Firms, jobs, and employment in Moldova, Vol. 1 of 1

About

Countries

Data & Research

Learning

News

Projects & Operations

Publications

Topics

Home > Data & Research > Research > Document Search > Report Details

Firms, jobs, and employment in Moldova

Author:	Rutkowski, Jan;	Collection Title:	Policy, Research working paper ; no. WPS 3253
Country:	Moldova;	Date Stored:	2004/06/04
Document Date:	2004/03/01	Document Type:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English	Region:	Europe and Central Asia
Report Number:	WPS3253	SubTopics:	Small Scale Enterprise; Labor Standards; Labor Management and Relations; Microfinance; Small and Medium Size Enterprises; Labor Policies; Private Participation in Infrastructure
Volume No:	1 of 1

Summary: Despite low open unemployment, labor market outcomes are unsatisfactory in Moldova. Employment is low and job opportunities are scarce. The author examines labor market performance in Moldova by focusing on firm dynamics. He finds that the low level of employment in Moldova is due to the low rate of firm entry and the low rate of job creation in existing firms. Although the rate of job destruction is high, this is typical of transition economies, and is a problem only because it is not coupled with a commensurate rate of job creation. Firm exit is limited and thus is not an important factor behind job losses. The only sector of the economy that creates jobs on a net basis is that consisting of de novo private and small firms. However, in Moldova this sector is significantly smaller than in the most successful transition economies. The author argues that the primary factor behind the small size of the employment generating sector is the high cost of doing business in Moldova. These include numerous administrative barriers, intrusive and costly inspections, and associated corruption. These costs-extremely high even by regional standards-lower the expected returns to business activity and thus discourage firm formation and growth. The author hence recommends improvements in the investment climate as a primary policy aimed at increasing productive employment and lowering unemployment. Priority should be given to fostering job creation through facilitating the formation of new firms and to reducing the constraints on the expansion of existing firms. The government should avoid measures aimed at forestalling the destruction of unviable jobs and firm exit as these are not conducive to long-run productivity and employment growth. Enhancing labor market flexibility is a further priority, as currently the apparently stringent provisions of the Labor Code are not complied with and enforced. Given the unsatisfactory business environment, active labor market programs are unlikely to be effective unless carefully targeted at the most disadvantaged worker groups.


Official Documents Official, scanned versions of documents (may include signatures, etc.)
File Type		Description	File Size (mb)

	PDF 50 pages	Official version*	3.5 (approx.)
	Text	Text version**


Light-Weight Documents Lighter (less MB) documents which may or may not be the final, official version
File Type		Description	File Size (mb)

	PDF 50 pages	WPS3253	0.30

* The official version is derived from scanning the final, paper copy of the document and is the official,
archived version including all signatures, charts, etc.

** The text version is the OCR text of the final scanned version and is not an accurate representation of the final text.
It is provided solely to benefit users with slow connectivity.

Permanent URL for this page: http://go.worldbank.org/KXB6U8QT60