"Using recent matched employer-employee data from the manufacturing sector in 20 Sub-Saharan African countries, the authors analyze how the supply of skills and legal origin of the country affect the wage setting process. The wage analysis yields three main findings. First, increasing returns to...

This Ukraine Jobs Study aims to 1) assess labor market performance in the Ukraine, 2) identify key constraints to job creation, and suggest policies that will foster job creation and productivity. The study finds that, despite relatively low unemployment, the labor market is depressed and...

This Ukraine Jobs Study aims to 1) assess labor market performance in the Ukraine, 2) identify key constraints to job creation, and suggest policies that will foster job creation and productivity. The study finds that, despite relatively low unemployment, the labor market is depressed and...

This paper examines labor market outcomes in Armenia and their impact on poverty. The outcomes are of considerable concern: relatively few persons of working age are employed, and many of those who are employed have low-productivity jobs. The problem is not only high unemployment, but also low...

Employment and skills are at the core of Europe 2020, the European Union's (EU) competitiveness strategy, and are decisive for high productivity and sustained growth. Romania has overcome significant challenges on its path to EU membership and in the early years thereafter. However, the Romanian...

The level of informality in Colombia's labor market is high and persistent. When measuring informality of workers in terms of their contributions to health insurance and pension systems, 74.2 percent of all Colombian labor force was considered informal in 2008. The informality debate has taken...

This report presents a framework - Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP), that provides a simple yet comprehensive way to look at skills development. It brings together research evidence and practical experience from a range of areas-from research on the determinants of early...