Mobility and labor market segmentation: The urban labor market in El Salvador

Economic Development and Cultural Change

Volumn 46, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 123-153

  Funkhouser, Edward ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEVELOPING COUNTRY; EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT; EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY; LABOUR MARKET; MOBILITY PATTERN; SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS;

EL SALVADOR;

EID: 0031398621     PISSN: 00130079     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/452324     Document Type: Article

References (36)

1. See Glenn Cain, "The Challenge of Segmented Labor Market Theories to Orthodox Theory: A Survey," Journal of Economic Literature 41, no. 4 (December 1976): 1215-57, for a review and criticism of the early literature.
2. See William Dickens and Kevin Lang, "A Test of the Dualt Labor Market Theory," American Economic Review 75, no. 4 (September 1985): 792-805; and James Heckman and V. Joseph Hotz, "An Investigation of the Labor Marke Earnings of Panamanian Males: Evaluating the Sources of Inequality, Journal of Human Resources 21, no. 4 (Fall 1986): 507-42. See also T. H Gindling, "Labor Market Segmentation and the Determination of Wages in the Public, Private-Formal, and Informal Sectors in San José, Costa Rica," Economic Development and Cultural Change 39 (April 1991): 585-606, for an application of some of these tests to Central American data.
3. See William Dickens and Kevin Lang, "A Test of the Dualt Labor Market Theory," American Economic Review 75, no. 4 (September 1985): 792-805; and James Heckman and V. Joseph Hotz, "An Investigation of the Labor Marke Earnings of Panamanian Males: Evaluating the Sources of Inequality, Journal of Human Resources 21, no. 4 (Fall 1986): 507-42. See also T. H Gindling, "Labor Market Segmentation and the Determination of Wages in the Public, Private-Formal, and Informal Sectors in San José, Costa Rica," Economic Development and Cultural Change 39 (April 1991): 585-606, for an application of some of these tests to Central American data.
4. See William Dickens and Kevin Lang, "A Test of the Dualt Labor Market Theory," American Economic Review 75, no. 4 (September 1985): 792-805; and James Heckman and V. Joseph Hotz, "An Investigation of the Labor Marke Earnings of Panamanian Males: Evaluating the Sources of Inequality, Journal of Human Resources 21, no. 4 (Fall 1986): 507-42. See also T. H Gindling, "Labor Market Segmentation and the Determination of Wages in the Public, Private-Formal, and Informal Sectors in San José, Costa Rica," Economic Development and Cultural Change 39 (April 1991): 585-606, for an application of some of these tests to Central American data.
5. See A. D. Roy, "Some Thoughts on the Distribution of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers 3 (1951): 135-46; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, "Heterogeneity, Aggregation, and Market Wage Functions: An Empirical Model of Self-Selection in the Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy 93 (1985): 1077-1125; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, Self-Selection and the Distribution of Hourly Wages," Journal of Labor Economics 8, no. 1, pt 2 (1990): S329-S363; and James Heckman and Bo Honore, Empirical Content of the Roy Model," Econometrica (1990), pp. 1121-49.
6. See A. D. Roy, "Some Thoughts on the Distribution of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers 3 (1951): 135-46; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, "Heterogeneity, Aggregation, and Market Wage Functions: An Empirical Model of Self-Selection in the Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy 93 (1985): 1077-1125; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, Self-Selection and the Distribution of Hourly Wages," Journal of Labor Economics 8, no. 1, pt 2 (1990): S329-S363; and James Heckman and Bo Honore, Empirical Content of the Roy Model," Econometrica (1990), pp. 1121-49.
7. See A. D. Roy, "Some Thoughts on the Distribution of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers 3 (1951): 135-46; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, "Heterogeneity, Aggregation, and Market Wage Functions: An Empirical Model of Self-Selection in the Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy 93 (1985): 1077-1125; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, Self-Selection and the Distribution of Hourly Wages," Journal of Labor Economics 8, no. 1, pt 2 (1990): S329-S363; and James Heckman and Bo Honore, Empirical Content of the Roy Model," Econometrica (1990), pp. 1121-49.
8. See A. D. Roy, "Some Thoughts on the Distribution of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers 3 (1951): 135-46; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, "Heterogeneity, Aggregation, and Market Wage Functions: An Empirical Model of Self-Selection in the Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy 93 (1985): 1077-1125; James Heckman and Guilherme Sedlacek, Self-Selection and the Distribution of Hourly Wages," Journal of Labor Economics 8, no. 1, pt 2 (1990): S329-S363; and James Heckman and Bo Honore, Empirical Content of the Roy Model," Econometrica (1990), pp. 1121-49.
9. Moreover, higher predicted wages-even for the entire sample-are not inconsistent with the competitive model because the unobservable component to wages determines only the supply of workers to each sector, not employment. Within the static framework of eqq. (1) and (2), a wage inducement or differential between sectors, may be necessary for demand to equal supply. But a higher predicted wage in the formal sector, properly measured and controlling for selfselection and compensating differentials, is consistent only with a distribution of workers in which more than half of the workers are employed in the formal sector (with symmetry of e).
10. There is a large literature examining similar issues concerning earnings changes related to program evaluation. See James Heckman and Richard Robb, "Alternative Methods for Evaluating the Impact of Interventions," in Longitudinal Analysis of Labor Market Data, ed. James Heckman and Burton Singer, Economic Society Monographs, no. 10 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 158-245; and David Card and Daniel Sullivan, "Measuring the Effect of Subsidized Training Programs on Movements In and Out of Employment," Econometrica 56, no. 3 (May 1988): 497-530; for a discussion of the role of serial correlation in explaining asymmetry in program effects.
11. There is a large literature examining similar issues concerning earnings changes related to program evaluation. See James Heckman and Richard Robb, "Alternative Methods for Evaluating the Impact of Interventions," in Longitudinal Analysis of Labor Market Data, ed. James Heckman and Burton Singer, Economic Society Monographs, no. 10 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 158-245; and David Card and Daniel Sullivan, "Measuring the Effect of Subsidized Training Programs on Movements In and Out of Employment," Econometrica 56, no. 3 (May 1988): 497-530; for a discussion of the role of serial correlation in explaining asymmetry in program effects.
12. See World Bank, World Development Report (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), table 1.
13. Lacelles Anderson, "The Rates of Return to Human Capital: A Test Using El Salvador Data," American Economic Review 70, no. 2 (May 1980): 138-41, and "Rates of Return for Females in El Salvador," Social and Economic Studies 37, no. 3 (1988): 279-87 ; and George Psacharopoulos and Ying Chu Ng, "Earnings and Education in Latin America: Assessing Priorities for Schooling Investments," Education and Employment Working Papers (World Bank, December 1992); Edward Funkhouser, "Labor Market Adjustment to Political Conflict: Changes in the Labor Market in El Salvador during the 1980," Journal of Development Economics (in press).
14. Lacelles Anderson, "The Rates of Return to Human Capital: A Test Using El Salvador Data," American Economic Review 70, no. 2 (May 1980): 138-41, and "Rates of Return for Females in El Salvador," Social and Economic Studies 37, no. 3 (1988): 279-87 ; and George Psacharopoulos and Ying Chu Ng, "Earnings and Education in Latin America: Assessing Priorities for Schooling Investments," Education and Employment Working Papers (World Bank, December 1992); Edward Funkhouser, "Labor Market Adjustment to Political Conflict: Changes in the Labor Market in El Salvador during the 1980," Journal of Development Economics (in press).
15. Lacelles Anderson, "The Rates of Return to Human Capital: A Test Using El Salvador Data," American Economic Review 70, no. 2 (May 1980): 138-41, and "Rates of Return for Females in El Salvador," Social and Economic Studies 37, no. 3 (1988): 279-87 ; and George Psacharopoulos and Ying Chu Ng, "Earnings and Education in Latin America: Assessing Priorities for Schooling Investments," Education and Employment Working Papers (World Bank, December 1992); Edward Funkhouser, "Labor Market Adjustment to Political Conflict: Changes in the Labor Market in El Salvador during the 1980," Journal of Development Economics (in press).
16. Lacelles Anderson, "The Rates of Return to Human Capital: A Test Using El Salvador Data," American Economic Review 70, no. 2 (May 1980): 138-41, and "Rates of Return for Females in El Salvador," Social and Economic Studies 37, no. 3 (1988): 279-87 ; and George Psacharopoulos and Ying Chu Ng, "Earnings and Education in Latin America: Assessing Priorities for Schooling Investments," Education and Employment Working Papers (World Bank, December 1992); Edward Funkhouser, "Labor Market Adjustment to Political Conflict: Changes in the Labor Market in El Salvador during the 1980," Journal of Development Economics (in press).
17. Carlos Briones, "Un ensayo de descripcion de las caracteristicas del 'Sector Informal' urbano salvadoreño" (A descriptive essay of the characteristics of the urban "informal sector" in El Salvador), Boletin de Ciencias Economicas y Sociales 10, no. 4 (July-August 1987): 253-98; Carlos Briones, "Los Análisis Realizados Sobre el Sector Informal Urbano en El Salvador: Una Evaluación General" (Previous studies of the urban informal sector in El Salvador: A general evaluation), in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Evidencias e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Central America: Evidence and questions), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1989); Carlos Briones, "Economia Informal en Gran San Salvador," in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Entre Acumulación y Subsistencia (Urban informal sector in Central America: Between accumulation and subsistence), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); and Jose Navarro and Rafael Menjivar Larin, "Informalidad y Género en el Area Metropolitana de San Salvador" (Informal sector and gender in the metropolitan area of San Salvador), in M Héroes Ni Villanas (Neither heroes nor villains), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1993).
18. Carlos Briones, "Un ensayo de descripcion de las caracteristicas del 'Sector Informal' urbano salvadoreño" (A descriptive essay of the characteristics of the urban "informal sector" in El Salvador), Boletin de Ciencias Economicas y Sociales 10, no. 4 (July-August 1987): 253-98; Carlos Briones, "Los Análisis Realizados Sobre el Sector Informal Urbano en El Salvador: Una Evaluación General" (Previous studies of the urban informal sector in El Salvador: A general evaluation), in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Evidencias e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Central America: Evidence and questions), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1989); Carlos Briones, "Economia Informal en Gran San Salvador," in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Entre Acumulación y Subsistencia (Urban informal sector in Central America: Between accumulation and subsistence), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); and Jose Navarro and Rafael Menjivar Larin, "Informalidad y Género en el Area Metropolitana de San Salvador" (Informal sector and gender in the metropolitan area of San Salvador), in M Héroes Ni Villanas (Neither heroes nor villains), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1993).
19. Carlos Briones, "Un ensayo de descripcion de las caracteristicas del 'Sector Informal' urbano salvadoreño" (A descriptive essay of the characteristics of the urban "informal sector" in El Salvador), Boletin de Ciencias Economicas y Sociales 10, no. 4 (July-August 1987): 253-98; Carlos Briones, "Los Análisis Realizados Sobre el Sector Informal Urbano en El Salvador: Una Evaluación General" (Previous studies of the urban informal sector in El Salvador: A general evaluation), in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Evidencias e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Central America: Evidence and questions), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1989); Carlos Briones, "Economia Informal en Gran San Salvador," in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Entre Acumulación y Subsistencia (Urban informal sector in Central America: Between accumulation and subsistence), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); and Jose Navarro and Rafael Menjivar Larin, "Informalidad y Género en el Area Metropolitana de San Salvador" (Informal sector and gender in the metropolitan area of San Salvador), in M Héroes Ni Villanas (Neither heroes nor villains), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1993).
20. Carlos Briones, "Un ensayo de descripcion de las caracteristicas del 'Sector Informal' urbano salvadoreño" (A descriptive essay of the characteristics of the urban "informal sector" in El Salvador), Boletin de Ciencias Economicas y Sociales 10, no. 4 (July-August 1987): 253-98; Carlos Briones, "Los Análisis Realizados Sobre el Sector Informal Urbano en El Salvador: Una Evaluación General" (Previous studies of the urban informal sector in El Salvador: A general evaluation), in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Evidencias e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Central America: Evidence and questions), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1989); Carlos Briones, "Economia Informal en Gran San Salvador," in Informalidad Urbana en Centroamerica: Entre Acumulación y Subsistencia (Urban informal sector in Central America: Between accumulation and subsistence), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); and Jose Navarro and Rafael Menjivar Larin, "Informalidad y Género en el Area Metropolitana de San Salvador" (Informal sector and gender in the metropolitan area of San Salvador), in Ni Héroes Ni Villanas (Neither heroes nor villains), ed. R. Menjivar Larin and J. P. Perez Sainz (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1993).
21. Carlos Briones, "La Pobreza Urbana en El Salvador: Caracteristicas y Diferéncias de los Hogares Pobres, 1988-1990" (Urban poverty in El Salvador: Characteristics and differences of poor households, 1988-90) (Documentos de Trabajo 91-1, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Centroamericana "Jose Simeon Canas," San Salvador, 1991); Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas y Científicas (CENITEC), "Las Dimensiones de la Pobreza Extrema en El Salvador" (The dimensions of extreme poverty in El Salvador) (Cuadernos de Investigacion, no. 1, February 1989); and Rafael Menjivar Larin and Juan Diego Trejos, La Pobreza en America Central (Poverty in Central America) (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1992).
22. Carlos Briones, "La Pobreza Urbana en El Salvador: Caracteristicas y Diferéncias de los Hogares Pobres, 1988-1990" (Urban poverty in El Salvador: Characteristics and differences of poor households, 1988-90) (Documentos de Trabajo 91-1, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Centroamericana "Jose Simeon Canas," San Salvador, 1991); Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas y Científicas (CENITEC), "Las Dimensiones de la Pobreza Extrema en El Salvador" (The dimensions of extreme poverty in El Salvador) (Cuadernos de Investigacion, no. 1, February 1989); and Rafael Menjivar Larin and Juan Diego Trejos, La Pobreza en America Central (Poverty in Central America) (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1992).
23. Carlos Briones, "La Pobreza Urbana en El Salvador: Caracteristicas y Diferéncias de los Hogares Pobres, 1988-1990" (Urban poverty in El Salvador: Characteristics and differences of poor households, 1988-90) (Documentos de Trabajo 91-1, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Centroamericana "Jose Simeon Canas," San Salvador, 1991); Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas y Científicas (CENITEC), "Las Dimensiones de la Pobreza Extrema en El Salvador" (The dimensions of extreme poverty in El Salvador) (Cuadernos de Investigacion, no. 1, February 1989); and Rafael Menjivar Larin and Juan Diego Trejos, La Pobreza en America Central (Poverty in Central America) (San Jose, Costa Rica: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1992).
24. Segundo Montes, "En Busca de Soluciones Para los Desplazados" (Looking for solutions for the displaced) (Institute de Investigaciones, Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, San Salvador, 1986).
25. Segundo Montes, "El Salvador, 1987: Salvadoreños Refugiados en los Estados Unidos" (El Salvador 1987: Salvadoran refugees in the United States) (Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, San Salvador, 1987); Roberto Lopez and Mitchell Seligson, "Small Business Development in El Salvador: The Impact of Remittances," in Migration Remittances and Small Business Development: Mexico and the Caribbean Basin Countries, ed. Sergio Diaz Briquets and Sidney Weintraub, Series on Development and International Migration in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin (Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1991), vol. 4; and Edward Funkhouser, "Mass Emigration, Remittances and Economic Adjustment: The Case of El Salvador in the 1980s," in Immigration and the Work Force, ed. George Borjas and Richard Freeman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
26. Segundo Montes, "El Salvador, 1987: Salvadoreños Refugiados en los Estados Unidos" (El Salvador 1987: Salvadoran refugees in the United States) (Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, San Salvador, 1987); Roberto Lopez and Mitchell Seligson, "Small Business Development in El Salvador: The Impact of Remittances," in Migration Remittances and Small Business Development: Mexico and the Caribbean Basin Countries, ed. Sergio Diaz Briquets and Sidney Weintraub, Series on Development and International Migration in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin (Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1991), vol. 4; and Edward Funkhouser, "Mass Emigration, Remittances and Economic Adjustment: The Case of El Salvador in the 1980s," in Immigration and the Work Force, ed. George Borjas and Richard Freeman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
27. Segundo Montes, "El Salvador, 1987: Salvadoreños Refugiados en los Estados Unidos" (El Salvador 1987: Salvadoran refugees in the United States) (Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, San Salvador, 1987); Roberto Lopez and Mitchell Seligson, "Small Business Development in El Salvador: The Impact of Remittances," in Migration Remittances and Small Business Development: Mexico and the Caribbean Basin Countries, ed. Sergio Diaz Briquets and Sidney Weintraub, Series on Development and International Migration in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin (Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1991), vol. 4; and Edward Funkhouser, "Mass Emigration, Remittances and Economic Adjustment: The Case of El Salvador in the 1980s," in Immigration and the Work Force, ed. George Borjas and Richard Freeman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
28. To construct measures of average earnings within occupations, I also use the entire working sample from a similar survey conducted in urban areas in 1991.
29. This last information can be compared to reported time on the current job.
30. For more discussion of the nature of informal-sector employment in Latin America, see Juan Pablo Perez Sainz, Informalidad Urbana en America Latina: Enfoques, Problemáticas e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Latin America: Approaches, problems, and questions) (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); Victor Tokman, "The Informal Sector in Latin America: From Underground to Legality," in Beyond Regulation: The Informal Economy in Latin America, ed. Victor Tokman (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1992); Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler, "Competing Perspectives on the Latin American Informal Sector," Population and Development Review 19, no. 1 (March 1993): 33-60; and Cathy Rakowski, "Informal Sector Debate, Part 2: 1984-1993," in Contrapunto: The Informal Sector Debate in Latin America, ed. Cathy Rakowski (Albany: State University Press of New York, 1994).
31. For more discussion of the nature of informal-sector employment in Latin America, see Juan Pablo Perez Sainz, Informalidad Urbana en America Latina: Enfoques, Problemáticas e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Latin America: Approaches, problems, and questions) (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); Victor Tokman, "The Informal Sector in Latin America: From Underground to Legality," in Beyond Regulation: The Informal Economy in Latin America, ed. Victor Tokman (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1992); Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler, "Competing Perspectives on the Latin American Informal Sector," Population and Development Review 19, no. 1 (March 1993): 33-60; and Cathy Rakowski, "Informal Sector Debate, Part 2: 1984-1993," in Contrapunto: The Informal Sector Debate in Latin America, ed. Cathy Rakowski (Albany: State University Press of New York, 1994).
32. For more discussion of the nature of informal-sector employment in Latin America, see Juan Pablo Perez Sainz, Informalidad Urbana en America Latina: Enfoques, Problemáticas e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Latin America: Approaches, problems, and questions) (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); Victor Tokman, "The Informal Sector in Latin America: From Underground to Legality," in Beyond Regulation: The Informal Economy in Latin America, ed. Victor Tokman (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1992); Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler, "Competing Perspectives on the Latin American Informal Sector," Population and Development Review 19, no. 1 (March 1993): 33-60; and Cathy Rakowski, "Informal Sector Debate, Part 2: 1984-1993," in Contrapunto: The Informal Sector Debate in Latin America, ed. Cathy Rakowski (Albany: State University Press of New York, 1994).
33. For more discussion of the nature of informal-sector employment in Latin America, see Juan Pablo Perez Sainz, Informalidad Urbana en America Latina: Enfoques, Problemáticas e Interrogantes (Urban informal sector in Latin America: Approaches, problems, and questions) (Guatemala City: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 1991); Victor Tokman, "The Informal Sector in Latin America: From Underground to Legality," in Beyond Regulation: The Informal Economy in Latin America, ed. Victor Tokman (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1992); Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler, "Competing Perspectives on the Latin American Informal Sector," Population and Development Review 19, no. 1 (March 1993): 33-60; and Cathy Rakowski, "Informal Sector Debate, Part 2: 1984-1993," in Contrapunto: The Informal Sector Debate in Latin America, ed. Cathy Rakowski (Albany: State University Press of New York, 1994).
34. Consensual marriage indicates living together as a married couple.
35. The turnaround points are 26 years of experience for males and 28 years of experience for females.
36. H′ denotes employment in the same job in the informal sector in the previous and the current years.