This article tests the theory recently put forward by Edward Lazear that individuals with competence in many skills should have a higher probability of being self-employed than others. The empirical results for Germany support this jack-of-all-trades view.

Skills and Jobs in Brazil: An Agenda for Youth is a new report focusing on the challenge of economic engagement among the Brazilian youth. In the context of a fast aging population, Brazil's greatest economic opportunity is to increase its labor productivity, especially that of youth. This...

Uruguay faces medium- and long-term challenges associated with two global megatrends: population aging and technological change. These two megatrends have been developing for some time, but policy responses have been late or inadequate in many cases. Trying to delay them--by promoting higher...

In recent years, skills development has become a priority among developed and developing countries alike. The World Bank Group, in its quest to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity, has joined efforts with countries and multilateral development partners to ensure that individuals...

Promoting relevant technical and life skills is one option to empower adolescent girls by increasing their capacity to generate income and therefore by enhancing their bargaining power within the household. This Note presents a situation analysis of the current skills set and employment outcomes...

Skills development offers a range of benefits to out-of-school adolescent girls and alleviates a key obstacle to youth employment in developing countries. But do increased skills lead to delays in early marriage and pregnancy? Not always, according to the available empirical evidence. Although...

This policy note is a diagnostic of the state of Nigerian skills and human capital. It seeks to understand the kinds and levels of human capital that Nigeria possesses to support its efforts toward economic competitiveness over the next two decades. It also looks at inefficiencies of the...