employment

New research on agrifood employment across Africa and Asia shows that youth engagement in farming is stronger than commonly assumed, and that bundled investments, appropriate mechanisation, and upskilling programmes can generate better jobs across the sector. Realising this potential will require stronger labour data, clearer evidence on sustainable intensification, and greater attention to the employment effects of digitalisation and AI.

Using data on 513 million workers worldwide, we show that location plays a major role in shaping earnings – and that better allocation of workers across cities could raise incomes, especially in developing countries.

In Pakistan, encouraging women to apply for jobs immediately after graduation significantly improves their likelihood of working by enabling them to enter the labour market before marriage pressures intensify. Results are driven by the women who misp...

Educated unemployment in urban West Africa stems from educated workers rationally waiting for scarce, high-paying public and formal private jobs in labour markets characterised by severe hiring frictions. Policies that reduce private-sector hiring co...

Evidence from Mexico shows that job loss and employment instability – rather than high interest rates or minimum payment rules – are more important drivers of credit card default among new borrowers, suggesting that social protection may be more effe...

Valuing the time of the self-employed is crucial for evaluating interventions and conducting cost-benefit analysis. Yet research often misprices this value at zero or equal to market wages. New evidence from Kenya suggests a practical fix: value unpa...

Evidence from Ethiopia suggests that while part-time jobs broaden access for workers needing flexibility, they attract lower-skill applicants and reduce productivity, helping explain part-time wage penalties and gender pay gaps.

Vietnam’s Special Economic Zones are not just attracting investment—they are creating better, more formal jobs, with women in rural areas benefiting most.