Labor Loss Is An Entrepreneurship And Productivity Loss

Abstract

In addition to the Pacific temporary workers schemes that are running and accounting for the loss of skilled and unskilled labor in the Pacific, other factors account for labor losses out of the region. This is not the case everywhere as the developed economies in the Pacific region have developed systems that monitor and maintain a predetermined skill set, a set of occupations required in the economies, and several workers needed by the various industries and regional states. Such operate an active recruitment drive for skills that are in short supply. The apparent lack of a similar system within the emerging economies appears to account for the loss of skilled and unskilled labor or an active recruitment drive for certain types of skills. Though this may be returning short term remittances into their economies, the losses may have a long-term impact on their labor markets, occupations, industries and overall economic development in the Pacific Island countries and territories. This paper reviews literature on the implications of labor losses on entrepreneurship within the emerging Pacific Island countries and territories.