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Abstract

This study examines the impacts of structural change on the labor markets of APEC member economies and explores the implications of these changes for international labor mobility within the region. All APEC economies have experienced significant structural changes during the process of development. The impacts of these changes are explored through an analysis of the changes over the period 1980 to 1997 in output and employment by industry and occupation, and changes in trade intensity and foreign direct investment. In many countries, a failure of education and training systems to respond to often rapid shifts in the skill composition of labor demand is leading to industry and occupation specific labor shortages. International labor migration within the APEC region, and changes in its occupational and industrial composition, are viewed as a product of these structural changes and a mechanism that assists in filling gaps in the labor markets of the region's economies. Because international labor migration will continue to expand within the APEC region, and will be given added impetus if APEC's goals of free trade are realized, there is a pressing need to design policies that will regulate and facilitate it while ensuring the protection of migrant workers.

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The Impacts of Structural Change on APEC Labor Markets and Their Implications for International Labor Migration

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