COVID19 has paralysed the world over the last few months. To limit the spread of the disease, many countries adopted lockdown and social distancing measures. While these measures are seen as vital in containing the disease, they have also precipitated an unprecedented economic crisis. The crisis is hitting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) harder on…
RCT
Relaxing Seasonal Constraints to Improve Labor Productivity
Despite increased investment and international competition in agriculture, small-scale farming continues to be the most common economic activity in many developing countries. In Zambia, 60% of the population lives in rural areas, where 78% of the population were employed in agriculture in 2012 (Zambia Labor Force Survey, 2012). Rainfall patterns in Zambia allow for only…
Impacts of Microfranchising on Young Women’s Occupational Choices
Youth underemployment is a major challenge facing developing nations, particularly in Africa (Filmer and Fox 2014). Young people are more likely to be unemployed than older adults (Kluve et al. 2016). In low-income countries, unemployment figures also typically underestimate the proportion of youths who cannot find productive jobs (Fares et al. 2006). After leaving school,…
Training, Financing, and Matching between Workers and Firms
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in income and employment generation in local economies, and SMEs account for a large share of businesses in low and income countries (LMICs). SMEs in LMICs are concentrated in activities that are described as unorganized or unregistered, or non-institutional. These SMEs have limited access to financial…
Wage Compression in Low Income Labour Markets
Do relative pay comparisons matter for worker behaviour? A long tradition in economic thought – as well as in psychology, sociology, and human resource management – has advanced the notion that individuals care about not only their own pay but also their pay relative to that of their co-workers. When subjected to unequal pay, workers…
Punjab Economic Opportunity Program
The Punjab Economic Opportunity Programme: Evaluating Markets for Skill Acquisition and Employment project has examined the complete scope of all relevant decisions being made in the vocational skills market in target districts in Pakistan. This includes determining what courses to offer, examining the drivers of low take-up, relieving access constraints to markets, and returns to…
Addressing Gender Inequalities in Earnings and Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa through Innovative Approaches
Youth employment and micro, small and medium sized enterprise (MSME) development are often in the public debate. Governments in Africa have introduced a number of programmes to promote employment via these mechanisms, but the understanding of which interventions are most effective and for which types of individuals they have an impact is limited. Furthermore, women…
High-Risk Youth in Post-Conflict Liberia
How can governments and NGOs raise employment and reduce the risk of violence among these poor and risky populations? Aid programmes increasingly focus on helping youth through markets, especially through microenterprise development. The logic of this assistance, however, rests on the existence of market failures among the poorest of the poor: imperfect credit markets, or…
Building Management Hierarchies for Growth in LICs
We evaluate the impact of and demand for mid-level management training in a group of garment factories in Bangladesh. Industry participants recognise that there exists a shortage of skills needed to fill in lower-level management positions. There are several reasons firms may fail to provide socially optimal levels of training, and the project is designed…
Start-Up Capital for Youth
Unemployment among young people is one of the most pressing social and economic problems facing less developed countries today. Data from the 2005 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey found that approximately 21% of youths are unemployed, and a further 25% are neither in school nor working. While the traditional academic schooling track offers large labour…