青年、劳动力市场动态和创业在不丹的作用（英）

Carlos Alberto Coca Gamito and Silvia Garcia Mandico ADB ECONOMICSWORKING PAPER SERIES ADB Economics Working Paper Series Youth, Labor Market Dynamics,and the Role of Entrepreneurship in Bhutan Carlos Alberto Coca Gamito (cgamito.consultant@adb.org)is a consultant and Silvia Garcia Mandico(sgarciamandico@adb.org) is an economist at theEconomic Research and Development ImpactDepartment, Asian Development Bank. Carlos Alberto Coca Gamitoand Silvia Garcia Mandico No. 799 | September 2025 TheADB Economics Working Paper Seriespresents research in progress to elicit commentsand encourage debate on development issuesin Asia and the Pacific. The views expressedare those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views and policies of ADB orits Board of Governors or the governmentsthey represent. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2025 Asian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444www.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2025. ISSN 2313-6537 (print), 2313-6545 (PDF)Publication Stock No. WPS250357-2DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/WPS250357-2 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policiesof the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for anyconsequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that theyare endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, ADB does notintend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. This publication is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. By using the content of this publication, you agree to be boundby the terms of this license. For attribution, translations, adaptations, and permissions, please read the provisionsand terms of use at https://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess. This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributedto another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it.ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material. Please contact pubsmarketing@adb.org if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wishto obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to usethe ADB logo. Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda. ABSTRACT Young people in Bhutan face rising rates of exclusion from employment, education, or training,and limited access to quality jobs, despite gains in education. Entrepreneurship is often viewedas an alternative pathway, but most youth-led ventures remain necessity-driven, informal, andshort-lived. Using data from the 2018–2023 Labor Force Survey and the 2024 Jobs and SkillsSurvey, this paper examines youth entrepreneurship dynamics, including motivations, earnings,productivity,and sectoral patterns.Findings show that opportunity-driven entrepreneurs—especially young women—achieve higher earnings and productivity, but few business venturesby young people transition beyond the early stages. A shift from necessity-driven to opportunity-driven entrepreneurship could yield economic gains equivalent to 1.4% of gross domestic product.Realizingthis potential requires gender-responsive,stage-specific support and embeddingentrepreneurship within a broader strategy for decent work and inclusive growth. Keywords:youth employment, entrepreneurship, decent work, gender and labor market, labormarket dynamics JEL codes:J13, J21, J24, L26, O17 1.INTRODUCTION Bhutan is undergoing a momentous economic transition.Following its graduation from leastdeveloped country status in December 2023, the country faces renewed urgency to consolidateinclusive and sustainable growth, while navigating the structural shifts required for labor marketmodernization. Amid this transformation, Bhutan’s demographic profile—characterized by agrowingshare of young,educated,and digitally literate workers—presents both a criticalopportunity and a mounting challenge (ADB, 2024). While young people possess the potential to drive innovation and structural change, labormarket outcomes for youth remain weak. Bhutan’s youth employment rate is among the lowest inSouth Asia, and the number of those who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET)has risen in recent years, even as regional comparators recorded improvements.