Saibal Kar

This book is an attempt to capture and analyze several idiosyncratic features of industry and labor in the developing world. Available books and graduate-level texts in labor economics largely discuss industrial and labor market situations prevalent in developed countries, where well-defined institutional arrangements and regulations create a very different scope of analysis. The patterns of choice in training and contracts in the labor market more apparent in developing and transition countries are discussed, as are the information-theoretic results. The book also critically examines labor migration, a context in which the developing and transition countries represent large sources in the present global order. A broad base of empirical observations from industries is used to develop analytical conjectures on risk-sharing arrangements between workers and employers, while strong intuitive explanations are combined with relevant mathematical and graphical derivations, ensuring the book’s readability among graduate students pursuing courses in labor economics and industrial economics for developing and transition countries. The book may also serve as a valuable reference guide for all students in advanced human resources courses at management schools. Presenting state-of-the art research findings in all of its chapters, the book discusses numerous institutional peculiarities of the developing world, making the results distinct in view of the general scope of labor economics.

This book is an attempt to capture and analyze several idiosyncratic features of industry and labor in the developing world. Available books and graduate-level texts in labor economics largely discuss industrial and labor market situations prevalent in developed countries, where well-defined institutional arrangements and regulations create a very different scope of analysis. The patterns of choice in training and contracts in the labor market more apparent in developing and transition countries are discussed, as are the information-theoretic results. The book also critically examines labor migration, a context in which the developing and transition countries represent large sources in the present global order. A broad base of empirical observations from industries is used to develop analytical conjectures on risk-sharing arrangements between workers and employers, while strong intuitive explanations are combined with relevant mathematical and graphical derivations, ensuring the book’s readability among graduate students pursuing courses in labor economics and industrial economics for developing and transition countries. The book may also serve as a valuable reference guide for all students in advanced human resources courses at management schools. Presenting state-of-the art research findings in all of its chapters, the book discusses numerous institutional peculiarities of the developing world, making the results distinct in view of the general scope of labor economics.

This graduate textbook offers advanced and contemporary readings in international trade and economic development and provides an overview of the fundamental topics in this area. It brings together many of the issues that are considered staple reading for a course in trade and development and it offers a systematic coverage of the relevant and state of the art research on various aspects of the subject. This includes detailed analysis of important sub-topics such as: trade and labour market, trade and public economics, the theory of the second best, foreign aid, factor mobility, and regional and global welfare. It also covers international trade and labour standards, the informal labour market, and TRIPS. Aimed at post-graduate students interested in trade theory and applications in development issues, this book should also prove a valuable resource for practicing economists, policy makers, and advanced undergraduate students studying international trade. The text balances extensive coverage of available literature in the area with substantive inclusions from new research published in leading journals and volumes. It aims to fill the gap in the teaching resources and should promote further theoretical and empirical research in the subject.

The informal economy has emerged as one of the most dynamic, active, and hotly-debated domains in the entire developing world. Unfortunately, it remains one of the least treated subjects in mainstream economic theory and development economics. This book brings together the authors' accumulated work over the last decade. It provides a detailed theoretical overview and analytical understanding of informal labour markets in the context of economic reforms. Grounded in the neo-classical general equilibrium framework, it analyses the impact of deregulatory policies on the welfare of informal workers in a segmented labour market. Using empirical data and case studies, the book discusses how informal wage responds to unemployment in the formal sector by exploring the interactions between the formal and the informal labour markets. The authors also examine institutional factors-political, economic, and governance mechanisms-to explore the major causes that sustain or impede the dynamism of the informal labour markets.