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

Author

Listed:
  • Haouas, Ilham

    (Abu Dhabi University)

  • Heshmati, Almas

    (Jönköping University)

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 labour 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 labour 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 labour market. In addition, the paper looks at various social issues such as youth unemployment and infer on how more efficient policy actions that will further engage the private sector could result in more sustainable positive net-employment and increased labour mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Haouas, Ilham & Heshmati, Almas, 2015. "The Impact of Arab Spring on Hiring and Separation Rates in the Tunisian Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 8809, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8809
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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.
    2. Ilham Haouas & Mahmoud Yagoubi & Almas Heshmati, 2005. "The impacts of trade liberalization on employment and wages in Tunisian industries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(4), pages 527-551.
    3. Karshenas, Massoud & Moghadam, Valentine M. & Alami, Randa, 2014. "Social Policy after the Arab Spring: States and Social Rights in the MENA Region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 726-739.
    4. Mohamed Trabelsi, 2013. "Post-Political Transitions in Arab Spring Countries: The Challenges," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 20(2), pages 253-263, October.
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    6. Hassine, Nadia Belhaj, 2015. "Economic Inequality in the Arab Region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 532-556.
    7. Bassanini, Andrea & Marianna, Pascal, 2009. "Looking Inside the Perpetual-Motion Machine: Job and Worker Flows in OECD Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 4452, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Assaad, Ragui, 1993. "Formal and informal institutions in the labor market, with applications to the construction sector in Egypt," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 925-939, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    hiring; separation; labour mobility; net-employment; informal sector; Tunisia; Arab Spring; global financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    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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