Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.

Person:
Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.

Global Practice for Social Protection and Labor, The World Bank

Fields of Specialization

Labor markets, Employment policy, Social protection, Training policies, Gender, Minimum wages, Social safety nets, Poverty

ORCID

0000-0002-7849-7817

External Links

RePEc

Departments

Global Practice for Social Protection and Labor, The World Bank

Last updated: June 17, 2025

Biography

Diego F. Angel-Urdinola is a senior economist in the Human Development Department of the Middle East and North Africa Region at the World Bank, where he conducts applied research and operational work in the areas of social protection, labor markets, gender, and human development. He has contributed to operational research for various developing countries, especially in Latin America, Europe and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa. He has published articles in various academic and nonacademic publications, including the Journal of Economic Inequality, Journal of International Development, IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Economics Bulletin, and Labour, as well as several books and working paper series. He holds a PhD in economics from Georgetown University.

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 29

Meta-Analysis Assessing the Effects of Virtual Reality Training on Student Learning and Skills Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-03) Castillo-Castro, Catalina; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Hoyos, Angela
Training using virtual reality has been applied in many fields of education, but primarily in the fields of health and safety, engineering and technical education, and general education. Numerous studies assessing the use of immersive training in education have yielded promising results in educational outcomes, but there is not yet in the literature a systematic analysis of the effects of virtual reality training on student learning. This paper presents a meta-analysis of the results of available studies that assess virtual reality training’s impact on student learning and skills development, and which rely on robust evaluation methods. The study’s primary purpose is to identify the extent to which immersive training can successfully develop students’ skills across different fields of education and the size of the effects encountered. The analysis presented here relies on 31 primary studies and more than 90 experiments. The results indicate that, on average, virtual reality training is more effective than traditional training in developing technical, practical, and socio-emotional skills. The results are particularly promising in fields related to health and safety, engineering, and technical education. The results also indicate that students who are exposed to virtual reality training are more efficient in using inputs and time and/or avoiding performance errors than students receiving traditional training.
Can Digital Personalized Learning for Mathematics Remediation Level the Playing Field in Higher Education?: Experimental Evidence from Ecuador
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-07-10) Angel-Urdinola, Diego; Chinen, Marjorie
Many Ecuadorian students entering higher education have cognitive skills gaps in mathematics that undermine their ability to assimilate academic contents. This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial assessing the effects on academic outcomes of a Digital Personalized Learning Software for mathematics remediation (the ALEKS software) offered to first-year students entering technical and technological higher education programs in Ecuador amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the software led to a large and marginally significant decline in the probability of repeating a course, as well as a very large positive impact on standardized test scores in math. The analysis finds no impact on the probability of enrolling in the third semester. When disaggregating the impacts, the findings show that the effects on repetition are particularly large for male students, possibly because of higher male enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. When assessing the potential mechanisms, the findings show evidence that the software led to a net increase in hours dedicated to studying mathematics. The results suggest that Digital Personalized Learning Software can be a cost-effective solution for math remediation with potential for large-scale application.
Accelerating Learning in Ecuador's Technical Institutes: The Impact of Using Mixed Reality to Teach Auto-Mechanics
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-17) Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Chinen, Marjorie
This study evaluates the impact of incorporating mixed reality—including both augmented and virtual reality—into auto-mechanics training for students enrolled in selected public technical technological institutes in Ecuador. The intervention aims to enhance students' understanding of automotive mechanics by teaching the fundamental principles of internal combustion engine operation through nine competency-based learning modules delivered over one academic semester. The study employed a stratified randomized controlled trial at the class level, assigning auto-mechanic classes within each institute to either the mixed reality–enhanced training laboratory (treatment) or the standard curriculum (control). To measure learning outcomes, students completed pre- and post-intervention cognitive tests, complemented by student surveys assessing technology usability, motivation, and engagement. This comprehensive approach enabled the study to quantify the effects of the training on student learning and identify mechanisms through which learning occurred. The results indicate that students exposed to mixed reality–based instruction scored, on average, 0.37 standard deviation higher on post-tests than those in the control group—a statistically significant effect at the 1 percent level. These findings are consistent with effect sizes observed in training programs aimed at college students in high-income countries. The evidence also points to increased engagement and motivation as key channels through which mixed reality enhanced learning, underscoring the potential of immersive technologies to improve vocational training outcomes in low- and middle-income settings.
Using Student and Teacher Assessments to Design More Pertinent In-Service Teacher Training: The Case of Ecuador
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08) Burgos-Davila, Sebastian; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
The development of pertinent and effective in-service teacher training remains a policy challenge for many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador stands out as a country in the region that has made significant investments in teacher training in the past decade. However, most in-service training provision has been designed without enough elements to properly address teachers' skills gaps. This paper proposes a roadmap for improving the design of in-service teacher training in Ecuador using available data from student and teacher assessments. Although countries in the region have made important efforts to carry out periodic evaluations of student and teacher performance, the data resulting from these evaluations are rarely used to guide teacher development programs. The analysis presented in this paper suggests that doing so has the potential to raise program pertinence while allowing the prioritization of investments in teachers and students with the greatest needs.
A Skills-Based Human Capital Framework to Understand the Phenomenon of Youth Economic Disengagement
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-02) Mayer Gukovas, Renata; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
This paper revisits traditional human capital models and proposes a new conceptual framework of human capital accumulation, anchored in skills development, to illustrate the phenomenon and implications of youth economic disengagement. In the framework, youth economic disengagement is defined as a state (temporary or permanent) where individuals stop accumulating human capital due to inadequate access and quality of opportunities for skills development through formal education and employment. Total economic disengagement is a rational choice that individuals make when (i) the formal education system and labor market do not contribute to build skills that are valued by the labor market, and (ii) the costs related to economic engagement (that is, studying and working) surpass its benefits. The phenomenon of economic disengagement has lifelong implications that not only constrain and restrain future earnings, but also undermine prospects for improvements in productivity and economic growth.
Striving for Better Jobs : The Challenge of Informality in the Middle East and North Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-08-26) Bodor, Andras; Gatti, Roberta; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Silva, Joana
Economic growth has been sustained for many years pre-crisis in the region, but this has not resulted in the creation of an adequate number of jobs and has succeeded, at best, in generating low-quality, informal jobs. The report addresses one margin of exclusion: informal employment and the vulnerabilities and lack of opportunities associated with it. The report analyzes the constraints that prevent informal workers from becoming formal and discusses policy options to effectively address these constraints. This report looks at informality through a human development angle and focuses particularly on informal employment. Informality is a complex phenomenon, comprising unpaid workers and workers without social security or health insurance coverage, small or micro-firms that operate outside the regulatory framework and large registered firms that may partially evade corporate taxes and social security contributions. The first section provides a detailed profile of informal workers in the region. The second section describes the characteristics of informality in micro-firms that operate outside the regulatory framework and in larger firms that do not fully comply with social security contribution requirements and tax obligations. The third section presents informality and the firm. The fourth section focuses on informality: choice or exclusion? The fifth section discusses policy options for effectively expanding coverage of health insurance and pension systems and promoting the creation of better quality jobs.
Assessing the Role of International Organizations in the Development of the Social Enterprise Sector
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-03) Hoyos, Angela; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
This paper examines the contribution of international organizations to the development of the social enterprise sector worldwide, and assesses the types of programs and policies international organizations are using to promote this agenda globally. The results indicate that international organizations' support to the social enterprise sector has consisted primarily of providing financial resources, notably grants. However, international organizations' contributions to developing sector-specific policies have been limited. Furthermore, many programs that are supported by international organizations remain largely unassessed. The paper proposes a set of policy recommendations directed primarily to international organizations and the public administration, to improve and enhance the development of the social enterprise sector.
Are Minimum Wages and Payroll Taxes a Constraint to the Creation of Formal Jobs in Morocco?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-08) Barry, Abdoul Gadiry; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Guennouni, Jamal
This paper uses a search-and-matching model to examine the effects of labor regulations that influence the cost of formal labor (notably minimum wages and payroll taxes) on labor market outcomes in Morocco. The model assumes that the informal sector is unregulated and thus not directly affected by these labor policies. However, the model takes into consideration that although labor policies apply only to the formal sector, they may influence the size and the composition of employment in the informal sector, as well as the size and composition of unemployment and self-employment. The results indicate that these regulations, especially minimum wage policy, contribute to higher unemployment rates and constraint formalization in Morocco, especially for youth and women.
Labor Policy to Promote Good Jobs in Tunisia : Revisiting Labor Regulation, Social Security, and Active Labor Market Programs
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015) Nucifora, Antonio; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Robalino, David; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Nucifora, Antonio; Robalino, David
Tunisians are striving for the opportunity to realize their potential and aspirations in a country that is rich in both human and physical capital, but whose recent economic growth has failed to create enough opportunities in the form of good and productive jobs. This report highlights the main barriers that hinder the Tunisian labor market from providing income, protection, and prosperity to its citizens and proposes a set of labor policies that could facilitate the creation of better, more inclusive, and more productive jobs. The weak economic performance and insufficient and low-quality job creation in Tunisia is primarily the result of an economic environment permeated by distortions, barriers to competition, and excessive red tape, including in the labor market. This has resulted in the creation of a insufficient number of jobs, especially in the formal sector. To change this situation, policy makers need to address five strategic directives that can promote long-term inclusive growth and formality: foster competition; realign incentives, pay, and benefit packages in the public sector; move toward labor regulations that promote labor mobility and provide support to workers in periods of transition; enhance the productivity of informal workers through training and skills building; and reform existing social insurance systems and introduce new instruments to attain broader coverage.
Morocco: Social Protection and Labor Diagnostic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05-26) El Kadiri, Fatima; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Pallares-Miralles, Montserrat
Main macroeconomic indicators in Morocco (notably economic growth, inflation) are expected to remain appropriate in the short-medium term. Despite negative impacts in the economy due to developments in the Eurozone, in particular sovereign debt crises in Spain and Italy, among other countries, economic growth in Morocco has been positive averaging 4.3 percent per year between years 2010 and 2013. Morocco has displayed important progress in the Bank’s twin objectives of reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Inequality and vulnerability remain important challenges. Despite some notable progress on key human development indicators, Morocco still lags behind in health and education achievements. One of the key challenges for Morocco is that economic growth has not achieved enough employment growth to the needs of a saturated labor market. To achieve faster economic growth, Morocco will need a structural transformation of its economy, with a focus on broadening economic opportunities. Low employment rates in Morocco are largely explained by very low rates of participation of women in the labor force. Most employment creation in Morocco happens in the services and construction sectors, while the agriculture and manufacturing sectors (as these sectors become more productive and substitute labor by capital) actually suffer from net job destruction of approximately 35 thousand jobs per year.