Across the world, governments use minimum wages, employment protection legislation, and other labor regulations that define the legal boundaries of employment to manage potential labor market imperfections. These imperfections include information asymmetry, uneven market power between employers...

Western Balkan countries face significant labor market challenges. Fostering job creation (more generally), increasing skills, and expanding access to formal jobs, especially for socially vulnerable groups, is of critical importance for the Western Balkans. The objectives of public employment...

This policy note analyzes the profile of the out of work in Poland and compares this with the current set of labor market policies, in particular Public Employment Services. The note relied on existing data from the Polish Labor Force Survey, the tax and benefit model, expenditure data in Poland...

Female labor force participation in the Mashreq is exceptionally low, a problem likely to be exacerbated by the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This report calls for action in the following areas: stronger economic growth, effective policy action to close legal gaps, promotion of more...

The current downturn in commodity prices provides an opportunity for Indonesia to shift away from its dependence on commodity-driven growth towards higher value-added activities in manufacturing and services. However, Indonesia faces both global and structural challenges in making this...

This brief is based on analysis of the 2011-12 household budget survey (HBS) implemented by Central Administration for Statistics (CAS) with technical assistance from the World Bank. The survey was conducted during the period of September 2011 to November 2012, and was stratified across nine...

This is a semi-annual report series on recent economic developments and economic policies in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). The report looks at the economic performance and outlook for the Western Balkans region and specific...