Understanding the Labor Market Decisions and Outcomes of Nepal's Young Adults
Promoting early labor market success of workers has increasingly become an important economic and social development aim internationally, as exemplified by the 2030 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals related to youth employment. Many...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/949751539109596759/Understanding-the-labor-market-decisions-and-outcomes-of-Nepals-young-adults http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30629 |
| Summary: | Promoting early labor market success of
workers has increasingly become an important economic and
social development aim internationally, as exemplified by
the 2030 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals
related to youth employment. Many low-income countries,
including Nepal, are in the middle of a youth bulge in their
demographic structure. In addition, today’s youth in Nepal
are, on average, more educated than past generations. These
developments present real opportunities for the country.
Nepal also faces risks from failing to provide sufficient,
appropriate employment which is productive and remunerative
to youth. International evidence suggests that the labor
market challenges and behaviors of youth differ in important
ways from those of the overall adult population. For
example, the youth labor market outcomes are more likely to
be hurt or youth are more likely to migrate out when local
economic conditions are weak or deteriorate. Youth face
additional barriers to labor market integration due to their
relative lack of labor market experience and access to
social, financial, and physical capital to establish and run
their own income generating activities. Youth’s exposure to
weak labor market conditions, even if the conditions are
short lived, can lead to long-lasting, adverse labor market
and economic outcomes over their working lives. Systematic,
policy-oriented empirical research on labor and livelihoods
in Nepal is limited, however. Dedicated examinations of the
labor market behavior of young adults are rarer still. The
literature tends to be composed of sociological studies of
Nepal’s labor history, intertwined with the country’s social
and political history; labor market statistical profiles and
survey reports; and qualitative and empirical studies of
external labor migration by Nepalese, its determinants, and
its effects. These studies suggest the relatively distinct
nature and evolution of Nepal’s labor market.However, apart
from a few exceptions, existing studies are largely
non-empirical, weak in statistical rigor, and/or biased in
terms of data representativeness and coverage of labor
market aspects and issues. |
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