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Job Prospects in the Mekong

This project will address the effects of fast-paced economic growth in the Greater Mekong region on jobs for youth. Researchers will analyze labour markets in six countries, focusing on the characteristics and policies that constrain or promote job creation for youth. Employment growth in the Mekong The Mekong region contains some of today's most dynamic ASEAN economies. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states include Brunei Darussalam, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. All of these economies, with the exception of Thailand, are overcoming legacies of heavy-handed centralized governments in which the private sector had a very limited role. Since the 1990s, foreign investment and a vast pool of workers have catapulted the economies of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and more recently Burma, to the category of fastest growing low-income countries. Their garment, electronics, food processing, and other industries have rapidly joined global value chains and employed millions of workers. As these countries continue their fast economic transformation, generating more jobs with better working conditions for the growing numbers of youth is becoming a major challenge. Upgrading skills, improving working conditions The project will help address this challenge. It will support a regional network of researchers to examine current policies and practices to upgrade skills and improve working conditions for young, low-skilled workers, mainly women and those belonging to ethnic communities. The Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), a leading think tank, will be the network's hub. It will launch a first-ever competitive research call for up to 12 research ideas from other regional think tanks and non-governmental organizations. Some of the sub-projects will include pilot ideas that can be scaled up in the future. CDRI will oversee the research and link it to the wider community of policymakers, private sector, and civil society in the Greater Mekong region and ASEAN.

Project ID
107988
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
36 months
IDRC Officer
Gillian Dowie
Total Funding
CA$ 1,029,600.00
Location
Cambodia
China
Laos
Myanmar
Thailand
Viet Nam
Programs
Employment and Growth
Employment and Growth
Institution Country
Cambodia
Project Leader
Chhem Rethy
Institution
The Cambodia Development Resource Institute

Outputs

Job prospects for youth, low-skilled and women workers in the greater Mekong subregion

Job prospects for youth, low-skilled and women workers in the greater Mekong subregion

Book

This collection of research studies derived from the Greater Mekong Subregion Research Network (GMS-Net) provides detailed and comprehensive findings that have implications for research, policy and practice in the region. These projects explored and documented trends and policy reforms affecting low-skilled and young workers’ wage or job prospects in terms of labour force participation, wages, wage gaps, and women’s engagement in wage labour. Action research projects include evaluation of labour standards compliance, innovative business programs and new business practices.

Author(s): GMS-Net Publication

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Language: English

Job prospects for youth, low-skilled and women workers in the greater Mekong subregion - Policy brief

Job prospects for youth, low-skilled and women workers in the greater Mekong subregion - Policy brief

Brief

This policy brief is drawn from research regarding minimum wages (MW), wage disparities and youth employment in the Mekong region; labour markets; skills acquisition; and policy recommendations for Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. Regulation, enforcement and compliance differ vastly across sectors and provinces. The paper broadly outlines issues and results of employment studies in the region.

Author(s): GMS-Net publications

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Language: English