Publication:
Opportunities for Youth and Women’s Participation in Ghana’s Labour-intensive Public Works Program

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (1.6 MB)
763 downloads
English Text (107.5 KB)
55 downloads
Date
2021-08-17
ISSN
Published
2021-08-17
Editor(s)
Abstract
Ghana’s public works program, Labour-Intensive Public Works (LIPW), was initiated in 2010 with the goal of providing short-term employment opportunities to the poorest and building community assets. Public works programs have the potential to promote social inclusion by benefiting vulnerable groups, particularly youth and women. The LIPW program in its operational design, included provisions to support women workers, including having on-site crèches and latrines and provided flexibility of employment so that women could easily access the program. Although, the program did not exclude qualified youth, operational designs did not lay emphasis on youth engagement. The LIPW program could be positioned as a youth employment avenue, as well as promoting social inclusion and enhancing the overall well-being of its beneficiaries. As such, this study reviews the operational opportunities within the Ghana LIPW program design targeting women and youth and provides recommendations for enhancing social inclusion for these groups in future programming. This study will be useful for public works program implementers, as well as policy makers, looking to boost social inclusion within their programming.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Dadzie, Christabel E.; Ofei-Aboagye, Esther. 2021. Opportunities for Youth and Women’s Participation in Ghana’s Labour-intensive Public Works Program. Jobs Working Paper;No. 61. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36202 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Kingdom of Morocco : Promoting Youth Opportunities and Participation
    (Washington, DC, 2012-06) World Bank
    This policy note, based on the Morocco Household and Youth Survey (2009-10), analyzes the aspirations of young Moroccans aged 15 to 29 years, their economic and social circumstances, as well as the institutional factors that hinder their economic and social inclusion. This study adopts a mixed method approach combining an innovative quantitative instrument with qualitative and institutional analysis. The goal is to provide policy makers with a nuanced analysis of barriers to employment and active civic participation that youth face, in order to come up with more effective youth interventions. A wide range of recommendations is identified to support youth inclusive activities and policies, and a roadmap for integrated youth investments. The study reviewed institutions and programs that offer diverse services to young people, including: employment, training opportunities, community participation, summer camps, sports, and recreational activities, which form the foundation for a comprehensive youth program in Morocco. An integrated package of measures aimed at both improving existing services and offering new ones to cover current gaps, is urgently needed to address youth demands for meaningful social and economic inclusion. The report recommends focusing in particular on two key areas: (i) promoting employability, linkages to the labor markets and entrepreneurship and (ii) active youth participation. It concludes by offering recommendations for youth inclusive policies and a plan of integrated youth investments which could expand the scope of employment and participation opportunities currently available.
  • Publication
    The Gender Implications of Public Sector Downsizing : The Reform Program of Vietnam
    (World Bank, 2002-09-01) Rama, Martín
    Using data from Vietnam, this article describes several types of analysis that can be conducted before launching a major downsizing operation to identify possible gender effects. It draws several conclusions about Vietnam s downsizing reforms. First, although women s prospects of obtaining salaried jobs following displacement from state-owned enterprise worsened as a result of recent reforms, they are likely to improve in the near future. Second, reforms are associated with a sharp decline in the gender gap in earnings, both in and outside the state sector. Third, overstaffing is greatest in sectors in which most employees are men, such as construction, mining, and transportation; it is much less prevalent in sectors in which women dominate the work force, such as footwear, textiles, and garments. Fourth, training, and assistance programs to help redundant workers reveal no evidence of strong gender bias. Fifth, severance packages based on a multiple of earnings are more favorable to men, whereas lump sum packages favor women.
  • Publication
    Working Out of Poverty : Job Creation and the Quality of Growth in Africa
    (Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) Sekkel Gaal, Melissa; Fox, Louise
    This paper explores Africa's economic performance and the creation of jobs over the decade and more since 1995, recognizing that some standard labor concepts are difficult to apply to conditions prevailing in Africa. The intent of the paper is to identify the economic factors behind the more successful outcomes and the options available for improving the quality of growth. The report focuses on several key issues: how has the structure of economic growth and labor demand shaped the job creation process? Does rigidity in African labor markets impede job creation? Have the quality and quantity of the labor supply affected job creation? What policies have been pursued to raise the quality of the African labor force? What does the expanding "informal" sector mean for the labor market and the quality of growth? Is it a route out of poverty or a low-skills trap? Throughout the paper, the focus is on the factors, exogenous and endogenous, that are linked to the outcomes, and the implications that these factors may have for raising the quality of Africa's economic growth. Some countries have reversed many of the vicious cycles underlying Sub- Saharan Africa's generally poor performance on job creation; those countries are highlighted where adequate data are available, and the lessons these experiences offer all stakeholders in meeting the growth and poverty reduction challenges of the future are pointed out. The paper concludes that Africa's record of poor economic performance has in part been an inevitable result of its colonial heritage-the low levels of human capital at independence. It is also a function of the ensuing policies pursued, especially those that led to the debt crisis and the subsequent recession and public sector restructuring. In most countries, these costs have been paid, and the future looks brighter as a result.
  • Publication
    More Jobs, Better Jobs : A Priority for Egypt
    (Washington, DC, 2014-06) World Bank
    Much of the current debate around the recent economic crisis in the Arab Republic of Egypt has focused on unemployment. Although unemployment is an important marker of labor market health, the jobs problem in Egypt precedes the recent crisis and is manifested markedly in other labor market metrics. Indeed, the link between growth and unemployment in Egypt is weak, particularly for men. This chapter argues that the reason for this weak link is partly related to decades of flawed industrial policies that have discouraged investment in employment-generating activities. Industrial policies, including those implemented in the mid-2000s, were never focused on mitigating market failures to promote the emergence of fast-growing, high-productivity firms. Instead, they have worked to preserve insider privileges, leading to growth in sectors that are not labor intensive. Policy makers therefore need to look beyond supply-side focused labor market policies to accelerate employment growth.
  • Publication
    Did Latvia's Public Works Program Mitigate the Impact of the 2008-2010 Crisis?
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-07) Azam, Mehtabul; Ferré, Céline; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan
    To mitigate the impact of the 2008-2010 global financial crisis on vulnerable households, the Government of Latvia established Workplaces with Stipends, an emergency public works program that targeted registered unemployed people who were not receiving unemployment benefits. This paper evaluates the targeting performance and welfare impacts of the program. It exploits the over-subscription of Workplaces with Stipends to define a control group. The paper finds that the program was successful at targeting poor and vulnerable people, and that leakage to non-poor households was small. Using propensity score matching, the paper finds that the program's stipend mitigated the impact of job loss and, in the short term, raised participating household incomes by 37 percent relative to similar households not benefiting from the program. The paper also finds that the foregone income for this program was less than foregone incomes estimated in other countries. This suggests a dearth of income-generating opportunities in Latvia; thus the program provided temporary employment opportunities and helped the unemployed mitigate the impact of the crisis. However, relative to the depth of the crisis in Latvia, the Workplaces with Stipends program scale was small, which meant long waiting periods for program applicants.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, June 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10) World Bank
    The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.
  • Publication
    State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-21) World Bank
    This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national, and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments and some of the drivers seen over the past year. Specifically, this report covers carbon taxes, emissions trading systems (ETSs), and crediting mechanisms. Key topics covered in the 2024 report include uptake of ETSs and carbon taxes in low- and middle- income economies, sectoral coverage of ETSs and carbon taxes, and the use of crediting mechanisms as part of the policy mix.
  • Publication
    Business Ready 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03) World Bank
    Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, January 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16) World Bank
    Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.
  • Publication
    The State of Economic Inclusion Report 2024: Pathways to Scale
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-20) Arévalo-Sánchez, Inés; Heisey, Janet; Chaudhary, Sarang; Clay, Timothy; Strokova, Victoria; Vasudeva Dutta, Puja; Andrews, Colin
    The State of Economic Inclusion Report (SEI) 2024 explores efforts to scale up economic inclusion programs - bundles of coordinated, multidimensional interventions that support individuals, households, and communities to sustainably increase their incomes and assets - in the context of overlapping crisis. These programs transform the economic lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people, building their resilience and creating job opportunities. The report features data from 405 programs across 88 countries, benefiting over 70 million individuals either directly or indirectly. This marks almost doubling in the number of programs and nearly a 50 percent increase in coverage since the SEI 2021 report. Governments continue to lead in scaling up these economic inclusion programs, covering nearly three-fourths of program participants. However, non-governmental programs have also significantly contributed to the increase in coverage in recent years, in addition to serving as both service providers and capacity building providers for governments. The report offers five important contributions: 1) Positioning economic inclusion programs as crucial for building resilience and providing job opportunities for the poor and vulnerable in the face of overlapping crises. 2) Analyzing the global landscape over the past three years, highlighting the extent to which economic inclusion programs are being customized for diverse contexts and groups, including a cross-cutting focus on gender. 3) Reviewing progress and challenges in the design and implementation of government-led programs, including the interplay with communities, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. 4) Examining the emerging agenda of designing economic inclusion programs to enhance the long-term climate resilience of poor and vulnerable individuals and communities. 5) Featuring three spotlights that unpack emerging evidence from government-led programs, customization strategies targeting youth, and the increasing role of digital tools and technologies in program delivery. Data from the report are available on the PEI Data Portal (www.peiglobal.org).