Person:
Schmillen, Achim

Author Name Variants

Schmillen, Achim D., Schmillen, Achim Daniel

Last updated:November 24, 2025

Biography

Achim D. Schmillen is the World Bank’s Lead Economist and Program Leader for Human Development for the EU Member States. Achim joined the World Bank in 2013 through the Young Professionals Program and from 2014 to 2020 was affiliated with the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice. Thereafter, he was Practice Leader for Human Development for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, where he coordinated the World Bank’s engagements on education, health, nutrition, social protection and jobs. He has led numerous advisory, knowledge and operational projects, including the World Bank’s first Human Capital Development Policy Loan in East Asia. Achim is the co-author and editor of several influential books and reports, including Managing Coal Mine Closure: Achieving a Just Transition for All, Migrating to Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Labor Mobility in South-East Asia and Balancing Workers’ Protection and Labor Market Flexibility in China. His research has also been published in preeminent peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Comparative Economics, the Journal of Economic Geography and the Journal of Development Studies. A frequent speaker at events organized by international organizations, governments, the private sector and academia, Achim has headed World Bank delegations to multiple G20 and APEC Senior Officials’ Meetings, and his commentary has been featured in leading media outlets across Europe and Asia. Achim has a PhD in economics, and before joining the World Bank he held appointments with the University of California Los Angeles, America’s National Bureau of Economic Research and the Leibnitz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, among others. He is based in Brussels, Belgium.

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https://hdl.handle.net/10986/44014

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Now showing1 - 10 of 10

The Coal Transition: Mitigating Social and Labor Impacts
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05) Cunningham, Wendy; Schmillen, Achim
Realizing the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change will necessitate a timely transition of the global energy system out of coal, but evidence from Europe, China, and the United States shows that the coal transition can lead to massive job losses. This paper develops a comprehensive policy approach to assist affected workers and communities. Based on a conceptual framework that distinguishes between pre-layoff planning, pre-layoff assistance and post-layoff assistance, it discusses the main instruments for mitigating social and labor impacts, in particular income support and active labor market policies. In addition, it considers the institutional context, the dynamics of change, and implementation issues. The paper argues that while challenges resulting from the coal transition should not be minimized, the sound management of job displacements can contribute to mitigating the social consequences, strengthen morale and productivity, and improve the efficiency of structural change.
From Farms to Factories and Firms: Structural Transformation and Labor Productivity Growth in Malaysia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11) Abdur Rahman, Amanina; Schmillen, Achim
This study aims to provide a quantitative and integrated analysis of long-term structural transformation and labor productivity growth in Malaysia. Using data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia from 1987 to 2018 and decompositions that take account of the static and dynamic efficiency gains from labor reallocation, it documents that Malaysia has undergone structural transformation from an agriculture-driven to a services-driven economy. However, in contrast to common perceptions, the country's impressive growth in output per capita over the past three decades can largely be attributed not to its structural transformation but instead to sustained growth in within-sector labor productivity. At 3 percent, the contribution of between-sector reallocation of labor to growth in output per capita in Malaysia has been relatively low. Accordingly, together with efforts to spur the more productive reallocation of labor across sectors and positively affect the employment rate, the main policy challenge for Malaysia going forward will be to achieve sustainable labor productivity growth within various sectors.
Migrating to Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Labor Mobility in Southeast Asia
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-10-08) Testaverde, Mauro; Moroz, Harry; Hollweg, Claire H.; Schmillen, Achim
The movement of people in Southeast Asia is an issue of increasing importance. Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are now the origin of 8 percent of the world's migrants. These countries host only 4 percent of the world's migrants but intra-regional migration has turned Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand into regional migration hubs that are home to 6.5 million ASEAN migrants. However, significant international and domestic labor mobility costs limit the ability of workers to change firms, sectors, and geographies in ASEAN. This report takes an innovative approach to estimate the costs for workers to migrate internationally. Singapore and Malaysia have the lowest international labor mobility costs in ASEAN while workers migrating to Myanmar and Vietnam have the highest costs. Singapore and Malaysia's more developed migration systems are a key reason for their lower labor mobility costs. How easily workers can move to take advantage of new opportunities is important in determining how they fare under the increased economic integration planned for ASEAN. To study this question, the report simulates how worker welfare is affected by enhanced trade integration under different scenarios of labor mobility costs. Region-wide, worker welfare would be 14 percent higher if barriers to mobility were reduced for skilled workers, and an additional 29 percent if barriers to mobility were lowered for all workers. Weaknesses in migration systems increase international labor mobility costs, but policy reforms can help. Destination countries should work toward systems that are responsive to economic needs and consistent with domestic policies. Sending countries should balance protections for migrant workers with the needs of economic development.
Causes and Impacts of Job Displacements and Public Policy Responses
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05-07) Schmillen, Achim D.; Schmillen, Achim
Across the globe, both cyclical downturns and structural changes episodically eliminate substantial numbers of jobs and in the process create serious dislocations. For instance, the rise in joblessness because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is projected to be extraordinarily steep. As a response to job displacements, governments have implemented a range of measures to financially compensate displaced workers, assist them in finding reemployment, or both. The challenges should not be minimized: job losses have significant economic as well as social and psychological consequences; laid-off workers often lack the skills or geographic proximity to easily transfer to sectors that are growing; and providing adequate support can be expensive. Nonetheless, careful public policy responses can help mitigate the costs of job displacements and support workers in finding productive reemployment.
Vietnam's Labor Market Institutions, Regulations, and Interventions: Helping People Grasp Work Opportunities in a Risky World
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03) Schmillen, Achim D.; Packard, Truman G.; Schmillen, Achim
Over the past 30 years, Vietnam has experienced significant shifts of employment away from agriculture toward manufacturing and services, away from household enterprises toward registered and regulated businesses, and away from state-owned enterprises toward private firms. This paper argues that for these processes to continue in the future, appropriately designed and implemented labor market policies need to be in place, including labor market regulations that protect workers but do not inhibit creative destruction and creation of formal sector jobs; labor market interventions that improve workers' human capital, eliminate information asymmetries, and are fiscally sustainable; and labor market institutions that give voice to workers and employers. As a part of all of these measures, Vietnam will also have to renew its efforts to integrate vulnerable groups into the labor market.
Investing in Skills to Promote Inclusive Growth in Mindanao
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09) Rodriguez, Ruth; Acosta, Pablo; Schmillen, Achim; Igarashi, Takiko; Zapanta, Arianna
In 2015, the World Bank embarked on a collaborative effort to understand and address the jobs challenge in Mindanao through the Mindanao Jobs Report (MJR). Good jobs — jobs that raise real income and lift people out of poverty — were needed for more than two million Mindanawons who were either unemployed or underemployed at the time of writing. In addition, large cohorts of youth would enter the labor force in the next few years and better jobs were needed for the many Mindanawons who were currently employed informally and who accounted for more than half of total employment in Mindanao. Following extensive consultations with many of Mindanao's leaders and stakeholders, the report came up with recommendations around the three areas, namely: (1) raising agricultural productivity and improving farm-to-market connectivity; (2) boosting human development; and (3) addressing drivers of conflict and fragility and building up institutions in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and conflict-affected areas.
Perceptions of Precariousness: A Qualitative Study of Constraints Underlying Gender Disparities in Mongolia's Labor Market
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03) Schmillen, Achim; Sandig, Nina-Weimann
As compared to the majority of countries in the East Asia and Pacific Region, gender disparities in Mongolia are relatively muted. At the same time, a number of important gender disparities do exist. In particular, several studies have documented gender disparities in access to economic opportunities, earnings, and productivity. Such gender disparities in the labor market are problematic for at least three reasons. First, the use of women's full potential in the labor market is likely to result in greater macroeconomic efficiency, everything else equal. Second, jobs can be direct instruments of women's development and empowerment. Third, expanding women's labor market opportunities has potentially large positive spillover effects on women’s overall agency, control, and power.
Improving Learning Outcomes in South Asia: Findings from a Decade of Impact Evaluations
(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2017-02) Asim, Salman; Chase, Robert S.; Dar, Amit; Schmillen, Achim
There have been various initiatives to improve learning outcomes in South Asia. Still, outcomes remain stubbornly resistant to improvements, at least when considered across the region. To collect and synthesize the insights about what actually works to improve learning outcomes, this paper conducts a systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 education-focused impact evaluations from South Asia, establishing a standard that includes randomized control trials and quasi-experimental designs. It finds that while there are impacts from interventions that seek to increase the demand for education in households and communities, those targeting teachers or schools and thus the supply side of the education sector are generally much more adept at improving learning outcomes. Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, Impact Evaluations, Education Outcomes, South Asia.
The Public/Private Wage Differential in the Land of Gross National Happiness
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-12) Schmillen, Achim D.; Schmillen, Achim
In Bhutan, the public sector is usually seen as the most desirable employer. This study asks if this can be attributed to public sector employees receiving higher wages than comparable private sector workers. To answer the question, the study combines an Oaxaca-type decomposition of wage differentials into characteristics and coefficients effects with a multinomial logit model for self-selection into labor force participation and the public or private sector. The study finds that the public/private wage differential is sizeable but can entirely be accounted for by observable characteristics. At the same time, there is strong evidence that preferences for public sector jobs are caused by pronounced intersectoral differences in overall compensation packages, in particular fringe benefits.
Improving Education Outcomes in South Asia: Findings from a Decade of Impact Evaluations
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07) Asim, Salman; Chase, Robert S.; Dar, Amit; Schmillen, Achim
There have been many initiatives to improve education outcomes in South Asia. Still, outcomes remain stubbornly resistant to improvements, at least when considered across the region. To collect and synthesize the insights about what actually works to improve learning and other education outcomes, this paper conducts a systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 education-focused impact evaluations from South Asia, establishing a standard that includes randomized control trials and quasi-experimental designs. It finds that while there are impacts from interventions that seek to increase the demand for education in households and communities, those targeting teachers or schools and thus the supply-side of the education sector are generally much more adept at improving learning outcomes. In addition, interventions that provide different actors with resources and those that incentivize behavioral changes show moderate but statistically significant impacts on student learning. A mix of input- and incentive-oriented interventions tailored to the specific conditions on the ground appears most promising for fostering education outcomes in South Asia.