Building Labor-Market Resilience in Emerging Economies through Coordinated Employment Policy and Social Protection during Economic and Structural Transformation
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Abstract
This paper examines the relationships between employment policies, social protection and labor-market resilience in emerging economies. It develops an integrated perspective in which resilience is understood not only as the capacity to restore employment after economic disruptions, but also as the ability to preserve income security, employment quality, productive mobility and access to protection during periods of adjustment. The analysis considers the contribution of active labor-market policies, skills development, job-search assistance, wage subsidies, entrepreneurship support and employment incentives to job creation and worker reallocation. It also examines the role of cash transfers, unemployment protection, public works, labor regulation and formalization policies in reducing vulnerability and sustaining labor-market participation. Particular attention is given to the institutional conditions that determine policy effectiveness, including administrative capacity, enforcement, labor-market segmentation and the interaction between formal and informal employment. The paper further considers how economic crises, technological change, climate risks and structural transformation reshape employment opportunities and increase the need for coordinated policy responses. The overall analysis suggests that resilient labor markets require complementary institutions capable of protecting workers while facilitating productive transitions. Employment promotion and social protection should therefore be designed as mutually reinforcing components of a broader strategy aimed at achieving inclusive, sustainable and adaptable labor-market development in emerging economies.
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