Book description: These volumes examine how labor markets can help adjustment programs succeed while reducing the hardships of adjustment for women and the poor. The first volume discusses how market distortions, wage systems, and short-run stabilization policies affect adjustment. It describes how a country's market flexibility is influenced by politics, organized labor, and gender- based labor allocations. Volume 2 provides country studies of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, and Thailand. The dynamic relationship between each country's adjustment program and its labor market is evaluated in detail.