Jamaica: Employer size and worker remuneration in the private sector

Includes bibliography.

Active labor market programs for the integration of youths and immigrants into the labor market: the Nordic experience

Incluye Bibliografía

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the Agriculture Sector in Jamaica

The agricultural sector‟s contribution to GDP and to exports in Jamaica has been declining with the post-war development process that has led to the differentiation of the economy. In 2010, the sector contributed 5.8% of GDP, and 3% to the exports (of goods), but with 36% of employment, it continues to be a major employer. With a little less than half of the population living in rural communities, agricultural activities, and their linkages with other economic activities, continue to play an important role as a source of livelihoods, and by extension, the economic development of the country. Sugar cane cultivation has, with the exception of a couple of decades in the twentieth century when it was superseded by bananas, dominated the agricultural export sector for centuries as the source of the raw materials for the manufacture of sugar for export. In 2005, sugar cane itself accounted for 6.4% of the sector‟s contribution to GDP, and 52% of the contribution of agricultural exports to GDP. Production for the domestic market has long been the larger subsector, organized around the production of root crops, especially yams, vegetables and condiments. To analyse the potential impact of climate change on the agricultural sector, this study selected three important crops for detailed examination. In particular, the study selected sugar cane because of its overwhelming importance to the export subsector of agriculture, and yam and escallion for both their contribution to the domestic subsector as well as the preeminent role yams and escallion play in the economic activities of the communities in the hills of central Jamaica, and the plains of the southwest respectively. As with other studies in this project, the methodology adopted was to compare the estimated values of output on the SRES A2 and B2 Scenarios with the value of output on a “baseline” Business As Usual (BAU), and then estimate the net benefits of investment in the relevant to climate change for the selected crops. The A2 and B2 Scenarios were constructed by applying forecasts of changes in temperature and precipitation generated by INSMET from ECHAM inspired climate models. The BAU “baseline” was a linear projection of the historical trends of yields for each crop. Linear models of yields were estimated for each crop with particular attention to the influence of the two climate variables – temperature and precipitation. These models were then used to forecast yields up to 2050 (table1). These yields were then used to estimate the value of output of the selected crop, as well as the contribution to overall GDP, on each Scenario. The analysis suggested replanting sugar cane with heat resistant varieties, rehabilitating irrigation systems where they existed, and establishing technologically appropriate irrigation systems where they were not for the three selected crops.

Ecuador: return from migration and entrepreneurship in Loja

Drawing on data from a survey of returning migrants, this study examines the factors behind the decision to launch a business in Loja, Ecuador. The possible explanations fall under various headings: demographic characteristics, work experience abroad, reasons for returning, current situation, intention to re-emigrate, and activity before, during and after migration. The study also considers different concepts of “entrepreneur”, as own-account worker and as employer. The results are analysed, first, using univariate tests and then estimating probit models. The variables most closely associated with a high probability of starting a business after returning from migration are entrepreneurial experience during the migration, and the fact of having returned voluntarily, as well as having worked in the host country in agriculture or the hospitality sector. Having university training and having worked in public administration before migrating are negative factors. Other influential variables are age and the wage or salary received abroad, but these are more nuanced.