Canada and the countries of Latin America are in the midst of major changes and choices in the area of labor markets and related social policy. These decisions are likely to have profound consequences for the quality of life of workers throughout the hemisphere. Labor Market Policies in Canada and Latin America: Challenges of the New Millennium reviews the evidence of Canada and Latin America on three major labor policy instruments - unemployment insurance, minimum wages and training - and on the effects of the payroll taxes which are the main means of funding the unemployment insurance system and other components of social expenditure. This is the first study attempting an in-depth comparison of these labor policy instruments between Canada and Latin America. The useful juxtaposition of Canadian and Latin American experiences comes at a time when the trend in Canada is to back away from the perhaps overly generous or ineffectively administered elements of the labor legislation/social security net and when Latin American countries have undertaken significant reforms of their past systems but require further changes to move toward the sorts of legislation and support systems that characterize developed countries. The experiences of Canada and Latin America are mutually relevant since all are small economies forced to adjust to events at the world or hemispheric level and most are inclined to approach policy in an intermediate fashion which falls between the more market-oriented American and the more interventionist European models. Together with its comparative aspect, this volume attempts a more balanced and in-depth assessment in each of the policy areas than has hitherto been available. The gradually increasing base of available empirical data on the period after the reforms has been used in the studies, which provide thorough syntheses of the available research for Canada and Latin America.

Most developing countries face significant and sometimes dramatic challenges in generating stable jobs that provide reasonable incomes and decent working conditions. For developing countries that have undergone lengthy periods of economic stagnation, these challenges are especially acute, and popular dissatisfaction correspondingly marked. Paraguay is a case in point. It is unlikely that any "employment policy" could lead to a major improvement in the quality of labor market outcomes unless designed and implemented in a sophisticated and coherent way. Such an approach has been infrequent in developing countries in general, and especially so in those that, like Paraguay, also suffer severe institutional weaknesses of governance. Paraguay's past failure in employment creation is mainly the result of a number of structural weaknesses described in this volume. Its current crisis is also the accumulated legacy of over a quarter century of economic stagnation and political failure fl owing from those weaknesses. The new reformist administration of President Fernando Lugo has raised hopes that the future might be better than the past. This study aims to contribute to improved policy making by analyzing the source of the problems and providing policy recommendations. The chapters describe the potential contribution of various policy areas in the face of a dauntingly negative track record and identify a number of steps that have to be taken if success is to be achieved. They put into perspective the reforms that have been undertaken to date by the country's previous administration. Paraguay's experience offers insight into the problems faced by other developing countries in today's global economy. The central message is that policy improvements must be made in a number of areas and implemented in a coordinated fashion for there to be any reasonable hope of success. Albert Berry is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Toronto. In additional to numerous scholarly journals he is the author or editor of Labor Market Policies in Canada and Latin America: Challenges of the New Millennium; Critical Issues in International Financial Reform; Poverty, Economic Reforms, and Income Distribution in Latin America; and Essays on Industrialization in Colombia.

Originally published in 2004. Growth, income distribution, and labour markets are issues of pivotal importance in the Latin American context. Examining unique theoretical issues and the empirical evidence, this book provides a critical analysis of the key elements of income distribution determinants, labour market functions, trade policies, and their interrelations. As the advance of globalization becomes seemingly unstoppable, this book provides an important reappraisal of the impact of this new phenomenon, and in particular, the pernicious impact it may have on income growth and distribution. The key objective of the volume is to integrate more fully the analysis of trade and labour market economists, in order to better understand the labour market and income distribution implications of globalization and international integration. Forty years after the early calls to appropriately investigate the micro foundations of macroeconomics, the separation of the two at the policy level is more damaging than ever before - particularly for developing regions; this volume therefore makes an important contribution at the theoretical and policy levels by bringing together macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses.

This report contributes to the debate about the quality of education and returns to education investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to improve our understanding of the links from investmetn in education and training to labor market outcomes and provide a basis for policy choices that will strengthen future outcomes.

Reviews federally funded training programmes, notably its service providers and the way they operate. Considers issues of performance management under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. Compares public to private training programmes in the US and to the public training in other industrialized nations.