East Asian labor markets and the economic crisis : impacts, responses, and lessons

The East Asian crisis has had serious consequences for workers throughout the region. Unemployment has risen, earnings have fallen, and working conditions have been endangered. The resulting poverty, declines in living standards, and social tension have threatened the gains achieved during the preceding 2 decades of growth. They have also raised difficult questions about the development track in East and SE Asia and the social protection it has afforded. Over 2 years after the crisis started, there is evidence of macroeconomic stabilization and recovery in the region. However, for millions of workers in East Asia, social and economic hardship continues. For governments, important challenges remain not only to alleviate the hardship but also to build a sustainable path toward future prosperity. In 1998, the World Bank and the International Labor Organization (ILO) initiated a project on labor markets and the East Asian crisis. This was 1 element in the larger collaboration between these 2 institutions to support the region in responding to the social dimensions of the crisis. The labor market project covered the 5 most affected countries-Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand-and was designed to stimulate analysis and policy dialog within the context of international experience. This volume includes papers from a 3-day workshop (Tokyo, October 1999) convened to further the dialog regarding international experience and best practice in labor policy. Part 1 features reports prepared by national experts. Each report begins with an empirical overview of recent labor market trends in the country and then reviews current policies in employment creation and maintenance, income support for unemployed workers, employment services, and vocational education and training. Part 2 examines the international experience and applies it to the Asian context. The sudden, and often painful consequences of the financial crisis in East and Southern Asia, led to disappearing employment, and earning opportunities in the formal sector, reduced incomes, and meager social assistance. Thus, these difficult events of the late 1990s, raised questions for the region's countries, regarding the labor market aspects of the crisis, and the needed labor policy reforms for the long term. It is in this framework that the World Bank, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) sponsored a series of papers on policy options, i.e., unemployment benefits, active labor market programs, support for vulnerable groups, and social dialogue, which were presented at the Tokyo Workshop in October 1999. This book includes those country reports, and international policy papers, in a revised form to reflect the seminar discussions. It describes how regional labor markets were affected, and how governments, and communities responded, and, looks forward in setting out the labor policy options for the future, based on international experience. A follow-up project, will focus on the application of active, and passive labor programs, to be discussed at a regional seminar in early 2001 Comprises 11 papers which explore the effects of the East Asian crisis of the late 1990s on labour markets in five countries. Includes five country papers which examine recent labour market trends and review current policies in employment creation and maintenance, income support, employment services and vocational education and training. Further chapters cover policy requirements in the areas of unemployment benefits, active labour market programmes, support for vulnerable groups and social dialogue. Looks at Japanese experience with employment policy This joint study covers the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. It addresses labour market impacts of the economic crisis and the various countries' responses. It also identifies labour policy reforms needed for the longer term.