Abstract

GAYOSO-DE ERVIN, Lyliana  and  CENTURION-NYBROE, Carlos. Revealed comparative advantages and human capital: a diagnosis of the workforce in Paraguay 2017. Poblac.Desarro. [online]. 2021, vol.27, n.52, pp.92-107. ISSN 2076-054X.  https://doi.org/10.18004/pdfce/2076-054x/2021.027.52.092.

There is ample evidence that diversified economies tend to show higher levels of economic and social development. Therefore, it is important to implement policies that promote greater economic diversification. These policies, however, must be accompanied by improvements in worker productivity levels, since this is one of the engines of economic growth. In this study, we seek to report on the current situation of the labor force in the agricultural, livestock, manufacturing and industrial sectors, which have been identified as the sectors with the greatest comparative advantages revealed by Gonzalez et al. (2018). To do this, we use data from the National Statis tics Institute’s 2017 household surveys, in order to be able to carry out a diagnosis of the labor force in these sectors that serves as an evaluation of the capacities already installed in these sectors and that eventually allow us to evaluate the capacities required in order to implement policies that promote sectors with revealed comparative advantages. The results show that the sectors analyzed present low educational levels and a precarious quality of employment, mainly in the agricultural sector. This implies that, in order to advance on the path of sustainable development, public policies must aim at greater investment in human capital, mainly in the productive sectors considered, and an improvement in the quality of employment, so that these are translated at higher levels of productivity.

Keywords : comparative advantage; human capital; productivity; economic growth.

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