Human resources and the adjustment process
Lasting economic adjustment in Latin America will require comprehensive worker framing programs that respond to changing private sector needs. Human Resources and the Adjustment Process examines whether drops in output are associated with structural, adjustment, identifies the labour categories hardest hit, and analyses the efforts of national institutions to retrain the work force and cushion the impact of adjustment. Studies of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay find that none has yet designed a retraining program that deals adequately with an the effects of adjustment. Better co-ordination is needed between restructured firms and the educational system, and countries must move beyond cyclical funding for training 'programs. Human resource development tends to surge during boom periods but wither during recessionary cycles. Institutional mechamsms are needed to consistently track demand for different types of labour and to ensure that training not only meets current demand but anticipates future labour needs as well.