Enterprises, Workers, and Skills in Urban Timor-Leste

Like many low-income countries, Timor-Leste faces challenges in providing employment for and increasing the skills of its labor force-challenges made more acute by high fertility rates, a very young population, and the capacity constraints of a new...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Das, Maitreyi Bordia, O'Keefe, Philip
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ACCESS TO EDUCATION AGE DISTRIBUTION AGGREGATE DEMAND BASIC LITERACY BUSINESS CLIMATE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COMMERCIAL BANKS CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT COST OF CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT COSTS OF CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT CREDIT MARKETS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISCRIMINATION DISMISSAL ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC VOLATILITY EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS EMPLOYMENT GENERATION EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES EMPLOYMENT PATTERNS EMPLOYMENT POLICY ENTERPRISES ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION EXOGENOUS SHOCKS FAMILY MEMBERS FAMILY RESOURCES FEMALE LABOR FEMALE LABOR FORCE FERTILITY FERTILITY RATES FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS FINANCIAL SECTOR FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FIRM GROWTH FOREIGN INVESTORS GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER GAP GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT HEALTH HIGH POPULATION GROWTH HOUSEHOLD ENTERPRISES HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INFORMAL INFORMAL ENTERPRISES INFORMAL SECTOR INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION INVESTMENT CLIMATE JOB CREATION JOB TURNOVER JOBS LABOR CODE LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR LAWS LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS LABOR MARKET INFORMATION LABOR MARKET INSTITUTIONS LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES LABOR MARKET POLICIES LABOR MARKETS LABOR ORGANIZATION LABOR REGULATIONS LABOR RELATIONS LIVE BIRTHS LIVING STANDARDS LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES MALE WORKERS MEDIUM ENTERPRISES MICROENTERPRISES MICROFINANCE MINIMUM WAGE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MINORITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE NATIONAL ORIGIN NET EMPLOYMENT NUMBER OF WORKERS OCCUPATION OLDER WORKERS POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENTS POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POPULATION GROWTH RATE POPULATION PRESSURES POPULATION STRUCTURE POVERTY LINE PREGNANT WOMEN PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH PROGRESS PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK RESPECT RETAIL TRADE RURAL AREAS RURAL POPULATION SECONDARY SCHOOL SEVERANCE PAYMENTS SEX SHOPS SIZE OF ENTERPRISE SKILL LEVEL SKILLED WORKERS SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES SMALL ENTERPRISES SMALL FIRMS SOCIAL SERVICES STARTUP CAPITAL TRADE UNIONS UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UNIONS UNPAID WORKERS URBAN AREAS URBAN EMPLOYMENT VENDORS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION VOCATIONAL TRAINING WAGE POLICY WORKER WORKERS WORKFORCE WORKING CONDITIONS YOUNG WORKERS YOUNGER WORKERS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/03/7475041/enterprises-workers-skills-urban-timor-leste http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7231

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Summary:	Like many low-income countries, Timor-Leste faces challenges in providing employment for and increasing the skills of its labor force-challenges made more acute by high fertility rates, a very young population, and the capacity constraints of a new nation. However, there is limited information for policymakers to formulate appropriate policies. The paper presents findings of the first urban enterprise survey in independent Timor-Leste. It explores several aspects of the Timorese urban labor market, including the profile of formal and informal enterprises, their behavior in terms of employment and wage-setting practices, and constraints on firm growth. It also presents findings on the skills and training needs of urban employers, and constraints faced in overcoming skills shortages. It finds a highly informal urban enterprise scene, where even "formal" enterprises are largely micro-enterprises. While there has been considerable action in terms of new firm creation since independence, there is already surprisingly low job creation or destruction. This is driven by a number of constraints inside and outside the labor market. With respect to wages, the impacts of the informal minimum wage policy inherited from the interim international administration suggest the need for caution in future wage policy development. While employers identify many skills gaps, basic literacy, numeracy, and language skill needs dominate, and employers appear to value short courses and less formal modes of skills training to address their needs. The paper concludes with suggestions for addressing the key constraints identified.

Enterprises, Workers, and Skills in Urban Timor-Leste

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