Earnings inequality and the changing nature of work: Evidence from Labour Force Survey data of Bangladesh

Arbeitspapier

With structural changes in production coupled with technological progress, there have been shifts in modes of production and patterns of employment, with important consequences on task composition of occupations. This paper has utilized different rounds of Labour Force Survey data of Bangladesh and combined it with occupation network data of the United States along with its country-specific database and analysed the role of such factors on labour market outcomes. Our analysis shows a fall in the average routine intensity of tasks with no evidence of job polarization. We find a decline in earnings inequality where the decomposition analysis shows that earnings structure effect rather than characteristics effect plays a key role, with routine-task intensity of jobs and education explaining the majority of differences in earnings. Our analysis suggests that investing in education should be the highest priority, with greater emphasis on skillbiased training programmes, particularly those involving cognitive skill.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-92-9256-941-9
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2021/7

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions ; Economywide Country Studies: Asia including Middle East ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Labour Force Survey ; inequality ; job polarization ; education premium ; routine-task intensity ; decomposition ; Bangladesh

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bidisha, Sayema Haque ; Mahmood, Tanveer ; Rahman, Mahir A.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2021

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2021/941-9
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/229408
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET