The aim of this study is two-fold. First, based on summary data at the country-level for an unusually large set of developing countries originally obtained from household sample surveys conducted between 1993 and 2003, the authors construct a detailed profile of child economic activity and child...

Relatively little is known about youth unemployment and its lasting consequences in transition economies, despite the difficult labor market adjustment experienced by these countries over the past decade. The authors examine early unemployment spells and their longer-term effects among the youth...

Youth and Africa have received increased attention in recent policy discussions and World Bank work, as articulated in the Africa action plan and the World Development Report 2007: development and the next generation. The Africa action plan offers a framework to support critical policy and...

Training programs are the most common active labor market interventions around the world. Whether designed to develop skills of young job seekers or upgrading skills of adult workers, training programs are aimed at counteracting employability barriers that hinder the integration of people into...

Child labor is widespread, and bad for development, both that of the individual child, and of the society and economy in which she, or he lives. If allowed to persist to the current extent,child labor will prevent the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty, and...

This paper uses a new standardized micro database for a large set of developing countries to (1) describe the patterns of labor market outcomes for youth, and (2) explain the contributions of supply and demand factors to youth outcomes. The paper shows that youth face various difficulties in...

The paper provides an overview of unemployment benefit systems in Central and Eastern Europe during the 1990s. It describes their institutional features (eligibility, the level and duration of benefits, and special rules), discusses issues arising in their implementation, and examines their...

This paper reviews empirical findings from economic analyses of the role of gender equality and women's empowerment in reducing poverty and stimulating growth. Going beyond the large literature documenting the impact of female education on a range of development outcomes, the paper presents...