The vast majority of international migrants from developing countries are of working age. And yet, their integration in the formal local labor market of their host countries continues to be a challenge. This paper reviews the scope of mentoring programs as a more systematic policy instrument to facilitate the integration of migrants into the labor market. It synthesizes the multidisciplinary academic research on mentoring. The review highlights the diversity of outcomes indicators and the relevance of context in the choice of mentoring program design. Determinants of success include the personal characteristics of the mentee and of the mentor and the efforts to match them but also the efforts made to account for the human, institutional, financial, and political context in the overall design of programs. Despite the significant progress achieved in understanding the determinants of mentoring effectiveness, the survey shows that there are still many sources of uncertainty on the optimal design of mentoring programs. This justifies a research agenda in a field with growing and significant political and social prominence of direct relevance to both developed and developing countries.
{"title":"Mentoring Migrants for Labor Market Integration: Policy Insights from a Survey of Mentoring Theory and Practice","authors":"Lisa Bagnoli, Antonio Estache","doi":"10.1093/WBRO/LKAB005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WBRO/LKAB005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The vast majority of international migrants from developing countries are of working age. And yet, their integration in the formal local labor market of their host countries continues to be a challenge. This paper reviews the scope of mentoring programs as a more systematic policy instrument to facilitate the integration of migrants into the labor market. It synthesizes the multidisciplinary academic research on mentoring. The review highlights the diversity of outcomes indicators and the relevance of context in the choice of mentoring program design. Determinants of success include the personal characteristics of the mentee and of the mentor and the efforts to match them but also the efforts made to account for the human, institutional, financial, and political context in the overall design of programs. Despite the significant progress achieved in understanding the determinants of mentoring effectiveness, the survey shows that there are still many sources of uncertainty on the optimal design of mentoring programs. This justifies a research agenda in a field with growing and significant political and social prominence of direct relevance to both developed and developing countries.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44516637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
X. Cirera, Marcio Cruz, Elwyn Davies, A. Grover, L. Iacovone, José Ernesto López Córdova, D. Medvedev, Franklin Maduko, Gaurav Nayyar, Santiago Reyes Ortega, Jesica Torres
Abstract Relying on a novel dataset covering more than 120,000 firms in 60 countries, this paper contributes to the debate about policies to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. While governments around the world have implemented a wide range of policy support measures, evidence on the reach of these policies, the alignment of measures with firm needs, and their targeting and effectiveness remains scarce. This paper provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of these issues, focusing primarily on developing economies. It shows that policy reach has been limited, especially for more vulnerable firms and countries, and identifies mismatches between policies provided and policies most sought. It also provides some indicative evidence regarding mistargeting of policies and their effectiveness in addressing liquidity constraints and preventing layoffs. This assessment provides some early guidance to policymakers on tailoring their COVID-19 business support packages and points to new directions in data and research efforts needed to guide policy responses to the current pandemic and future crises.
{"title":"Policies to Support Businesses through the COVID-19 Shock: A Firm Level Perspective","authors":"X. Cirera, Marcio Cruz, Elwyn Davies, A. Grover, L. Iacovone, José Ernesto López Córdova, D. Medvedev, Franklin Maduko, Gaurav Nayyar, Santiago Reyes Ortega, Jesica Torres","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkab001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Relying on a novel dataset covering more than 120,000 firms in 60 countries, this paper contributes to the debate about policies to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. While governments around the world have implemented a wide range of policy support measures, evidence on the reach of these policies, the alignment of measures with firm needs, and their targeting and effectiveness remains scarce. This paper provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of these issues, focusing primarily on developing economies. It shows that policy reach has been limited, especially for more vulnerable firms and countries, and identifies mismatches between policies provided and policies most sought. It also provides some indicative evidence regarding mistargeting of policies and their effectiveness in addressing liquidity constraints and preventing layoffs. This assessment provides some early guidance to policymakers on tailoring their COVID-19 business support packages and points to new directions in data and research efforts needed to guide policy responses to the current pandemic and future crises.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2021-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44235180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"OUP accepted manuscript","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkab010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61100772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"OUP accepted manuscript","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkab003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61100755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Building a capable public service is a key component of post-conflict state building. An effective public service is fundamental to the regulation of society, to managing public funds, and to service delivery. Yet in post-conflict environments, there is typically a tradeoff between the long-term objective of state building and securing the peace in the short term. To buy peace, political elites hand out public jobs and resources to constituents regardless of merit. Donors frequently rely on “parallel” project delivery structures rather than public servants to address citizens’ pressing service delivery needs. Both of these practices may achieve short-term objectives but undermine state building. In the face of these trade-offs, how can capable public services be built in post-conflict societies? This paper aims to summarize the evidence base regarding this question. It does so by reviewing the evidence from post-conflict settings, and by discussing the validity of findings on public service reform from non-conflict settings. Given the distinctive tradeoffs invoked by securing the peace, and limited prior research on post-conflict settings, this topic presents a wide-open research agenda.
{"title":"Public Service Reform in Post-Conflict Societies","authors":"J. Blum, D. Rogger","doi":"10.1093/WBRO/LKAA007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WBRO/LKAA007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Building a capable public service is a key component of post-conflict state building. An effective public service is fundamental to the regulation of society, to managing public funds, and to service delivery. Yet in post-conflict environments, there is typically a tradeoff between the long-term objective of state building and securing the peace in the short term. To buy peace, political elites hand out public jobs and resources to constituents regardless of merit. Donors frequently rely on “parallel” project delivery structures rather than public servants to address citizens’ pressing service delivery needs. Both of these practices may achieve short-term objectives but undermine state building. In the face of these trade-offs, how can capable public services be built in post-conflict societies? This paper aims to summarize the evidence base regarding this question. It does so by reviewing the evidence from post-conflict settings, and by discussing the validity of findings on public service reform from non-conflict settings. Given the distinctive tradeoffs invoked by securing the peace, and limited prior research on post-conflict settings, this topic presents a wide-open research agenda.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/WBRO/LKAA007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44608320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper reviews the literature on financial stability and financial inclusion—two broad objectives of financial policy that may be mutually dependent. The review suggests the possible co-dependence of stability and inclusion. We build on this theoretical motivation by exploring stylized facts (correlations) obtained from data sets that have been widely used in the literature on financial inclusion and stability. The empirical correlations suggest that, on average, financial inclusion and stability correlate negatively, but the correlations vary systematically across individuals, firms, and country contexts. Depending on the financial instrument and stability measure, positive correlations are also likely. These associations reflect some findings in the existing literature, but also point to knowledge gaps that can be addressed by future research.
{"title":"Financial Inclusion and Stability: Review of Theoretical and Empirical Links","authors":"M. Čihák, D. Mare, M. Melecký","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkaa006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkaa006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper reviews the literature on financial stability and financial inclusion—two broad objectives of financial policy that may be mutually dependent. The review suggests the possible co-dependence of stability and inclusion. We build on this theoretical motivation by exploring stylized facts (correlations) obtained from data sets that have been widely used in the literature on financial inclusion and stability. The empirical correlations suggest that, on average, financial inclusion and stability correlate negatively, but the correlations vary systematically across individuals, firms, and country contexts. Depending on the financial instrument and stability measure, positive correlations are also likely. These associations reflect some findings in the existing literature, but also point to knowledge gaps that can be addressed by future research.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/wbro/lkaa006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45197659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tilman Brück, Neil T. N. Ferguson, Valeria Izzi, Wolfgang Stojetz
In the last decade, well over $10 billion has been spent on employment programs designed to contribute to peace and stability. Despite the outlay, whether these programs perform, and how they do so, remain open questions. This study conducts three reviews to derive the status quo of knowledge. First, it draws on academic literature on the microfoundations of instability to distill testable theories of how employment programs could affect stability at the micro level. Second, it analyses academic and grey literature that directly evaluates the impacts of employment programs on peace-related outcomes. Third, it conducts a systematic review of program-based learning from over 400 interventions. This study finds good theoretical reasons to believe that employment programs could contribute to peace. However, only very limited evidence exists on overall impacts on peace or on the pathways underlying the theories of change. At the program level, the review finds strong evidence that contributions to peace and stability are often simply assumed to have occurred. This provides a major challenge for the justification of continued spending on jobs for peace programs. Instead, systematic and rigorous learning on the impacts of jobs for peace programs needs to be scaled up urgently.
{"title":"Can Jobs Programs Build Peace?","authors":"Tilman Brück, Neil T. N. Ferguson, Valeria Izzi, Wolfgang Stojetz","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkaa004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkaa004","url":null,"abstract":"In the last decade, well over $10 billion has been spent on employment programs designed to contribute to peace and stability. Despite the outlay, whether these programs perform, and how they do so, remain open questions. This study conducts three reviews to derive the status quo of knowledge. First, it draws on academic literature on the microfoundations of instability to distill testable theories of how employment programs could affect stability at the micro level. Second, it analyses academic and grey literature that directly evaluates the impacts of employment programs on peace-related outcomes. Third, it conducts a systematic review of program-based learning from over 400 interventions. This study finds good theoretical reasons to believe that employment programs could contribute to peace. However, only very limited evidence exists on overall impacts on peace or on the pathways underlying the theories of change. At the program level, the review finds strong evidence that contributions to peace and stability are often simply assumed to have occurred. This provides a major challenge for the justification of continued spending on jobs for peace programs. Instead, systematic and rigorous learning on the impacts of jobs for peace programs needs to be scaled up urgently.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/wbro/lkaa004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41480543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Corruption is widely believed to be a self-reinforcing phenomenon, in the sense that the incentive to engage in corrupt acts increases as corruption becomes more widespread. Some argue that corrupt...
{"title":"Corruption as a Self-Reinforcing Trap: Implications for Reform Strategy","authors":"M. Stephenson","doi":"10.1093/WBRO/LKAA003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WBRO/LKAA003","url":null,"abstract":"Corruption is widely believed to be a self-reinforcing phenomenon, in the sense that the incentive to engage in corrupt acts increases as corruption becomes more widespread. Some argue that corrupt...","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":"14 1","pages":"192-226"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73272008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Garrote Sanchez, Nicolás Gómez Parra, C. Ozden, Bob Rijkers, Mariana Viollaz, H. Winkler
Abstract This paper reviews the emerging literature on which jobs can be performed from home and presents new estimates of the prevalence of such jobs based on the task content of occupations, their technology requirements and the availability of internet access by country and income groupings. Globally, one of every five jobs can be performed from home. In low-income countries, this ratio drops to one of every 26 jobs. Failing to account for internet access yields upward biased estimates of the resilience of poor countries, lagging regions, and poor workers. Since better paid workers are more likely to be able to work from home, COVID-19 is likely to exacerbate inequality, especially in richer countries where better paid and educated workers are insulated from the shock. The overall labor market burden of COVID-19 is bound to be larger in poor countries, where only a small share of workers can work from home and social protection systems are weaker. Across the globe, young, poorly educated workers and those on temporary contracts are least likely to be able to work from home and more vulnerable to the labor market shocks from COVID-19.
{"title":"Who on Earth Can Work from Home?","authors":"Daniel Garrote Sanchez, Nicolás Gómez Parra, C. Ozden, Bob Rijkers, Mariana Viollaz, H. Winkler","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkab002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper reviews the emerging literature on which jobs can be performed from home and presents new estimates of the prevalence of such jobs based on the task content of occupations, their technology requirements and the availability of internet access by country and income groupings. Globally, one of every five jobs can be performed from home. In low-income countries, this ratio drops to one of every 26 jobs. Failing to account for internet access yields upward biased estimates of the resilience of poor countries, lagging regions, and poor workers. Since better paid workers are more likely to be able to work from home, COVID-19 is likely to exacerbate inequality, especially in richer countries where better paid and educated workers are insulated from the shock. The overall labor market burden of COVID-19 is bound to be larger in poor countries, where only a small share of workers can work from home and social protection systems are weaker. Across the globe, young, poorly educated workers and those on temporary contracts are least likely to be able to work from home and more vulnerable to the labor market shocks from COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49452948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sound economic and social policies are important if countries wish to prosper and achieve sustainable development. It is far from guaranteed, however, that policymakers select and implement good policies, which provides a rationale for external policy support. Indeed, many organizations are engaged in supporting policy reform processes in recipient countries. This study investigates the limits and opportunities of supporting policy reform by focusing on four dimensions of support: conditional financing, policy dialogue, technical evidence and political institutions. Four findings follow from a review of the literature. First, without commitment on the recipient side, conditional financing is unlikely to induce policy reform. Second, when external actors acquire a seat at the policy dialogue table, it is important to detect (and influence) the beliefs policymakers hold. Third, outside parties should bring sound evidence to the table about the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of their policy proposals. Finally, supporting changes in political institutions without considering general equilibrium effects can be counterproductive. The study concludes with a discussion and some avenues for future research in this field.
{"title":"Supporting Policy Reform from the Outside","authors":"Lodewijk Smets","doi":"10.1093/wbro/lkz006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkz006","url":null,"abstract":"Sound economic and social policies are important if countries wish to prosper and achieve sustainable development. It is far from guaranteed, however, that policymakers select and implement good policies, which provides a rationale for external policy support. Indeed, many organizations are engaged in supporting policy reform processes in recipient countries. This study investigates the limits and opportunities of supporting policy reform by focusing on four dimensions of support: conditional financing, policy dialogue, technical evidence and political institutions. Four findings follow from a review of the literature. First, without commitment on the recipient side, conditional financing is unlikely to induce policy reform. Second, when external actors acquire a seat at the policy dialogue table, it is important to detect (and influence) the beliefs policymakers hold. Third, outside parties should bring sound evidence to the table about the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of their policy proposals. Finally, supporting changes in political institutions without considering general equilibrium effects can be counterproductive. The study concludes with a discussion and some avenues for future research in this field.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2020-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/wbro/lkz006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47578705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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