This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Encouraging Labour Force Participation in Chile

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Dante Contreras
Luiz de Mello
Esteban Puentes ()
Abstract

Chile’s labour force participation is low by comparison with most countries in the OECD area, especially among females and youths. In the case of women, labour supply has risen steadily over time for prime-age and older individuals, against a background of relative stability for men. With regards to youths, participation rates are trending down, primarily as a result of rising school enrolment, especially for males, while remaining fairly low and stable over the years for young females. The main policy challenge in this area is to raise female labour supply further, for both prime-age individuals and youths, as a means of making a better use of labour inputs in support of long-term growth. This can be achieved essentially by removing provisions in the labour code that constrain the allocation of working time and by improving access to affordable child care for mothers with young children. Policies aimed at fostering human capital accumulation for the population as a whole would also contribute, because educational attainment is one of the most powerful determinants of labour force participation. This paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).

Encourager l’activité au Chili
Le taux d'activité du Chili est faible par comparaison avec la plupart des pays de la zone OCDE, surtout parmi les femmes et les jeunes. Dans le cas des femmes, l'offre de main-d'oeuvre a augmenté régulièrement avec le temps dans les classes d'âge de forte activité et au-delà, tandis qu'elle restait relativement stable chez les hommes. En ce qui concerne les jeunes, les taux d'activité sont orientés à la baisse, principalement du fait des progrès de la scolarisation, surtout chez les hommes, alors qu'ils restent assez faibles et stables chez les femmes. Le principal enjeu dans ce domaine est de renforcer l'offre de travail des femmes, à la fois dans les classes d'âge de forte activité et chez les jeunes, afin de mieux utiliser le facteur travail en le mettant au service de la croissance à long terme. Cela suppose essentiellement que l'on supprime du code du travail les contraintes qui pèsent sur l'affectation du temps de travail et que l'on développe l'offre de services de garde d'un coût abordable pour les mères de jeunes enfants. Le niveau d'instruction étant l'un des principaux déterminants de l'activité, des mesures qui tendraient à renforcer l'accumulation de capital humain dans l'ensemble de la population auraient également leur utilité. Ce document se rapporte à l’Étude économique du Chili 2007 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/chili).

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.sourceoecd.org/10.1787/242103851837
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by OECD Economics Department in its series OECD Economics Department Working Papers with number 608.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 14 Apr 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:608-en

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 2 rue Andre Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16
Email:
Web page: http://www.oecd.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: child care garde d'enfants Chile Chili taux d'activité pre-school education labour force participation Accueil préscolaire

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by encouraging others to register as authors.

This page was last updated on 2008-7-21.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.