This report illustrates a new methodology to develop an Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision (ORBS) framework for funded pensions with a case study of Costa Rica. The approach was used in a FIRST1 funded project in Costa Rica with the regulator and supervisor of pensions SUPEN. The intention is...

The objectives of a well-designed pension system are poverty reduction in old age and income smoothing throughout an individuals' lifetime. Over the last thirty years, changing demographic trends have caused a shift from 'pay as you go' and occupational defined benefit (DB) schemes - where the...

The aging challenge in Moldova is pressing. The average age is rising at a much more rapid rate in Moldova than in neighboring countries, and the size of the population is shrinking. The demographic trends are driven by three factors: low fertility, high net emigration, and low life expectancy....

Africa's rural population continues to expand rapidly and labor productivity in agriculture and many rural off farm activities remains low. This paper uses the lens of a dual economy and the associated patterns of agricultural, rural, and structural transformation to review the evolution of...

The Employer Survey Snapshot features a descriptive analysis of the data collected during the first two waves of the Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) Employer Surveys. Key objectives of the Snapshot are (1) to explain the motivation and relevance behind the implementation of...

For a long time, the urbanization and development discourse has coincided with a focus on economic growth and big cities. Yet, much of the world's new urbanization is taking place in smaller urban entities (towns), and the composition of urbanization may well bear on the speed of poverty...

Paraguay has achieved positive employment outcomes over the last decade, reflecting more jobs and improved average job quality, which together contributed to significant poverty reduction. Firms played a major role in creating these jobs, especially formal jobs. It is important to understand how...

Employment segregation-the unequal distribution of female and male workers across and within jobtypes-is often at the heart of gender gaps in job quality, wage and employment trajectories. Employment segregation carries important costs for the economy, particularly in countries facing a...

This note analyzes household survey data and firm-level data to measure gender gaps in employmentoutcomes over the past 15 years and shed light on the degree to which economic growth has translated into more and better jobs for men and women, and the relative impact on each group. The analysis...

This paper explores the factors that constrain women in slums and low-income neighborhoods in Dhaka from engaging in the labor market and supplying their labor to wage earning or self-employment. It uses unique individual-level data on labor market participation, time-use, norms, and skills,...