Chart of the WeekHigher Growth. Lower Crime?
Central America remains one of the world’s most violent regions, where about 4.5 percent of the world’s homicides occur. The region has only about 0.5 percent of the world’s population. […]
Chart of the Week: Crime, Joblessness, and Youth in the Caribbean
By IMFBlog
February 12, 2018
Weak growth in the Caribbean reduces economic opportunities for young people, increasing their vulnerability to illegal activities and crime (photo: IMF)
Youth unemployment in the Caribbean—among the highest in the world—and crime are key bottlenecks to growth in the region.
In our Chart of the Week, we show that the 2008 global financial crisis had an especially strong effect on the unemployment rate for those between the ages of 15 and 24, which jumped on average by 5 percentage points between 2007 and 2013—from 21 percent to 26 percent. In some countries (for example, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica), youth unemployment rates are nearly three times that of those aged 30 and over. […]
The Disconnect Between Unemployment and Wages
By Gee Hee Hong, Zsoka Koczan, Weicheng Lian, Malhar Nabar
September 27, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian)
Demand for workers is rising, but pay is hardly catching up (photo: Shironosov/iStock).
Over the past three years, labor markets in many advanced economies have shown increasing signs of healing from the Great Recession of 2008-09. Yet, despite falling unemployment rates, wage growth has been subdued–raising a vexing question: Why isn’t a higher demand for workers driving up pay?
Our research in the October 2017 World Economic Outlook sheds light on the sources of subdued nominal wage growth in advanced economies since the Great Recession. Understanding the drivers of the disconnect between unemployment and wages is important not only for macroeconomic policy, but also for prospects of reducing income inequality and enhancing workers’ security. […]