Labor Market Regulation and Employment in the Caribbean

Abstract

This research project focuses on the demand side of the labor market by examining the impact which labor market regulations have had on employment creation in the English-speaking Caribbean countries of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Although a recent IADB report on labor market reform in Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that the English-speaking Caribbean countries have a lower level of labor market inflexibility than Latin American countries, the regulatory environment in both the labor and commodity markets has had some adverse impact on employment creation in the region (IADB, 1996). Results from a study of the operations of the labor market in the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development (CGCED) suggest that these regulatory measures do have some effect on the operation of businesses in the region (see Abt Associates, 1998).