This note discusses policy options for managing the employment impacts of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis aimed at relief and restructuring. The note pays attention to the labor market and institutional context of most low and middle-income countries where informality is large and where...

This paper examines whether the son preference and fertility behavior of Muslim couples respond to the risk of inheritance expropriation by their extended family. According to traditional Islamic inheritance principles, only the son of a deceased man can exclude his male agnates from inheritance...

The female population deficit in India has been explained in a number of ways, but the great heterogeneity in the deficit across districts within India still remains an open question. This paper argues that across India, a largely agrarian economy, soil texture varies exogenously and determines...

This paper reviews and critically evaluates existing evidence on female entrepreneurial activity. First, we identify how female-run businesses are different, by examining both economic and non-economic outcomes which are frequently overlooked. Second, we offer a comprehensive discussion of...

Overloaded electrical systems are a major source of unreliable power (outages) in developing countries. Using a randomized saturation design, we estimate the impact of energy efficient lightbulbs on household electricity consumption and local electricity reliability in the Kyrgyz Republic....

Over the recent past, Burkina Faso has registered solid economic growth and poverty levels have been lowered, suggesting that growth has been pro-poor. Yet, poverty remains widespread despite high levels of labor market participation and employment. In practice, life for many in the country...

This report describes the findings of the value chain and jobs survey on the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants ("MAPs") in the North West of Tunisia. The survey also benchmarks the value chain against other leading countries in the MAPs industry to determine potential productivity gaps and areas for...

This report describes the findings of the survey on olive oil value chain in the North West of Tunisia, focusing particularly on the current and potential jobs landscapes. The survey also benchmarks the performance of the value chain against other leading countries in olive oil industry to...

This report provides an overview of a World Bank activity to support structural change for competitiveness and employment opportunities in Tunisia's lagging regions based on value chain and cluster analysis. While state-level policy changes are necessary and important contributions to tackle low...