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...

Countries in Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia (ECA) are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which are escalating in both frequency and severity, and disrupting human capital-the health, skills, and productivity of individuals- across multiple domains. However,...

This Guidance Note was developed to support Public Employment Services in navigating complex decisions involved in digitalizing employment services. As the role of PES evolves with the need to balance expanded mandates with limited resources, digitalization presents an opportunity to strengthen...

Women constitute nearly half of the young working age-population in Nepal but are less likely than men to participate in the labor force. When employed, they work largely in informal, or subsistence work characterized by inadequate social protection and are subject to lower wages relative to...

Advances in technology have the potential to enhance social protection services delivery but come with risks, such as data privacy concerns, exclusion, and biases. To use digital technologies effectively, strong frameworks, infrastructure, and capacity are essential. Without these, technology...

This study examines service integration and case management practices for economic migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and returnees, focusing on examples from seven countries. It analyzes these interventions across eleven dimensions, comparing approaches in Bangladesh, Colombia, Italy, Kosovo,...

The paper reviews the dynamics of human capital - mostly skills - accumulation and utilization during successful and static episodes of structural transformation in a sample of more than 90 countries over the last thirty years to identify cases when improvements in human capital are not met by...

Poverty and crises are rapidly “urbanizing†. Yet experience with operationalizing cash transfers in urban areas is limited. This paper captures early lessons from a new generation of urban cash transfer responses to Covid-19 in eleven African countries. The analysis contextualizes...

Short-term education and skills training programs are a popular way to meet the needs of unemployed, out-of-school youth by providing them with an opportunity to quickly acquire qualifications and skills that can lead to productive employment. This paper reviews the global evidence to identify...

This paper assesses the performance of government spending on social protection programs in reducing poverty and inequality in Lesotho, applying benefit incidence and microsimulation methods to 2017-2018 household survey data. The paper investigates the distributional effects of actual spending...