The labour market in Tuvalu

Abstract

Tuvalu is the world?s smallest developing nation state, extremely isolated and environmentally vulnerable, and has only very limited and infertile land resources. However, conventional poverty is largely non-existent, adult literacy is near universal, and socioeconomic living standards are relatively high by South Pacific regional standards. The apparent paradox is explored in this review of the labour market in Tuvalu, highlighting the ongoing importance of the non-monetary, subsistence sector and its complex interaction with the significant monetised sector of the economy.