The deaths of 17 workers building facilities for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, along with a lack of employment contracts and harsh working conditions at the sites, have made headlines recently. They have provoked denunciations by rights activists and drawn attention to labor abuses. But Russia is not alone in failing to protect its workers. Latin America also suffers real … [Read more...] about Is Latin America Failing Its Workers?
Social Issues
Can Mandatory Voting Improve Democracy?
A healthy democracy requires widespread voting and an informed electorate. But by those standards many, if not most, democracies are ailing. In the United States, less than 60% of the voting age population turned out to vote in the 2016 presidential elections. Even so, many voters have little idea of the basics of the U.S. system and fewer than a quarter know who their senators … [Read more...] about Can Mandatory Voting Improve Democracy?
Rewards Help Tax Payments Become "Contagious"
When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, it's very common to start going over one's New Year's resolutions, like doing more exercise, eating healthier food or giving up bad habits. And it's equally common to forget those resolutions only a couple weeks later. For that reason, sometimes an incentive needs to be added to the good will. Prizes that reward positive changes … [Read more...] about Rewards Help Tax Payments Become "Contagious"
The Challenges of the Technological Revolution
Amazon's decision earlier this month to spend $13.4 billion to buy Whole Foods, the organic supermarket chain in the United States, may have been the kind of brash, high risk move that has helped catapult the former discount book seller into the ranks of the world's top five publicly traded companies. But for workers—and economists—it suggests a milestone in a brave new world … [Read more...] about The Challenges of the Technological Revolution
Catching Up on Skills for the Labor Market
Most young people entering the job market this year in Latin America and the Caribbean face a hard road ahead. If they get a job at all, they will not get work in what is known as the formal sector, consisting of established firms that abide by labor laws and provide benefits. Instead, they will most likely enter the informal economy, either working for themselves or for very … [Read more...] about Catching Up on Skills for the Labor Market