The Gender Implications of Public Sector Downsizing : The Reform Program of Vietnam

Rama, Martin

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: BONUSES;    ECONOMIC GROWTH;    ECONOMIC REFORM;    EMPLOYMENT;    EQUIPMENT;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2573
RP-ID  :  WPS2573

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Men and women may be affecteddifferently by the transition from central planning to amarket economy and especially by the privatization andrestructuring of state-owned enterprises. After brieflyreviewing the international evidence on this issue, theauthor looks at the recent experience of Vietnam and theprospects of its new reform program. During the massivedownsizing in Vietnam in the early 1990s, many more womenthan men were laid off. Women withdrew from the labor forcein larger numbers than men after separation, but thedifference nearly vanished after a year. Economic reformswere associated with a considerable decline in the gendergap in earnings, both in the state sector and outside it.Women are less likely to be retrenched in large numbers inthe downsizing in the early part of this decade. Laborredundancies are concentrated in male-dominated sectors,such as mining, transport, and construction; redundanciesare smaller in female-dominated sectors, such as footwear,textiles, and garments. Moreover, temporary and short-termcontracts are more prevalent in female-dominated sectors,suggesting demand for women's work. Assistance programsfor redundant workers have potential gender biases. Theauthors shows that separation packages defined as a multipleof earnings favor men more, while lump-sum packages favorwomen more. Packages based on seniority are roughly genderneutral, but require a substantially higher expenditure toreach the same acceptance rate as the other two.