Publication: Economic Analysis of Jobs Investment Projects
Date
2017-08-01
ISSN
Published
2017-08-01
Author(s)
Abstract
This Note systematizes the economic
evaluation of Jobs Investment Projects. It explains the
limitations of past approaches that have regarded jobs only
as a by-product of growth. It focuses on market failures
that create a gap between the social and private return on
investments and reduce the number of good jobs below the
socially optimal level. Two of these market failures are:
labor externalities arising from the divergence between the
market price and opportunity cost of labor; and social jobs
externalities linked to improved jobs outcomes for groups
such as youth, women, and the extreme poor. These
externalities can amplify other market failures such as
learning spillovers and coordination failures. The analysis
is integrated within a Cost-Benefit framework, to facilitate
decision making around jobs investment programs. The Note
discusses applications to different sorts of projects: those
that focus on improving the labor supply and labor market
matches; those that focus on strengthening firms'
demand for labor; and integrated projects, that include both
types of interventions.
Citation
“Robalino, David A.; Walker, David Ian. 2017. Economic Analysis of Jobs Investment Projects. Jobs Working Paper;No. 7. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28219 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”