Thirty eight percent of the urban population in Mozambique is poor and the latest political and economic developments are likely to increase their vulnerability. Moreover, a large share of the urban population that is close to the poverty line and that could worsen their poverty status through...

This paper sheds light on the impact of improving employment and education conditions on poverty and social exclusion indicators. More specifically, it answers the following question: Will achieving the Europe 2020 national targets on employment and education lead countries to achieve the Europe...

This note details simulations of the distributional impacts of the 2009 financial crisis on households in Latvia. It uses household survey data collected prior to the crisis and simulates the impact of the growth slowdown. The simulations show that Latvia experienced a sharp rise in poverty,...

Since its independence in 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic has taken steps to liberalize its economy and adopt political reforms with the aim of promoting sustained economic growth. The Kyrgyz Republic was one of the first former Soviet republics to implement economic reforms and to move toward a...

This note assesses whether social protection programs are adequately financed in mainland Tanzania. We find that social protection programs are an important component of Government expenditures, and complements other Government social spending, including education and health spending. In recent...

In the last few years, proposals to introduce a universal basic income or universal basic income (UBI) have proliferated. Proponents point out that narrowly targeted programs exclude many of the poor. Critics point out that universality spreads limited resources thinly over the population...

This multisectoral Jobs Diagnostic provides a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's job market, with the aim of informing key policy areas. It investigates a host of factors associated with labor outcomes, such as the general macroeconomic environment and job-specific conditions, workers'...

This multisectoral Jobs Diagnostic provides a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's job market, with the aim of informing key policy areas. It investigates a host of factors associated with labor outcomes, such as the general macroeconomic environment and job-specific conditions, workers'...

This report documents the progress that Pakistan has made so far in improving its systems for delivering social protection to its people. The government has increasingly relied on data and technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the program. BISP UCT (Kafaalat),the country's...

Kuwaiti women working in Kuwait's civil service earn, on average, 18 percent less than Kuwaiti men. Using a unique data set of all Kuwaiti nationals working in Kuwait's civil service, this paper analyzes the relationship between wages, gender, and the relative dominance of women in occupations...