Firms, Jobs, and Employment in Moldova
Firms, Jobs, and Employment in Moldova

Author: Jan Rutkowski

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13:

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Despite low open unemployment, labor market outcomes are unsatisfactory in Moldova. Employment is low and job opportunities are scarce. This paper examines labor market performance in Moldova by focusing on firm dynamics. It finds that the low level of employment in Moldova is due to the low rate of firm entry and the low rate of job creation in existing firms. Although the rate of job destruction is high, this is typical of transition economies and is a problem only because it is not coupled with a commensurate rate of job creation. Firm exit is limited and thus is not an important factor behind job losses. The only sector of the economy that creates jobs on a net basis is that of de novo private and small firms. However, in Moldova this sector is significantly smaller than in the most successful transition economies. The paper argues that the primary factor behind the small size of the employment generating sector is the high cost of doing business in Moldova. This includes numerous administrative barriers, intrusive and costly inspections and associated corruption. These costs - extremely high even be regional standards - lower the expected returns to business activity and thus discourage firm formation and growth. The paper recommends improvements in the investment climate as a primary policy to increase productive employment and lower unemployment. Priority should be given to fostering job creation by facilitating the formation of new firms and reducing constraints on the expansion of existing firms. The government should avoid measures designed to forestall the destruction of unviable jobs and firm exit, as these are not conducive to long-run productivity and employment growth. Enhancing labor market flexibility is a further priority, as the current stringent provisions of the Labor Code are not complied with and enforced. Given the unsatisfactory business environment, active labor market programs are unlikely to be effective, unless carefully targeted at the most disadvantaged worker groups. This paper - a product of the Human Development Sector Unit, Europe and Central Asia Region - is part of a larger effort in the region to examine labor market performance and its contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction.

Firms, Jobs, and Employment in Moldova
Firms, Jobs, and Employment in Moldova

Author: Jan Rutkowski

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Despite low open unemployment, labor market outcomes are unsatisfactory in Moldova. Employment is low and job opportunities are scarce. The author examines labor market performance in Moldova by focusing on firm dynamics. He finds that the low level of employment in Moldova is due to the low rate of firm entry and the low rate of job creation in existing firms. Although the rate of job destruction is high, this is typical of transition economies, and is a problem only because it is not coupled with a commensurate rate of job creation. Firm exit is limited and thus is not an important factor behind job losses. The only sector of the economy that creates jobs on a net basis is that consisting of de novo private and small firms. However, in Moldova this sector is significantly smaller than in the most successful transition economies. The author argues that the primary factor behind the small size of the employment generating sector is the high cost of doing business in Moldova. These include numerous administrative barriers, intrusive and costly inspections, and associated corruption. These costs-extremely high even by regional standards-lower the expected returns to business activity and thus discourage firm formation and growth. The author hence recommends improvements in the investment climate as a primary policy aimed at increasing productive employment and lowering unemployment. Priority should be given to fostering job creation through facilitating the formation of new firms and to reducing the constraints on the expansion of existing firms. The government should avoid measures aimed at forestalling the destruction of unviable jobs and firm exit as these are not conducive to long-run productivity and employment growth. Enhancing labor market flexibility is a further priority, as currently the apparently stringent provisions of the Labor Code are not complied with and enforced. Given the unsatisfactory business environment, active labor market programs are unlikely to be effective unless carefully targeted at the most disadvantaged worker groups.

Enhancing Job Opportunities
Enhancing Job Opportunities

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0821361961

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Annotation This title looks at ways governments can promote the creation of more and better jobs in the region. It addresses the question of why labour market outcomes have been disappointing during the transition, and suggests policy interventions to promote firms' investment, job creation and economic development.

Labor Market Developments During Economic Transition
Labor Market Developments During Economic Transition

Author: Jan J. Rutkowski

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

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"The paper reviews labor market developments in the transition economies of Europe and Central Asia. It argues that the scarcity of productive job opportunities and the growing labor market segmentation are the two main labor market problems facing the transition economies. In the European transition economies the lack of jobs has led to persistent open unemployment. In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) it has led to hidden unemployment (underemployment and low productivity employment). Unemployment in the European transition economies is supported by the developed social safety net. In contrast, in the CIS for most workers unemployment is not an affordable option. They either stick to their old, unproductive jobs in unrestructured enterprises, or work in the informal sector, or resort to subsistence agriculture. Thus, underemployment in the CIS is a mirror image of unemployment in the European transition economies. Accordingly, the high employment-to-population ratios in many CIS countries do not necessarily signify favorable labor market performance. Instead they often indicate delayed enterprise restructuring, the maintenance of unsustainable jobs in uncompetitive firms, and the existence of a large informal sector as an employer of last resort. Labor market segmentation has been caused by a sharp increase in earnings differentials and the attendant increase in the incidence of low-paid jobs, by the polarization of regional labor market conditions, and finally by the growth of the informal sector offering casual, low-productivity jobs. Labor market segmentation and accompanying inequalities are more pronounced in the CIS than in the European transition economies. "--World Bank web site.

Encyclopedia of World Poverty
Encyclopedia of World Poverty

Author: Mehmet Odekon

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 1761

ISBN-13: 1412918073

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Provides extensive and current information, as well as insight into the contemporary debate on poverty, and contains over 800 original articles written by more than 125 renowned scholars.

Doing Business in 2005
Doing Business in 2005

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780821357484

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Doing Business in 2005: Obstacles to Growth is the second in a series of annual reports investigating the scope and manner of regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. New quantitative indicators on business regulations and their enforcement can be compared across more than 130 countries, and over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. Topics in Doing Business in 2005 include: Licensing and Inspections: Having registered a business, now what? In most countries, firms face a myriad of sector specific licenses as well as inspections to enforce compliance. The Doing Business database constructs two sets of indicators on the regulation of operations. One measures the steps, time and costs of complying with licensing and permit requirements for ongoing. The other assesses the enforcement of regulations through two of the most common types of inspections-labor and tax. Registering Property: Property registries were first developed to help raise tax revenue. What was good for the tax authorities has since proven to be good for strengthening property rights-the registries strengthen incentives to invest, facilitate trade, and expand access to credit. New indicators cover the steps, time and cost to register property. Measures of the legal provisions that strengthen property rights and the efficiency of property registries are also developed. Protecting Investors: Corporate governance issues are often thought to affect only publicly listed companies in developed countries. In fact, corporate governance is relevant for every large privately held company that has more than one owner. New indicators examine several possible types of shareholder expropriation, including related-party transactions, guarantees and loans to company managers and directors, mergers and acquisitions, disclosure of ownership information, and treatment of conflicts of interest. Including a new emphasis on gender, Doing Business not only provides insights into business constraints throughout the world but highlights particular barriers faced by women. Doing Business is a comprehensive resource that no investor, economic adviser, business developer, or economic policymaker should be without.

At Your Service?
At Your Service?

Author: Gaurav Nayyar

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-10-18

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1464817103

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Manufacturing-led development has provided the traditional model for creating jobs and prosperity. But in the past three decades the conventional pattern of structural transformation has changed, with the services sector growing faster than the manufacturing sector. This raises critical questions about the ability of developing economies to close productivity gaps with advanced economies and to create good jobs for more people. At Your Service? The Promise of Services-Led Development (www.worldbank.org/services-led-development) assesses the scope of a services-driven development model and policy directions that can maximize the model’s potential.

Back to Work
Back to Work

Author: Omar S. Arias

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2014-01-15

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 082139911X

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What can be done to create more and better jobs in Europe and Central Asia? And should there be specific policies to help workers access those jobs? The authors of this book examine these questions through the lens of two contextual factors: the legacy of centralized planned economies and the mounting demographic pressures associated with rapid aging in some countries and soaring numbers of youth entering the workforce in others. The authors find the following: Market reforms pay off, albeit with a lag, in terms of jobs and productivity. A small fraction of superstar high-growth firms accounts for most of the new jobs created in the region. Skills gaps hinder employment prospects, especially of youth and older workers, because of the inadequate response by the education and training systems to changes in the demand for skills. Employment is hindered by high implicit taxes on formal work and barriers that affect especially women, minorities, youth, and older workers. Low internal labor mobility prevents labor relocation to places with greater job creation potential. Back to Work: Growing with Jobs in Europe and Central Asia asserts that to get more people back to work and to grow with jobs, countries, especially late reformers, need to regain the momentum for economic and institutional reforms that existed before the economic crisis. They should lay the fundamentals to create jobs for all workers, by pushing reforms to create the enabling environment for existing firms to grow, become more productive, or exit the market and let new firms emerge and succeed (or fail fast and cheap). They should also implement policies to support workers so that those workers are prepared to take on the new jobs being created, by having the right skills and incentives, unhindered access to work, and being ready to relocate.

Republic of Moldova
Republic of Moldova

Author: International Monetary Fund. European Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2023-02-14

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13:

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The Republic of Moldova is continuously transforming, directly affected by regional and global events: the rise in the cost of energy and food products, the security crisis in the region created by the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the reformation of value chains and even climate change affecting agricultural production. In this extremely difficult context, in addition to the short-term interventions needed to cope with the current crises, the Government has proposed to define a medium- and long-term development vision, in order to strengthen our resilience to future crises and create the basis for a sustainable and inclusive development of the country.