Brazil approaches its 2018 election with an economy that is gradually recovering from the deepest recession in its recent economic history. However, for many Brazilians, the recovery has not yet translated into new and better jobs, or rising incomes. This book explores the drivers of future employment and income growth. Its key finding: Brazil needs to dramatically improve its performance across all industries in terms of productivity if the country is to provide better jobs for its citizens and generate lasting gains in incomes growth for all. This is particularly important as Brazil is aging rapidly and the boost the country has enjoyed thanks to its young and growing labor force in the past decades will disappear in just a few years’ time. The book recommends a change in the relationship between the state and business, from rewarding privileged incumbents to fostering competition and innovation—together with supporting workers and firms to adjust to the demands of the market. The book is addressed to all scholars and students of Brazil’s economy, especially those interested in why the country’s economic performance has not kept up with earlier achievements since the reintroduction of democracy in the mid-1980s. Its conclusions are urgent and pertinent but also optimistic. With the right policy mix, Brazil could enter the third century of its independence in 2022 well on track to join the ranks of high income countries.

This book argues that society must rethink the notion of formal employment and instead introduce and spread the notion of "meaningful work" so that societies can become independent of economic growth. The excessive consumption of natural resources and the immense emissions resulting from our growth-oriented economic system surpass the planetary boundaries. Despite this, society and the economy still strive for economic growth in order to generate jobs, to finance the social security system and to assure tax income. However, these expectations are increasingly unrealistic, not least because technological developments such as digitalisation and robotisation will change and limit formal employment opportunities as well. Against this backdrop, the book introduces the notion of meaningful activities that embrace various kinds of work, paid and unpaid, sequential or in parallel, which are meaningful for the worker as well as society as a whole. At the same time, the authors argue in favour of reduced working time in formal employment. Furthermore, the book also describes the necessary transformations in companies and for consumers, for social and tax systems, for social services and agriculture. Innovative and timely, this book will be a key resource for professionals and scholars interested in sustainability, economics, work, transformation and post-growth studies.

100 Fastest-Growing Careers is an extensive volume that provides information about pay, outlook, education, and skills needed to obtain some of the most promising jobs in the world of work. With this comprehensive book, readers explore 100 in-demand jobs, assess which ones match their skills, and learn seven quick steps for getting the job they want. As part of JIST's Top Careers series, this book provides thorough, current, and interesting descriptions of today's fastest-growing jobs. New content for this edition includes updated descriptions and data from the U.S. Department of Labor and an at-a-glance 'Projections Data' table through 2018 for each job. The Job-Match Grid and the 'Quick Job Search' section have also been updated.

The past few decades have witnessed the economic and geopolitical rise of a number of large middle-income countries around the world. This volume focuses on the labour market situations, trends and regulations in these emerging economies.

Jobs are essential for the growth of individuals and countries alike. Achieving personal fulfillment is harder without a job, just as an economy as a whole cannot develop without the impetus of the labor market. These two perspectives unquestionably go hand in hand: from the individual perspective, finding a good job is a legitimate aspiration for anyone who wishes to support oneself and one's family; from the societal perspective, creating more and better jobs is essential to the achievement of lasting and equitable growth. Jobs for Growth rests on this dual vision. This book examines the performance of the region's labor market and, based on this analysis, proposes an integrated package of measures for both personal growth (through successful career paths) and economic growth (through more high-quality jobs and higher productivity). Over the past two decades, the bullish economic cycle has yielded undeniable gains for labor markets in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), among them lower unemployment, improved job creation, and a substantial increase in wages. However, the situation on the horizon -stagnation of the region's growth and weaknesses in the global macroeconomic outlook- have increased the urgency to find solutions to today's most pressing labor problems. This volume shows that, despite the still-low unemployment rates, the region may find itself trapped in a vicious cycle of poor-quality jobs -a phenomenon especially visible in the high percentage of informal jobs (which are defined in this publication as those without access to social security benefits) and in the high proportion of very short-lived jobs. As the title Jobs for Growth indicates, breaking this cycle will require comprehensive policies that boost productivity.

Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges brings together and unprecedented group of economists, data providers, and data analysts to discuss research on the state of entrepreneurship and to address the challenges in understanding this dynamic part of the economy. Each chapter addresses the challenges of measuring entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurial firms contribute to economies and standards of living. The book also investigates heterogeneity in entrepreneurs, challenges experienced by entrepreneurs over time, and how much less we know than we think about entrepreneurship given data limitations. This volume will be a groundbreaking first serious look into entrepreneurship in the NBER's Income and Wealth series.