The Evidence Is In : How Should Youth Employment Programs in Low-Income Countries be Designed?
Youth in many low-income countries are entering the labor force in unprecedented numbers, yet many struggle to secure rewarding livelihoods. This paper outlines the economic development challenges that constrain youth's transition into employm...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/837861530219586540/The-evidence-is-in-how-should-youth-employment-programs-in-low-income-countries-be-designed http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29973 |
| Summary: | Youth in many low-income countries are
entering the labor force in unprecedented numbers, yet many
struggle to secure rewarding livelihoods. This paper
outlines the economic development challenges that constrain
youth's transition into employment, and it parses the
evidence on which programs and policies appear to speed that
transition. It concludes that it may be time for a
fundamental reassessment of approaches for addressing youth
employment and the youth transition in low-income countries.
Employment opportunities in low-income countries reflect the
pace of economic and structural transformation. In designing
strategies, policies, and programs to meet the
entry-into-employment challenge for youth, the starting
point is to diagnose the economy and current/future
employment opportunities. Combined with the analysis of
youth employment problems from a structural transformation
perspective, evidence from rigorous evaluations of youth
employment interventions provides new insight into which
kinds of interventions are more likely to help youth succeed
in certain contexts. The evidence reviewed here casts
serious doubt on the efficacy and value of training
interventions to help youth enter formal wage employment.
The case is stronger for interventions that speed the
transition to self-employment in farming or non-farm
household enterprises. Support for development of
transferable character skills and social integration among
youth through positive youth development programs should be
tested further for employment and earnings impacts, perhaps
along with cash transfers to youth or access to finance. In
reviewing the evidence on the cost-effectiveness and
sustainability of youth employment impacts, the paper also
notes the need for better measures of displacement and
general equilibrium effects. |
|---|