts for 2022 have increased. The Fed is expected to increase its policy rate during the first quarter of 2022, with quarterly increases anticipated over the rest of the year. For its part, Colombia’s sovereign risk premium has increased and is forecast to remain on a higher path, to levels above the 15-year-average, on the forecast horizon. This would be partly due to the effects of a less expansionary monetary policy in the United States and the accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances in Colombia. Given the above, international financial conditions are projected to be less favorable than anticipated in the October report. The increase in Colombia’s external financing costs could be more significant if upward pressures on inflation in the United States persist and monetary policy is normalized more quickly than contemplated in this report. As detailed in Section 2.3, uncertainty surrounding international financial conditions continues to be unusually high. Along with other considerations, recent concerns over the potential effects of new COVID-19 variants, the persistence of global supply chain disruptions, energy crises in certain countries, growing geopolitical tensions, and a more significant deceleration in China are all factors underlying this uncertainty. The changing macroeconomic environment toward greater inflation and unanchoring risks on inflation expectations imply a reduction in the space available for monetary policy stimulus. Recovery in domestic demand and a reduction in excess productive capacity have come in line with the technical staff’s expectations from the October report. Some upside risks to inflation have materialized, while medium-term inflation expectations have increased and are above the 3% target. Monetary policy remains expansionary. Significant global inflationary pressures and the unexpected increase in the CPI in December point to more persistent effects from recent supply shocks. Core inflation is trending upward, but remains below the 3% target. Headline and core inflation projections have increased on the forecast horizon and are above the target rate through the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the expected dynamism of domestic demand would be in line with low levels of excess productive capacity. An accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances in Colombia and the increased likelihood of a faster normalization of monetary policy in the United States would put upward pressure on sovereign risk perceptions in a more persistent manner, with implications for the exchange rate and the natural rate of interest. Persistent disruptions to international supply chains, a high real increase in the legal minimum wage, and the indexation of various baskets in the CPI to higher inflation rates could affect price expectations and push inflation above the target more persistently. These factors suggest that the space to maintain monetary stimulus has continued to diminish, though monetary policy remains expansionary. 1.2 Monetary policy decision Banco de la República’s board of directors (BDBR) in its meetings in December 2021 and January 2022 voted to continue normalizing monetary policy. The BDBR voted by a majority in these two meetings to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 and 100 basis points, respectively, bringing the policy rate to 4.0%.

In the second quarter, annual inflation (9.67%), the technical staff’s projections and its expectations continued to increase, remaining above the target. International cost shocks, accentuated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have been more persistent than projected, thus contributing to higher inflation. The effects of indexation, higher than estimated excess demand, a tighter labor market, inflation expectations that continue to rise and currently exceed 3%, and the exchange rate pressures add to those described above. High core inflation measures as well as in the producer price index (PPI) across all baskets confirm a significant spread in price increases. Compared to estimates presented in April, the new forecast trajectory for headline and core inflation increased. This was partly the result of greater exchange rate pressure on prices, and a larger output gap, which is expected to remain positive for the remainder of 2022 and which is estimated to close towards yearend 2023. In addition, these trends take into account higher inflation rate indexation, more persistent above-target inflation expectations, a quickening of domestic fuel price increases due to the correction of lags versus the parity price and higher international oil price forecasts. The forecast supposes a good domestic supply of perishable foods, although it also considers that international prices of processed foods will remain high. In terms of the goods sub-basket, the end of the national health emergency implies a reversal of the value-added tax (VAT) refund applied to health and personal hygiene products, resulting in increases in the prices of these goods. Alternatively, the monetary policy adjustment process and the moderation of external shocks would help inflation and its expectations to begin to decrease over time and resume their alignment with the target. Thus, the new projection suggests that inflation could remain high for the second half of 2022, closing at 9.7%. However, it would begin to fall during 2023, closing the year at 5.7%. These forecasts are subject to significant uncertainty, especially regarding the future behavior of external cost shocks, the degree of indexation of nominal contracts and decisions made regarding the domestic price of fuels. Economic activity continues to outperform expectations, and the technical staff’s growth projections for 2022 have been revised upwards from 5% to 6.9%. The new forecasts suggest higher output levels that would continue to exceed the economy’s productive capacity for the remainder of 2022. Economic growth during the first quarter was above that estimated in April, while economic activity indicators for the second quarter suggest that the GDP could be expected to remain high, potentially above that of the first quarter. Domestic demand is expected to maintain a positive dynamic, in particular, due to the household consumption quarterly growth, as suggested by vehicle registrations, retail sales, credit card purchases and consumer loan disbursement figures. A slowdown in the machinery and equipment imports from the levels observed in March contrasts with the positive performance of sales and housing construction licenses, which indicates an investment level similar to that registered for the first three months of the year. International trade data suggests the trade deficit would be reduced as a consequence of import levels that would be lesser than those observed in the first quarter, and stable export levels. For the remainder of the year and 2023, a deceleration in consumption is expected from the high levels seen during the first half of the year, partially as a result of lower repressed demand, tighter domestic financial conditions and household available income deterioration due to increased inflation. Investment is expected to continue its slow recovery while remaining below pre-pandemic levels. The trade deficit is expected to tighten due to projected lower domestic demand dynamics, and high prices of oil and other basic goods exported by the country. Given the above, economic growth in the second quarter of 2022 would be 11.5%, and for 2022 and 2023 an annual growth of 6.9% and 1.1% is expected, respectively. Currently, and for the remainder of 2022, the output gap would be positive and greater than that estimated in April, and prices would be affected by demand pressures. These projections continue to be affected by significant uncertainty associated with global political tensions, the expected adjustment of monetary policy in developed countries, external demand behavior, changes in country risk outlook, and the future developments in domestic fiscal policy, among others. The high inflation levels and respective expectations, which exceed the target of the world's main central banks, largely explain the observed and anticipated increase in their monetary policy interest rates. This environment has tempered the growth forecast for external demand. Disruptions in value chains, rising international food and energy prices, and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies have contributed to the rise in inflation and above-target expectations seen by several of Colombia’s main trading partners. These cost and price shocks, heightened by the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have been more prevalent than expected and have taken place within a set of output and employment recovery, variables that in some countries currently equal or exceed their projected long-term levels. In response, the U.S. Federal Reserve accelerated the pace of the benchmark interest rate increase and rapidly reduced liquidity levels in the money market. Financial market actors expect this behavior to continue and, consequently, significantly increase their expectations of the average path of the Fed's benchmark interest rate. In this setting, the U.S. dollar appreciated versus the peso in the second quarter and emerging market risk measures increased, a behavior that intensified for Colombia. Given the aforementioned, for the remainder of 2022 and 2023, the Bank's technical staff increased the forecast trajectory for the Fed's interest rate and reduced the country's external demand growth forecast. The projected oil price was revised upward over the forecast horizon, specifically due to greater supply restrictions and the interruption of hydrocarbon trade between the European Union and Russia. Global geopolitical tensions, a tightening of monetary policy in developed economies, the increase in risk perception for emerging markets and the macroeconomic imbalances in the country explain the increase in the projected trajectory of the risk premium, its trend level and the neutral real interest rate1. Uncertainty about external forecasts and their consequent impact on the country's macroeconomic scenario remains high, given the unpredictable evolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, the degree of the global economic slowdown and the effect the response to recent outbreaks of the pandemic in some Asian countries may have on the world economy. This macroeconomic scenario that includes high inflation, inflation forecasts, and expectations above 3% and a positive output gap suggests the need for a contractionary monetary policy that mitigates the risk of the persistent unanchoring of inflation expectations. In contrast to the forecasts of the April report, the increase in the risk premium trend implies a higher neutral real interest rate and a greater prevailing monetary stimulus than previously estimated. For its part, domestic demand has been more dynamic, with a higher observed and expected output level that exceeds the economy’s productive capacity. The surprising accelerations in the headline and core inflation reflect stronger and more persistent external shocks, which, in combination with the strength of aggregate demand, indexation, higher inflation expectations and exchange rate pressures, explain the upward projected inflation trajectory at levels that exceed the target over the next two years. This is corroborated by the inflation expectations of economic analysts and those derived from the public debt market, which continued to climb and currently exceed 3%. All of the above increase the risk of unanchoring inflation expectations and could generate widespread indexation processes that may push inflation away from the target for longer. This new macroeconomic scenario suggests that the interest rate adjustment should continue towards a contractionary monetary policy landscape. 1.2. Monetary policy decision Banco de la República’s Board of Directors (BDBR), at its meetings in June and July 2022, decided to continue adjusting its monetary policy. At its June meeting, the BDBR decided to increase the monetary policy rate by 150 basis points (b.p.) and its July meeting by majority vote, on a 150 b.p. increase thereof at its July meeting. Consequently, the monetary policy interest rate currently stands at 9.0% . 1 The neutral real interest rate refers to the real interest rate level that is neither stimulative nor contractionary for aggregate demand and, therefore, does not generate pressures that lead to the close of the output gap. In a small, open economy like Colombia, this rate depends on the external neutral real interest rate, medium-term components of the country risk premium, and expected depreciation. Box 1: A Weekly Indicator of Economic Activity for Colombia Juan Pablo Cote Carlos Daniel Rojas Nicol Rodriguez Box 2: Common Inflationary Trends in Colombia Carlos D. Rojas-Martínez Nicolás Martínez-Cortés Franky Juliano Galeano-Ramírez Box 3: Shock Decomposition of 2021 Forecast Errors Nicolás Moreno Arias