This paper exploits that the Covid-19 pandemic came as an unexpected shock that temporarily reduced the ratio of vacancies to seekers. We use this unique setting to understand the importance of job opportunities for the impact of unemployment on workers’ careers. Compared to individuals who...

The World Bank has been working closely with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to develop a system-level skills strategy. The MHRSD first started by establishing a Skills and Training Deputyship andallocated resources to start...

This paper proposes a dynamic regulatory framework that adapts to the evolving structural transformation of economies across sectoral, spatial, occupational, and organizational dimensions. It highlights how well-designed and appropriately enforced labor and product market regulations (LMRs and...

People with disabilities represent a significant portion of the global population, and their exclusion from employment and education perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality, undermining economic development efforts. The analytical report on disability inclusive employment and education in...

Germany has long been portrayed as the best real-world example of an export-oriented economic model associated with a dualized labor market and welfare state. The success of this export-centered model over the last decades has typically been ascribed to competitiveness due to wage restraint and...

This paper investigates the role of firms in the transmission of monetary policy to individual labor market outcomes, both the intensive and extensive margins. Using German matched employer-employee administrative data, we study the effects of monetary policy shocks on individual employment and...

Searching for jobs is challenging, and online platforms now often offer tailored job recommendations. In a randomized controlled trial with over 1,250 participants, we evaluate recommendations based on prior experience or based on skill profiles assessed at study enrolment. We find that, on...

This report contains a case study for the Study supporting the Impact assessment of the future European Social Fund proposal. Achieving structural change: conditions for success in the areas of ESF intervention. The reform under evaluation in the current case study focuses on ensuring the...

This report presents a case study for the Study supporting the Impact assessment of the future European Social Fund proposal. Achieving structural change: conditions for success in the areas of ESF intervention. The reform under assessment focuses on tackling youth unemployment in Italy in the...

We partner with a Public Employment Service to examine whether jobseekers can be encouraged to reskill for shortage occupations. In a large-scale field experiment involving 100,000 recently unemployed individuals, we provide information on shortage occupations and related training opportunities....

Summer Youth Employment Programs are known to have significant impacts on youth outcomes based on lotteries from oversubscribed programs. But most cities cannot use a lottery design due to heterogeneity across youth and jobs. How can programs achieve efficiency and equity under alternative...

While agriculture remains a key source of livelihoods in rural Africa, employment in other economic sectors is gaining in importance. However, details of the labor conditions are under-researched. Here, we examine labor conditions in different sectors of the rural economy using survey data from...

There are considerable differences in minimum wage growth between EU member states with national minimum wages. Potential sources for these differences are discrepancies in economic fundamentals and institutional differences in how minimum wages are adjusted. Using a novel dataset based on...

We partner with a Public Employment Service to examine whether jobseekers can be encouraged to reskill for shortage occupations. In a large-scale field experiment involving 100,000 recently unemployed individuals, we provide information on shortage occupations and related training opportunities....

Digitization has spurred interest in the potential of statistical profiling to improve the targeting of active labor market policies. Despite growing adoption, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such profiling in program allocation is scarce. We evaluate a semi-automated statistical...

Inequality is a dynamic phenomenon, and the relative and absolute positions of individuals are subject to frequent shocks. It is important to know if preventive interventions mitigate adverse inequality effects of labor market shocks. We consider individuals up to three months before the...

This paper evaluates a hiring subsidy for lower-educated youths in Flanders (Belgium) that reduced labour costs by approximately 13% for a period of two years, starting in 2016. Using a donut Regression Discontinuity Design, we find no evidence that the subsidy improved the job finding rate of...

Searching for jobs is challenging, and online platforms now often offer tailored job recommendations. In a randomized controlled trial with over 1,250 participants, we evaluate recommendations based on prior experience and based on skill profiles assessed at study enrolment, respectively. We...

This paper explores a development strategy for peripheral economies by advocating for a paradigm shift from traditional economic models that rely on accumulating foreign reserves. It proposes the job guarantee (JG) policy, an automatic stabilizer based on a reserve pool of employed individuals,...

This paper explores post-pandemic developments and analyses post-COVID matching dynamics in the Nordic labour markets. It also discusses the role of institutions and the policies implemented to address labour market mismatch in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a recession, with a...

In 2005, displaced workers in Finland with at least three years of work history were given the option to enroll in a Re-employment Program. Participants met with a caseworker at the beginning of their unemployment and drafted an employment plan. In return, they became eligible for higher...

Using a unique combination of Austrian administrative data, we show that start-ups' search and hiring decisions matter for their business success. Firms that report vacancies to the Public Employment Service in the early stage of their existence stay longer in the market and grow stronger....

The Venezuelan migration crisis has led to large-scale displacement, with over 2.5 million Venezuelans seeking refuge in Colombia. This study assesses the impact of the PEP on labor market outcomes for Venezuelan migrants. Using data from the EPM survey and a difference-in-differences...

Erreichen gesetzlich Rentenversicherte 35 oder 45 Jahre an anrechenbaren Zeiten, dürfen diese Personen ab einem Alter von 63 Jahren oder maximal zwei Jahre vor ihrer individuellen Regelaltersgrenze vorzeitig, das heißt früher als zu ihrer individuellen Regelaltersgrenze, ihre Altersrente...

Economic growth and job creation remain key challenges for Jordan, where the economy has only grown by an annual average of 2.5 percent over the past decade. Unemployment is persistently high (22.3 percent in 2023), particularly for youth (46.1 percent). Women, too, face significant structural...

This study examines the impact of caseworker beliefs on employment and health outcomes among long-term unemployed social assistance recipients in Denmark. Exploiting as-if random caseworker assignment, an instrumental variables approach, and a novel measure of "Caseworker Job Orientation", we...

In this study, establishment-level employment effects of investment grants in Germany are estimated. In addition to the quantitative effects, I provide empirical evidence of funding effects on different aspects of employment quality (earnings, qualifications, and job security) for the period...

In this article, we map the concept of "sustainable work" in the international policy and academic literatures. On this basis, we develop a multidimensional framework, arguing that sustainable work needs to integrate ecological and social sustainability, address work beyond paid labour, attend...

In 2024, Austria's economic output shrank for the second year in a row (–1.2 percent). Companies suffered from weak demand at home and abroad, high energy prices and comparatively high unit labour costs. Private consumption declined despite rising real incomes. Manufacturing remained in...