World Development Report 2013 : Jobs

Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, a...

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Main Author: World Bank
Format: Publication
Language:English
Published: Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11843
id okr-10986-11843
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-118432021-04-23T14:02:57Z World Development Report 2013 : Jobs World Bank Jobs Wages Living standards Material well-being Well-being Productivity Social cohesion Jobs agenda Youth unemployment Aging societies Migration Labor regulations Labor policies Collective representation Labor market Social insurance Labor reallocation Youth bulges Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of economic growth. They are transformational—they are what we earn, what we do, and even who we are. High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest at best, unemployment rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of the poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the violation of basic rights is not uncommon. Therefore, the number of jobs is not all that matters: jobs with high development payoffs are needed. Confronted with these challenges, policy makers ask difficult questions. Should countries build their development strategies around growth, or should they focus on jobs? Can entrepreneurship be fostered, especially among the many microenterprises in developing countries, or are entrepreneurs born? Are greater investments in education and training a prerequisite for employability, or can skills be built through jobs? In times of major crises and structural shifts, should jobs, not just workers, be protected? And is there a risk that policies supporting job creation in one country will come at the expense of jobs in other countries? The World Development Report 2013: Jobs offers answers to these and other difficult questions by looking at jobs as drivers of development—not as derived labor demand—and by considering all types of jobs—not just formal wage employment. The Report provides a framework that cuts across sectors and shows that the best policy responses vary across countries, depending on their levels of development, endowments, demography, and institutions. Policy fundamentals matter in all cases, as they enable a vibrant private sector, the source of most jobs in the world. Labor policies can help as well, even if they are less critical than is often assumed. Development policies, from making smallholder farming viable to fostering functional cities to engaging in global markets, hold the key to success. 2012-10-03T14:56:13Z 2012-10-03T14:56:13Z 2012-10 978-0-8213-9575-2 0163-5085 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11843 en CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Publication Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic Jobs
Wages
Living standards
Material well-being
Well-being
Productivity
Social cohesion
Jobs agenda
Youth unemployment
Aging societies
Migration
Labor regulations
Labor policies
Collective representation
Labor market
Social insurance
Labor reallocation
Youth bulges
spellingShingle Jobs
Wages
Living standards
Material well-being
Well-being
Productivity
Social cohesion
Jobs agenda
Youth unemployment
Aging societies
Migration
Labor regulations
Labor policies
Collective representation
Labor market
Social insurance
Labor reallocation
Youth bulges
World Bank
World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
description Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of economic growth. They are transformational—they are what we earn, what we do, and even who we are. High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest at best, unemployment rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of the poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the violation of basic rights is not uncommon. Therefore, the number of jobs is not all that matters: jobs with high development payoffs are needed. Confronted with these challenges, policy makers ask difficult questions. Should countries build their development strategies around growth, or should they focus on jobs? Can entrepreneurship be fostered, especially among the many microenterprises in developing countries, or are entrepreneurs born? Are greater investments in education and training a prerequisite for employability, or can skills be built through jobs? In times of major crises and structural shifts, should jobs, not just workers, be protected? And is there a risk that policies supporting job creation in one country will come at the expense of jobs in other countries? The World Development Report 2013: Jobs offers answers to these and other difficult questions by looking at jobs as drivers of development—not as derived labor demand—and by considering all types of jobs—not just formal wage employment. The Report provides a framework that cuts across sectors and shows that the best policy responses vary across countries, depending on their levels of development, endowments, demography, and institutions. Policy fundamentals matter in all cases, as they enable a vibrant private sector, the source of most jobs in the world. Labor policies can help as well, even if they are less critical than is often assumed. Development policies, from making smallholder farming viable to fostering functional cities to engaging in global markets, hold the key to success.
format Publications & Research :: Publication
author World Bank
author_facet World Bank
author_sort World Bank
title World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
title_short World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
title_full World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
title_fullStr World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
title_full_unstemmed World Development Report 2013 : Jobs
title_sort world development report 2013 : jobs
publisher Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11843
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