Labour markets in low-income countries : challenges and opportunities /

Economists Lam (Univ. of Michigan) and Elsayed (Univ. of Bonn, Germany) report on the study Growth and Labour Markets in Low-Income Countries, conducted by the University of Bonn's Institute of Labor Economics and the UK's former Department for International Development. The study acknowledges the centrality of strong employment and job creation to the sustained development of low-income countries, particularly where the pool of working-age adults is large, and evaluates the effects of policy solutions intended to increase employment. Across nine chapters, the authors examine skills training, worker-firm matching, rural labor markets, migration, youth unemployment, women's empowerment, vocational training programs, and public works programs. They study these issues within a variety of countries--including Mexico, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and several in sub-Saharan Africa--which represent low-, lower-middle-, and upper-middle-income economies. Each chapter identifies key takeaways. A major finding of this book is that vocational training programs have a disappointing record. The clear analysis of this volume sharpens economists' toolkit for promoting the development of low-income countries. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals. --Emily P. Hoffman, emerita, Western Michigan University