Public works programmes can reduce poverty and improve wellbeing by creating jobs and generating wider economic spillovers, such as higher wages and better infrastructure. Their effects, however, vary widely by place and design, as they are not a one-size-fits-all solution to poverty or unemployment.

Evidence from a large-scale housing lottery programme in Ethiopia shows that government housing that people want, and thrive in, can work in settings with highly constrained housing supply and when programmes are designed well.

A public works programme in Ethiopia improves welfare for the urban poor both directly for participants and indirectly through increasing private sector wages and improving amenities

Job-search networks can be weakened by labour market interventions, such as job-search assistance, which can have adverse consequences for individuals who do not receive assistance

Low-cost interventions that help young people search for employment can improve access to formal and stable jobs, raising equity in the labour market