IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/5379.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Industry and skill wage premiums in east Asia

Author

Listed:
  • di Gropello, Emanuela
  • Sakellariou , Chris

Abstract

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 policyimplications, 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.

Suggested Citation

  • di Gropello, Emanuela & Sakellariou , Chris, 2010. "Industry and skill wage premiums in east Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5379, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5379
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/07/26/000158349_20100726102504/Rendered/PDF/WPS5379.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David O’Connor & Mariarosa Lunati, 1999. "Economic Opening and the Demand for Skills in Developing Countries: A Review of Theory and Evidence," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 149, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rita K. Almeida, 2010. "Openness and Technological Innovation in East Asia: Have They Increased the Demand for Skills?," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 17(1), pages 63-95, June.
    2. Justin Caron & Thibault Fally & James Markusen, 2021. "Per capita income and the demand for skills," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 12, pages 251-268, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Bruno Martorano & Donghyun Park & Marco Sanfilippo, 2017. "Catching-up, structural transformation, and inequality: industry-level evidence from Asia," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(4), pages 555-570.
    4. Sonali Jain-Chandra & Tidiane Kinda & Kalpana Kochhar & Shi Piao & Johanna Schauer, 2019. "Sharing the Growth Dividend: Analysis of Inequality in Asia," Journal of Banking and Financial Economics, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(12), pages 5-28, September.
    5. Xu, Yang, 2022. "Structural change and the skill premium in a global economy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. World Bank, 2012. "Leading with Ideas : Skills for Growth and Equity in Thailand," World Bank Publications - Reports 2732, The World Bank Group.
    7. Lee, Jong-Wha & Wie, Dainn, 2015. "Technological Change, Skill Demand, and Wage Inequality: Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 238-250.
    8. Juzhong Zhuang, 2023. "Income and Wealth Inequality in Asia and the Pacific: Trends, Causes, and Policy Remedies," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 18(1), pages 15-41, January.
    9. Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Bruno Martorano, 2012. "Development Policies and Income Inequality in Selected Developing Regions, 1980–2010," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 210, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    10. Chen, Shuang, 2018. "Education and transition to work: Evidence from Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 92-105.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:ilo:ilowps:366690 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Antonio Avalos & Andreas Savvides, 2006. "The Manufacturing Wage Inequality in Latin America and East Asia: Openness, Technology Transfer, and Labor Supply," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 553-576, November.
    3. Monika Verma & Thomas W. Hertel & Ernesto Valenzuela, 2011. "Are The Poverty Effects of Trade Policies Invisible?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 25(2), pages 190-211, May.
    4. Piva, Mariacristina & Santarelli, Enrico & Vivarelli, Marco, 2005. "The skill bias effect of technological and organisational change: Evidence and policy implications," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 141-157, March.
    5. Green, Francis & Dickerson, Andy & Saba Arbache, Jorge, 2001. "A Picture of Wage Inequality and the Allocation of Labor Through a Period of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1923-1939, November.
    6. Jorge Saba Arbache, 2001. "Trade Liberalisation and Labor Markets in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence," Studies in Economics 0112, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    7. Thierry Mayer, 2006. "Policy Coherence for Development : A Background paper on Foreign Direct Investment," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-01065640, HAL.
    8. Lanouar Charfeddine & Zouhair Mrabet, 2015. "Trade liberalization and relative employment: further evidence from Tunisia," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(1), pages 173-202, June.
    9. Usman Mustafa & Kalbe Abbas & Amara Saeed, 2005. "Enhancing Vocational Training for Economic Growth in Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 44(4), pages 567-584.
    10. Jörg MAYER, 2000. "Globalization, Technology Tranfer And Skill Accumulation In Low-Income Countries," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 150, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    11. Seoghoon KANG & Dong-Pyo HONG, 2002. "Technological Change And Demand For Skills In Developing Countries: An Empirical Investigation Of The Republic Of Korea'S Case," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 40(2), pages 188-207, June.
    12. Eddy LEE & Marco VIVARELLI, 2006. "The social impact of globalization in the developing countries," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 145(3), pages 167-184, September.
    13. Sami SAAFI & Fouzi SBOUI, 2011. "LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS, DIFFUSION TECHNOLOGIQUE ET DEMANDE DE LA MAIN-D’OEUVRE PAR QUALIFICATION DES INDUSTRIES T," Working Papers 240, Laboratoire de Recherche sur l'Industrie et l'Innovation. ULCO / Research Unit on Industry and Innovation.
    14. Jörg MAYER, 2001. "Technology Diffusion, Human Capital And Economic Growth In Developing Countries," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 154, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    15. Anderson, Edward, 2005. "Openness and inequality in developing countries: A review of theory and recent evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1045-1063, July.
    16. Nathalie Chusseau & Joël Hellier, 2013. "Inequality in Emerging Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Joël Hellier & Nathalie Chusseau (ed.), Growing Income Inequalities, chapter 2, pages 48-75, Palgrave Macmillan.
    17. Ali Saggay & Almas Heshmati & Mohamed Dhif, 2007. "Effects of trade liberalization on domestic prices: Some evidence from Tunisian manufacturing," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 54(1), pages 148-175, March.
    18. Mariacristina Piva & Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2006. "Technological and organizational changes as determinants of the skill bias: evidence from the Italian machinery industry," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 63-73.
    19. Sulamaa, Pekka & Widgrén, Mika, 2005. "Asian Regionalism versus Global Free Trade: A Simulation Study on Economic Effects," Discussion Papers 985, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/10184 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/10184 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Piva, Mariacristina., 2004. "The impact of technology transfer on employment and income distribution in developing countries : a survey of theoretical models and empirical studies," ILO Working Papers 993666903402676, International Labour Organization.
    23. Zouhair MRABET & Lanouar CHARFEDDINE, 2013. "Trade Liberalization, Technology Import And Employment: Evidence Of Skill Upgrading In The Tunisian Context," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 37, pages 11-36.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Markets; Water and Industry; Tertiary Education; Education For All; Secondary Education;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5379. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.