Publication: Youth Employment Programs : An Evaluation of World Bank and International Finance Corporation Support
Date
2012-09
ISSN
Published
2012-09
Author(s)
Independent Evaluation Group
Abstract
Youth employment issues are a major
concern for many countries because they have negative
effects on the welfare of young people, and may also
adversely affect economic performance and social stability.
This is the first Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)
evaluation of the World Bank Group's support to
countries trying to address youth employment issues. The
World Bank lending portfolio for youth employment is
relatively small, although components of programs appear in
57 countries. Most projects include interventions in skills
development and school-to-work transition. Half of the
projects include interventions to foster job creation and
work opportunities for youth. International Finance
Corporation (IFC) has a broad approach to job creation.
Between FY01 and FY11 youth employment has not been
specifically targeted, except in the Middle East and North
Africa region and in a small number of other interventions.
IFC invested $500 million to 50 investment operations and 18
advisory services to education. Although youth employment is
addressed in the education, social protection, and labor
strategies, it is not recognized as an issue in most country
strategies even where youth unemployment is serious. Youth
employment is a multisectoral issue, but few youth
employment projects are implemented by multisectoral teams.
The evaluation makes two recommendations: (i) apply an
evidence-based approach to youth employment operations, and
(ii) at the country level, take a strategic approach to
youth employment by addressing the issue comprehensively,
working across World Bank Group teams, with governments and
other donors. There is a critical need to strengthen
evidence-based feedback loops to the strategic planning
process. Addressing youth employment issues is a major
concern for many countries. It negatively affects the
welfare of young people and potentially the rest of the
economy as well. Unemployed youth do not get a chance to
build professional skills. As a result, they are more at
risk for higher adult unemployment, career downgrades and
lower wages later in life, and a loss in lifetime earnings.
The reasons for higher youth-to-adult unemployment rates
include labor demand and supply factors, as well as
constraints in the labor and credit markets. Their relative
importance in a dynamic growth context varies across
countries. Recognizing these differences is important for
governments in designing youth employment programs tailored
to the most affected youth groups, and to incorporating in
program design specific interventions to address the
underlying causes of youth unemployment and underemployment.
This evaluation was done to better understand the
contributions of the World Bank and IFC to these efforts,
their effectiveness, and what can be learned from the
experience to support decision makers in finding new solutions.
Citation
“Independent Evaluation Group. 2012. Youth Employment Programs : An Evaluation of World Bank and International Finance Corporation Support. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/8df5da74-81fa-54c9-a698-82b7db45dd89 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”