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The Impact of Arab Spring on Hiring and Separation Rates in the Tunisian Labor Market

Author

Listed:
  • Ilham Haouas

    (College of Business Administration, Abu Dhabi University)

  • Almas Heshmati

Abstract

This paper analyses the hiring and separation rates in Tunisia before and after the Arab Spring of 2011. Several models are specified to study employment decisions based on quarterly administrative firm level data over the period of 2007 to 2012. The data provides information about important firm characteristics, such as industry sector, number of hiring and separation, total employment effects and composition of labor force by gender, managerial level and age cohorts. Six models are estimated to investigate hiring, separation, hiring rate, separation rate, mobility, and net-employment. The results indicate presence of continued risk factors in Tunisia’s labor market resulting from the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Arab Spring in 2011. Hiring was little changed during this time period, and the results suggest that factors that impact separation decisions remained present in Tunisia’s labor market. In addition, the paper looks at various social issues such as youth unemployment and infer on how more efficient policy actions that further engage the private sector could result in more sustainable positive net-employment and increased labor mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilham Haouas & Almas Heshmati, 2015. "The Impact of Arab Spring on Hiring and Separation Rates in the Tunisian Labor Market," Working Papers 921, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2015.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:921
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Malik, Adeel & Awadallah, Bassem, 2013. "The Economics of the Arab Spring," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 296-313.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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