The State of Jobs in Post-Conflict Areas of Sri Lanka
Although Sri Lanka has made significant progress in social and economic development over the past decade, the Northern and Eastern provinces that faced the brunt of the decades-long conflict remain disproportionately poor. To understand the labor m...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/443541519651773814/The-state-of-jobs-in-post-conflict-areas-of-Sri-Lanka http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29415 |
| Summary: | Although Sri Lanka has made significant
progress in social and economic development over the past
decade, the Northern and Eastern provinces that faced the
brunt of the decades-long conflict remain disproportionately
poor. To understand the labor market dimensions of poverty
in these regions, this paper examines a range of job-related
indicators, using data from 2011 to 2015. The overall labor
force participation rate in these provinces is significantly
lower than in the rest of the country. Much of the
difference can be attributed to adult women, although the
participation rates of youth and those with lower
educational attainment are also low. The distribution of
wages for male and female wage workers in these provinces is
similar to that in other parts of the country. The pattern
of low employment rates and comparable wages is consistent
with a combination of low demand for labor and greater
reluctance to work in these regions, which each depress
employment but have counteracting effects on equilibrium
wages. Skills are an issue, as adults in these provinces
tend to score lower on literacy tests and have lower
self-reported skills in reading, writing, and numeracy.
Households in these provinces have less access to formal
finance, which may also contribute to a lack of
self-employment opportunities. |
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