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Del Carpio, Ximena Vanessa

Europe and Central Asia

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Migration, Skills, Labor market, Impact of social policies, Labor regulations, Minimum wage, Education, Health, Gender

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Europe and Central Asia

Last updated: January 31, 2023

Biography

Ximena Vanessa Del Carpio is the World Bank Program Leader in Turkey, Europe and Central Asia region. Under the leadership of the Country Director, she leads the program on Human Development Sectors (including Education, Health, Labor Markets, Social Inclusion, Jobs, Youth and Gender) as well as the Refugee Agenda. Prior to this, Del Carpio was a Senior Economist in the Social Protection and Labor global practice in Europe and Central Asia, and East Asia and Pacific. She also worked in the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group and the Human Development Network where she focused on evaluating the impact of various economic development programs in countries throughout Latin America and Africa. Before joining the World Bank, Del Carpio worked at the RAND Corporation and at the Minority Business Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Del Carpio is originally from Peru, has a PhD in Political Economics from the University of Southern California and holds a dual MBA and Public Policy.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 11

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Informal Labor Markets: Evidence from Peru
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05) Cueva, Ronald; Del Carpio, Ximena; Winkler, Hernan
This paper provides new evidence on the impacts of the COVID-19 economic crisis on a labor market with a high prevalence of informality. The analysis uses a rich longitudinal household survey for Peru that contains a host of individual and job outcomes before and during the first months of the lockdown in 2020. The findings show that workers who had jobs in non-essential and informal sectors were significantly more likely to become unemployed. In contrast to developed countries, having a job amenable to working from home is not correlated with job loss when controlling for informal status. This is consistent with the high level of labor market segmentation observed in Peru, where high-skilled occupations are disproportionately concentrated in the formal sector, which was also better targeted by policies aimed at supporting firms and job protection during the crisis. In addition, the findings show that women were more likely to lose their jobs because female-dominated sectors are more intensive in face-to-face interactions and thereby more affected by social distancing measures. Increased childcare responsibilities also help explain the worse impacts on women in rural areas. Finally, workers who depended on public transportation before the crisis were more likely to lose their jobs during the early months of the pandemic.
The Impact of Syrians Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-08) Wagner, Mathis; Del Carpio, Ximena V.
Civil war in Syria has resulted in more than four million refugees fleeing the country, of which 1.8 million have found refuge in Turkey, making it the largest refugee-hosting country worldwide. This paper combines newly available data on the 2014 distribution of Syrian refugees across subregions of Turkey with the Turkish Labour Force Survey, to assess the impact on Turkish labor market conditions. Using a novel instrument, the analysis finds that the refugees, who overwhelmingly do not have work permits, result in the large-scale displacement of informal, low-educated, female Turkish workers, especially in agriculture. While there is net displacement, the inflow of refugees also creates higher-wage formal jobs, allowing for occupational upgrading of Turkish workers. Average Turkish wages have increased primarily as the composition of the employed has changed because of the inflow of refugees.
Turkey Jobs Diagnostic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019) Erdogan, Aysenur Acar; Del Carpio, Ximena V.
The main challenge for achieving a country’s development goals is the creation of more, better and inclusive jobs, as economic growth needs to be accompanied by job growth if the poor are going to benefit to any significant extent. Turkey’s rapid economic growth since the early 2000s has been studied by the World Bank and others, highlighting the role of comprehensive reforms that promoted the country’s integration into the global economy, facilitated structural change, and catalyzed job creation. Therefore, the objective of this report is to present a comprehensive Jobs Diagnostic for Turkey with a view to promoting inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction. The report also aims to lay the evidence base to support policy dialogue in the country and provide input for the development of a national jobs strategy for the delivery of more, better, and inclusive jobs in Turkey. Understanding the factors that influence the creation of more, better and inclusive jobs essentially requires a multisectoral approach. Therefore, this jobs diagnostic aims to assess the relationships between supply- and demand-side factors.
Skills for a Modern Ukraine
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-01-03) Kupets, Olga; Del Carpio, Ximena; Olefir, Anna; Muller, Noël
Ukraine’s economic progress since its independence in the early 1990s has been uneven, in part due to the slow pace of reforms, unfavorable demographic factors, and low productivity. One of the key factors limiting success is the inadequacy of the skills of Ukraine’s workforce with the needs of a modern economy. While the country demonstrates a strong record of educational attainment and acquisition of foundational skills, the post-secondary education and training system fails to equip workers with the right advanced skills for labor market success. This study provides new evidence on the nature of skills valued in the labor market, reviews the institutional constraints hindering the development and use of workforce’s skills, and proposes a set of policy options. This study argues that, to improve skills formation and use, Ukraine needs to renew its public policies on post-secondary education, labor-market intermediation and information, and labor regulations. Drawing on household and firm surveys, the study finds that workers need a mix of advanced cognitive skills (like problem solving and communication), socio-emotional skills (like self-management and teamwork), and technical skills (like computer programing or sale skills) to be successful in the labor market and meet employers’ demand. These skills are not necessarily explicitly taught in traditional learning settings. Policy makers should therefore rethink the content of post-secondary education and training to focus on the development of skills for the labor market rather than only attendance. To do so, establishing steady links between education institutions and enterprises, by setting up occupation standards and adapting curricula to firm demand, is crucial. An essential instrument to identify the demand for skills and facilitate fruitful investments in skills formation is a labor market information system—which provides reliable information on labor market prospects across post-secondary education fields and institutions and job requirements and characteristics to students, their families, and jobseekers. Nonetheless, a better formation of skills would only be beneficial if most of the workforce can put them at use in jobs, promoted by better labor regulations.
Measuring the Quality of Jobs in Turkey
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12) Gruen, Carola; Del Carpio, Ximena V.; Levin, Victoria
This paper introduces a new Job Quality Index that measures the quality of jobs in Turkey over the last decade. While the main focus is on wage employment – which in 2016 accounts for nearly 73 percent of all workers – the paper also discusses job quality of the self-employed and unpaid family workers. Based on a comprehensive definition of what constitutes a good job, the index consists of 6 dimensions covering aspects such as adherence to Labor Law regulations, working conditions, adequate linkage between wage and job, productive usage and adaptability of skills, career opportunities and employment resilience. The quality of wage employment improved at the aggregate level from 2009 until 2016; with sharper improvements in job quality between 2009 and 2012. Improvements are largely the result of compositional changes toward more formal sector wage jobs; yet the distribution of job quality remains widespread, across economic sectors, occupational categories and geographic locations. The paper delves deep into each dimension of a good job and highlights the main drivers of good (and bad) jobs in Turkey and identifies the types of reforms that are needed to enable workers to benefit from increasing growth while adapting to changing labor market conditions. Lastly, the findings from this paper show that by measuring job quality policymakers can identify what jobs should be incentivized to ensure that job growth is accompanied by job quality.
Implications of Minimum Wage Increases on Labor Market Dynamics: Lessons for Emerging Economies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-04) Pabon, Laura M.; Del Carpio, Ximena V.
This paper offers evidence on the relationship between the minimum wage and unemployment and informal employment, and identifies some of the lessons learned on the potential effects of increasing the minimum wage. Most of the evidence suggests that sizable increases in the minimum wage are likely to exacerbate unemployment and the prevalence of informal employment, which could have negative consequences for labor productivity and businesses as a result of reduced investment in employee training and loss of productive workers. This outcome occurs when businesses adopt the main channels available for absorbing increased labor costs. The majority of the empirical evidence suggests that the effects of minimum wage increases on unemployment and the demand for labor are unclear. The outcome depends in large part on the specific characteristics of the labor markets and the degree of compliance with the minimum wage law. Most of those affected by minimum wage increases are less qualified workers. In Latin American and Asia, differences in the effects of minimum wage increases depend largely on the size and type of firms. In countries with high levels of informal employment, minimum wage increases can increase informal employment, since the formal workers who lose their jobs are absorbed by the informal sector of the economy. In general, businesses have five mechanisms for absorbing the added labor costs. Given the characteristics of the labor market in emerging economies, it is likely that businesses faced with increased labor costs will resort to less than optimal channels, which will tend to affect their productivity and the labor market in general.
Minimum Wage Policy : Lessons with a Focus on the ASEAN Region
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-01) Pabon, Laura; Del Carpio, Ximena
This report consists of seven chapters and is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on the minimum wage policy, its historical evolution, and the current institutional context across ASEAN countries. Part two delves into the socio?economic impacts of the minimum wage policy on workers, households, firms, the economy, and the ASEAN region. Part III links the findings from each country to the ASEAN regional context and brings all the analysis together into a policy and operational discussion. Specifically, part one of the report includes this chapter (chapter one) and chapter two. The rest of chapter one summarizes the findings from all chapters in the report and presents an overview of lessons detailed in the final chapter. To provide some background and context for the remainder of the report, chapter two briefly describes the history of minimum wage policy around the world and the theoretical principles behind wage setting and its effects. Part two consists of four chapters. Chapter three, which describes how the minimum wage policy is structured and managed in each ASEAN country, includes details on the objectives that countries have set out for the policy and how the policy is enforced in each country. Chapter four summarizes results from primary and secondary empirical research on the impacts of minimum wage changes on employment, wages, and informal work in the four focus ASEAN countries. The discussion in this chapter takes into account the existence of complementary worker protection programs in each country. Chapter five discusses empirical results on whether changes in the minimum wage policy affect poverty and inequality. Since each country has distinct poverty programs, the discussion takes into account the presence of various social programs that potentially complement income earned from wage labor. Chapter six focuses on how wage and labor costs affect firms, especially in terms of investment decisions and productivity. Due to the limited availability of evidence on the impact of minimum wages on firm performance and private sector activity in ASEAN countries, a large part of the discussion in this chapter includes evidence from non-ASEAN countries. Lastly, this chapter reviews the status of the main labor market institutions legislated in the region and provides some evidence on how other labor institutions might interact with the minimum wage policy to shape its effect. Part three comprises chapter seven, which reflects on the material presented in previous chapters and provides policy?oriented insights. It discusses the political economy of the minimum wage policy and draws out the implications of having such diverse wage policies and institutional arrangements for wage management in an increasingly interlinked regional bloc such as ASEAN. The chapter also synthesizes the lessons learned throughout the report and frames the main labor policy issues to provide guidance for, and elicit action from, policymakers going forward.
Does the Minimum Wage Affect Employment? Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector in Indonesia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-07) Wang, Liang Choon; Del Carpio, Ximena; Nguyen, Ha
Using survey data from the Indonesian manufacturing industry, this paper investigates the impact of minimum wage on employment and wages offered by Indonesian manufacturing firms from 1993 to 2006. It shows that the estimated effects of minimum wage on employment are positive within a province (i.e., with province fixed effects), but negative within a firm (i.e., with firm fixed effects), indicating the importance of using firm panel data to reduce the endogeneity bias in estimates. It finds significant heterogeneous effects of minimum-wage changes on employment. The employment effects of minimum wages are significant and negative among small firms and less educated workers, but not among large firms and workers with high school education and above. The negative employment impact is more severe for non-production workers than for production workers. The analysis also shows that the minimum wage disproportionally affects women: most of the non-production job losses are experienced by female workers. Lastly, the paper finds that the minimum wage is more correlated with the average wage of small firms than that of large firms, suggesting that minimum wages are more binding in small firms.
The Impact of Wealth on the Amount and Quality of Child Labor
(2012-01-01) Loayza, Norman V.; Del Carpio, Ximena V.
This paper analyzes to what extent, and under what conditions, an increase in household wealth affects the use of child labor in poor households. It develops a simple theoretical model, which uses child labor, training, and schooling to maximize household income over time, subject to resource constraints. Then, it conducts an empirical analysis using randomized trial data, which were collected for the evaluation of the 2006 Nicaragua conditional cash transfer program. This social program transfers wealth to poor families in rural areas, conditional on children's school attendance and health check-ups. In addition, for one third of the beneficiaries, there is a further wealth transfer to start a non-agricultural business. The paper finds that the conditional cash transfer program affected the volume and quality of child labor, reducing it in the aggregate and steering it towards skill-forming activities. Specifically, the program appears to have reduced the use of child labor for household chores and farm work, while increasing it for the non-traditional, skill-forming activities related to commerce and retail. Moreover, the paper finds that the source behind the increase in skill-forming child labor is not the basic component, which provides a transfer for paying for schooling and health services, but it's the business-grant component, which provides a household grant for the creation of a micro business or a new economic activity.
Does Cash for School Influence Young Women’s Behavior in the Longer Term? Evidence from Pakistan
(2011-05-01) Alam, Andaleeb; Baez, Javier E.; Del Carpio, Ximena V.
The Punjab Female School Stipend Program, a female-targeted conditional cash transfer program in Pakistan, was implemented in response to gender gaps in education. An early evaluation of the program shows that the enrollment of eligible girls in middle school increased in the short term by nearly 9 percentage points. This paper uses regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference analyses to show that five years into the program implementation positive impacts do persist. Beneficiary adolescent girls are more likely to progress through and complete middle school and work less. There is suggestive evidence that participating girls delay their marriage and have fewer births by the time they are 19 years old. Girls who are exposed to the program later, and who are eligible for the benefits given in high school, increase their rates of matriculating into and completing high school. The persistence of impacts can potentially translate into gains in future productivity, consumption, inter-generational human capital accumulation and desired fertility. Lastly, there is no evidence that the program has negative spillover effects on educational outcomes of male siblings.