This paper exploits a rich dataset from various administrative sources to study short- and medium-term labor market outcomes of vocational education and training graduates in Saudi Arabia. It examines five cohorts of graduates from institutes operated by the Technical and Vocational Training...

In 2019, with support from the International Development Association (IDA), the Federal Government of Somalia established its first national safety net program, the Baxnaano Program. Despite institutional challenges, political and economic fragility, the Program is delivering promising results....

This paper exploits a rich database to provide comprehensive profiling of informality in Jordan, including who informal workers are, their characteristics, and where they work, as well as providing policy recommendations to address informality. The structural framework developed through the...

This note provides an update of social protection responses to the food, fuel, fertilizer, and other price shocks sparked or accelerated by the Ukraine war. The vast majority of measures were introduced in early 2022 (February-April), although some specific interventions to mitigate prices were...

Traditionally social protection (SP) and humanitarian programs were quite distinct in their objectives, scope, and operations, but over time those distinctions have diminished and with that the gains from better integration. Humanitarian programs are committed to more involvement of national...

This paper proposes a framework of voluntary savings schemes (VSS) in Jordan that can complement the current formal sector arrangements to better protect informal workers against economic shocks, unemployment, old age, or disability. As benefits of traditional mandatory pension systems worldwide...

There is currently a major focus on digitization within African countries, with the interest of, on the one hand, increasing efficiency and lowering the cost-of-service delivery, and on the other hand, increasing financial inclusion for excluded parts of the population. Zambia provides an...

Social safety net programs focus on a subset of the population, usually the poorest and most vulnerable. However, in most developing countries there is no administrative data on relative wealth of the population to support the selection process of the potential beneficiaries of the social safety...

Following the 2010 devastating earthquake and subsequent cholera epidemic, Port-au-Prince's residents have been increasingly affected by food insecurity, socio-economic unrest including periods of complete lock-down, and gang violence. In light of the insecurity which limits the possibilities to...

In the past two decades, Indonesia significantly improved its economic growth, poverty, and maternal and child health outcomes. Despite these notable achievements, the country's rates of stunting and malnutrition are among the highest in the world and threaten early childhood development as the...