THE IMPACT OF GROWTH ON POVERTY. EVIDENCE FROM THE “JOBLESS GROWTH” IN ALBANIA

Year 2012, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 185 - 193, 01.06.2012

İmelda Sejdini İna Sejdini

Abstract

Development and growth are supposed to have a positive impact in the labor
markets but “jobless growth” seems to be a major obstacle for the poor to benefit
from the positive growth performance experienced by this country, as by many
other countries around the world. There is a wide disparity in the extent of poverty
reduction that a growth process can achieve. Therefore, the impact of growth on
poverty is seen as depending on the extent to which growth generates employment
and good earning opportunities. If employment growth is achieved at the expense
of wage reductions, it may have an inadequate impact on poverty. Moreover,
since in many low income countries the poor cannot afford to be unemployed,
policies should be more concerned with raising the income of the working poor.
In this paper we analyze the evidence from Albania with the purpose to expand
the understanding of these issues, providing empirical effort into the debate that
why growth is jobless in this country, by studying the cumulative and sectored
employment and productivity profile of growth and its correlation with observed
poverty changes.
The main findings are related to the labor market policies that can improve the
working conditions and the sectored growth which achieves a greater poverty
reduction. Interesting implications are explored for policy makers in order to
apply successful strategies that enhance the positive impact of growth on poverty

Keywords

growth, employment, poverty

References

• Agenor, Pierre R., (2004), "Unemployment-Poverty Trade-Offs", The World
• Bank, Policy Research Working Paper Series, No. 3297.
• Bank of Albania, (2011), The statistical report of the Bank of Albania, 2011.
• Cowan, K., Micco, A. and C. Pages (2004), “Labor Market Adjustment in Chile". Economica, Vol. 5, No.1, pp.186-211.
• Gutierrez, C. et al. (2007), “Does Employment Generation Really Matter for
• Poverty Reduction?”, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4432.
• Hobdari, B. (1998), “Labor Market and Unemployment Regional Disparities in
• Albania”, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, East European Series, No. 53. ILO-Central and Eastern European Team (1995), “World employment”.
• INSTAT ( 2008), “Poverty and Inequality Mapping in Albania”, Report of
• Institute of Statistics, Tirana, Albania. INSTAT (1997), Statistical Review.
• INSTAT (2005), Albania in Figures 2005, pp. 29.
• International Monetary Fond (2008), “Albania: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
• – National Strategy for Development and Integration”, IMF Country Report, Vol. , No. 269, pp.11-17. World Bank (2006), Albania: A labor market assessment”, World bank document.