An analysis of labour market earnings in St. Lucia

This paper uses Labor Force Survey data for 1996 and 2004 to examine the labor market earnings determination process for the small Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Our analysis revealed that the islands labor market places a sizeable valuation on post-secondary human capital assets for both gender groups and this valuation has remained relatively stable over the period analyzed. The empirical framework also allowed the investigation of the islands inter-industry wage structure. The estimates reveal a sharp contraction in relative earnings in the agricultural sector reflecting the effects of EU policy changes in regard to Caribbean agricultural products. A strong gender dimension was detected for the islands inter-industry wage structure. In addition, there was evidence that the female inter-industry wage structure changed more markedly than the male structure between 1996 and 2004.