Industry and Skill Wage Premiums in East Asia
This paper focuses on the estimation of skill/industry premiums and labor force composition at the national and sector levels in seven East Asian countries with the objective of providing a comprehensive analysis of trends in demand for skills in t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100726102504 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3863 |
| Summary: | This paper focuses on the estimation of
skill/industry premiums and labor force composition at the
national and sector levels in seven East Asian countries
with the objective of providing a comprehensive analysis of
trends in demand for skills in the region. The paper
addresses the following questions: Are there converging or
diverging trends in the region regarding the evolution of
skill premiums and labor force composition? Are changes in
skill premiums generalized or industry-related? How have
industry premiums evolved? The analysis uses labor and
household surveys going back at least 10 years. The main
trends emerging from the analysis are: (a) increasing
proportions of skilled/educated workers over the long run
across the region; (b) generally increasing demand for
skills in the region; (c) the service sector has become the
most important driver of demand for skills for all countries
(except Thailand); (d) countries can be broadly categorized
into three groups in relation to trends and patterns of
demand for skills (Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand;
Vietnam and China; and Cambodia and Mongolia); and (e)
industry premiums have increased in three countries of the
region (Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia). These trends
point to several policy implications, including that
governments should focus on policies promoting access to
education to address the increasing demand for skills and/or
persistent skill shortages; support general rather than
specific curricula given broad-based increases in skill
premiums in most countries; better tailor curriculum design
and content and pedagogical approaches to the needs of the
service sector; and target some social protection programs
to unskilled workers to protect them from the
"unequalizing" impact of education. |
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