Publication: World Development Report 2013: Jobs
Other Files
630 downloads
4,298 downloads
576 downloads
Date
2012-10
ISSN
0163-5085
Published
2012-10
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they
are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out
of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments
in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more
productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish
as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds
and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of
economic growth. They are transformational—they are what we earn, what
we do, and even who we are.
High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most
immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and
self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest at best, unemployment
rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of
the poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the
violation of basic rights is not uncommon. Therefore, the number of jobs
is not all that matters: jobs with high development payoffs are needed.
Confronted with these challenges, policy makers ask difficult questions.
Should countries build their development strategies around growth, or
should they focus on jobs? Can entrepreneurship be fostered, especially
among the many microenterprises in developing countries, or are entrepreneurs
born? Are greater investments in education and training a prerequisite
for employability, or can skills be built through jobs? In times of major crises
and structural shifts, should jobs, not just workers, be protected? And is there
a risk that policies supporting job creation in one country will come at the
expense of jobs in other countries?
The World Development Report 2013: Jobs offers answers to these and other
difficult questions by looking at jobs as drivers of development—not as
derived labor demand—and by considering all types of jobs—not just formal
wage employment. The Report provides a framework that cuts across sectors
and shows that the best policy responses vary across countries, depending
on their levels of development, endowments, demography, and institutions.
Policy fundamentals matter in all cases, as they enable a vibrant private sector,
the source of most jobs in the world. Labor policies can help as well, even
if they are less critical than is often assumed. Development policies, from
making smallholder farming viable to fostering functional cities to engaging
in global markets, hold the key to success.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2012. World Development Report 2013: Jobs. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11843 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Report Series
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
-
PublicationWorld Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2023-04-25)Migration is a development challenge. About 184 million people—2.3 percent of the world’s population—live outside of their country of nationality. Almost half of them are in low- and middle-income countries. But what lies ahead? As the world struggles to cope with global economic imbalances, diverging demographic trends, and climate change, migration will become a necessity in the decades to come for countries at all levels of income. If managed well, migration can be a force for prosperity and can help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. World Development Report 2023 proposes an innovative approach to maximize the development impacts of cross-border movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and refugees themselves. The framework it offers, drawn from labor economics and international law, rests on a “Match and Motive Matrix” that focuses on two factors: how closely migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination countries and what motives underlie their movements. This approach enables policy makers to distinguish between different types of movements and to design migration policies for each. International cooperation will be critical to the effective management of migration.
-
PublicationWorld Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-15)World Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery examines the central role of finance in the economic recovery from COVID-19. Based on an in-depth look at the consequences of the crisis most likely to affect low- and middle-income economies, it advocates a set of policies and measures to mitigate the interconnected economic risks stemming from the pandemic—risks that may become more acute as stimulus measures are withdrawn at both the domestic and global levels. Those policies include the efficient and transparent management of nonperforming loans to mitigate threats to financial stability, insolvency reforms to allow for the orderly reduction of unsustainable debts, innovations in risk management and lending models to ensure continued access to credit for households and businesses, and improvements in sovereign debt management to preserve the ability of governments to support an equitable recovery.
-
PublicationWorld Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-03-24)Today’s unprecedented growth of data and their ubiquity in our lives are signs that the data revolution is transforming the world. And yet much of the value of data remains untapped. Data collected for one purpose have the potential to generate economic and social value in applications far beyond those originally anticipated. But many barriers stand in the way, ranging from misaligned incentives and incompatible data systems to a fundamental lack of trust. World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of poor people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies. To address this tension between the helpful and harmful potential of data, this Report calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, ensures equitable access to that value, and fosters trust that data will not be misused in harmful ways. This Report begins by assessing how better use and reuse of data can enhance the design of public policies, programs, and service delivery, as well as improve market efficiency and job creation through private sector growth. Because better data governance is key to realizing this value, the Report then looks at how infrastructure policy, data regulation, economic policies, and institutional capabilities enable the sharing of data for their economic and social benefits, while safeguarding against harmful outcomes. The Report concludes by pulling together the pieces and offering an aspirational vision of an integrated national data system that would deliver on the promise of producing high-quality data and making them accessible in a way that promotes their safe use and reuse. By examining these opportunities and challenges, the Report shows how data can benefit the lives of all people, but particularly poor people in low- and middle-income countries.
-
PublicationWorld Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020)Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. This book examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.
-
PublicationWorld Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019)Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.