Apply an evidence-based approach to youth employment programs.
- Improve knowledge about youth employment by supporting government collection of labor market outcome data for youth in relevant surveys.
- Monitor the employment situation by age groups by providing statistics for inclusion in country strategies and Country Economic Memorandums.
- Ensure that World Bank and IFC youth employment interventions are informed by relevant analytical work or due diligence on their strategic relevance that also addresses likely costs of possible interventions.
- Monitor or evaluate age-specific employment and earning outcomes in Bank operations, IFC investments, and Bank analytic and advisory activities and IFC Advisory Services designed to address youth employment issues. This would include measures on gender and socioeconomic groups.
The paucity of data limits the ability to assess the impact of Bank Group support to youth employment.
- Although most Bank projects support information on the labor market, little is known about how data is being used. Few projects or analytic products include tracer studies to track the subsequent employment history of youth.
- IFC does not disaggregate employment data by age groups, and the majority of Bank projects with youth employment interventions provide no information on youth as a beneficiary group. If reported, outcome indicators are generally not disaggregated by age.
- Diagnostic work on youth employment is insufficient. It does not identify how the recommended interventions should be formulated or discuss related cost and fiscal impacts.
- Few Bank and IFC operations do identify whether youth employment interventions reached low-income youth or women. Only one (Uganda) impact evaluation conducted quantile analysis.
WB: Agree. WB management recognizes the importance of monitoring the situation of young people and the impact of programs on young people separately from the situation of the broader working-age population. However, the need to monitor outcomes separately by age group will be a function of the circumstances and demands of each country. Few countries have data with sufficient detail to permit disaggregation by age groups, or sufficient frequency to look at short-run changes in labor market outcomes.
Where labor market data are being collected, WB management will explore ways to strengthen the collaboration with clients and encourage the collection and dissemination of age-disaggregated statistics, or the use of the ILO KILM. In these countries, WB management plans to monitor age-disaggregated statistics on labor market performance and use them to inform country strategies and CEMs as appropriate. Additionally, Management will work with DECDG to ensure that to the extent possible youth employment data are made available for public download on the Development Data Platform. This database already includes both the employment-to-population ratio and the unemployment rate for 15-24-year-olds. Management will also advocate for the publication of age-disaggregated statistics on employment and activity in countries where these kinds of data are collected and available.
Finally, WB management is committed to ensure that youth employment interventions are informed by relevant analytical work, and that teams developing these operations receive guidance as needed to ensure that youth employment outcomes are included in the results framework and properly measured.
Publication of I2D2 standardized age disaggregated survey datasets in the internal Microdata Library
Indicator: Number of age-disaggregated employment datasets available in Microdata Library.
Baseline: 0 standardized surveys datasets in Microdata Library
Target: 600 standardized surveys datasets in Microdata Library
Timeline: 400 datasets by the end of FY13, 600 datasets by end FY14
WB Action 1.A.(b) Expansion of the internal Microdata Library by adding household surveys with labor-related data
Indicator: Number of household surveys with age-disaggregated labor data added in Microdata Library
Baseline: none
Target: 300 household surveys added in Microdata Library
Timeline: 100 by the end FY13, 300 by end of FY14
WB Action 1.A.(c) Collaboration with ILO and other statistical agencies participating in the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) on disseminating age-disaggregated data
Indicator: number of countries engaged in the ADP
Baseline: none
Target: [to be determined by end of FY13]
Timeline: [to be determined by end of FY13]
WB Action 1.B.(a): Prepare good practice note for analysis and diagnosis of employment constraints faced by youth.
Indicator: Good practice note prepared and delivered to HD Council, to be disseminated to teams working on Youth Employment issues.
Baseline: No good practice note exists
Target: Practice note prepared and delivered.
Timeline: End FY 2014.
In relation to action 1Aa and 1Ab, considerable progress has been made in expanding the number of household surveys with age-disaggregated labor data. As of FY16, there are more than 1700 household surveys with labor force module from over 150 countries, which is higher than the planned target (600 by FY14). These household surveys are part of the International Income Distribution Database which was initiated with the Equity WDR (2006) and updated and utilized with the Gender WDR (2012) and Jobs WDR (2013). The ownership has been officially transferred from DEC to GPVDR. In past years there was a problem with lack of financial support to clean the database and so it was used only internally and not available to the public (thus falling short on the other action related to publication). This barrier was expected to be resolved with the transfer to GPVDR and partial funding from GCJDR to further develop the dataset. However, Managementâs recent update shows the database has been used internally on a request basis by staff and consultants external researchers are only able to download aggregate data through ASPIRE website. The funding was not provided as expected in the last fiscal year to support the continued development of the dataset. Management notes that funding from GCJDR is expected in the upcoming fiscal year (FY17) to expand new variables and merge with the Global micro database.
The Bank has continued its collaboration with the ILO in relation to the International Household Survey Network which has the purpose of improving availability, quality and accessibility of survey data and promoting data collection methods. This collaboration is an umbrella activity under which the Accelerated Data Program on age-disaggregated data is part. In its response, Management noted that 88 countries were engaged in the Accelerated Data Program until FY16. No details were provided in its response describing type or level of engagement with these countries.
Management did not provide information about the planned âGood Practice Noteâ as a means of ensuring youth employment interventions are informed by relevant analytical work or due diligence. This note was expected to be prepared and delivered to teams by FY14. However, it is not clear if any of the subsequent reports, tools, or reviews that have been prepared (see Recommendation 95) would substitute for this ânoteâ.
The Bank reported that its collaboration with the ILO with the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) supported government statistical agencies in the collection of labor market outcome data for youth in relevant surveys. It reported supporting 88 countries (63 Countries participated in ADP activities at the end of FY13 and 73 in FY14). Targets were not established in the original action plan, nor developed subsequently by the Bank, which makes attainment difficult to assess.
The Bank had proposed developing a "Good Practice Note" as a means of ensuring youth employment interventions are informed by relevant analytical work or due diligence. While a Note was reported, it was not shared with IEG (despite request from IEG) and so IEG is not able to determine whether the content satisfies the intent of the action plan. The Bank reported that a "Good Practice Note" was developed by a coalition group-Solutions for Youth Employment and that this report addresses gaps and still needs to be made into a tool for teams to be able translate the promising practices into operational knowledge. No information was provided to demonstrate that the Note was delivered to the HD Council nor disseminated broadly to Bank staff. The reply did not explain why the action was delayed, as it was expected to be delivered and disseminated by end of FY14.
The Bank's International Income Distribution Database (I2D2), which contains over 1,000 micro surveys from over 150 countries, which exceeds the target of 600 datasets by FY14. It is housed in GPVDR and was made available to Bank staff in July 2015. Further work is planned on the database in FY16. Through ASPIRE data can be downloaded by the public.
The Bank through its collaboration with the ILO has made available to the Bank's Microdata Library 1570 new household surveys with age-disaggregated data (e.g. survey containing a full labor module and all age disaggregated data of labor), which exceeds the target of 300 surveys by FY14.
WB Action 1.A.(a) Publication of I2D2 standardized age disaggregated survey datasets in the internal Microdata Library
Indicator: Number of age-disaggregated employment datasets available in Microdata Library.
Response FY15:
The Bank's International Income Distribution Database (I2D2) contains roughly fifty variable, including age and several labor market indicators, for over 1,000 nationally representative household surveys from over 150 countries. It was initiated by the World Development Report on equity (2006) and subsequently developed over multiple WDR's, culminating in the World Development Reports on Gender (2012) and Jobs (2013). It subsequently was maintained by DEC in FY14 before being transferred to GPVDR in FY15. In FY16 and FY17, partial funding to support the continued development of the dataset will be provided by GCJDR, and it will serve as the raw data for job diagnostics including on youth employment.
In July, 2015, a preliminary version of the I2D2 was made available to any Bank staff or consultant on request to the team that maintains it. Since then over 100 Bank staff and consultants have requested access to download the data. A new release is planned after additional revisions have been made to the data. I2D2 aggregate data can also be downloaded through the ASPIRE website. In FY16, the I2D2 team intend to undertake several activities, including releasing a revised version of the data, harmonizing additional surveys for Bank staff and consultants upon request, improving the documentation of the database, and adding selected variables when feasible.
Response provided by David Locke Newhouse (GPVDR)
WB Action 1.A.(b) Expansion of the internal Microdata Library by adding household surveys with labor-related data
Indicator: Number of household surveys with age-disaggregated labor data added in Microdata Library
Response FY15:
Total Household Surveys in the Internal Microdata Library with a Labor Force Module as of end FY15: 1570
Response provided by Matthew John Welch (DECDG)
WB Action 1.A.(c) Collaboration with ILO and other statistical agencies participating in the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) on disseminating age-disaggregated data
Indicator: Number of countries engaged in the ADP
The World Bank and the International Labour Organization are collaborating on several statistical activities implemented under the umbrella of the International Household Survey Network (IHSN, a network of international organizations coordinated by the World bank development data Group). These activities aim at:
- improving the availability, quality and accessibility of survey data
- promoting the adoption of standard data collection methods and best practices
Response FY15:
Indicator: Number of countries engaged in ADP up until FY15: 88
Notes on specific ILO collaboration: The World Bank provided the online catalog software application and assisted in the installation thereof at the ILO during this period. http://www.ilo.org/surveydata/index.php/home .
FY16 Planned Collaboration with the ILO :
In July 2015 a consultant was contracted jointly by ILO (part-time) and the World Bank (part-time, as a short-term consultant) to contribute to the implementation of the following activities:
- Development and maintenance of a microdata catalog for labor force surveys, at ILO. This catalog will make use of open source software provided by the World Bank, and will be coordinated with the World Bank's Microdata Library (http://microdatalib.worldbank.org) and with the IHSN Central Survey Catalog (http://catalog.ihsn.org). This activity will be implemented in the Microdata and Knowledge Management Unit of the ILO Department of Statistics (STATISTICS). The Department is responsible for compiling and making available in a timely manner ILO statistics related to the four components of decent work and oversees the quality control.
Input provided by Matthew John Welch (DECDG) with additional input provided by Olivier Dupriez, (DECDG).
IEG conducted four interviews to clarify the information reported by Bank Management. As well, IEG reviewed four additional document supplied by the Bank after its MAR submission. This information shows that some aspects of IEGâs recommendations are (or will be) addressed, while other aspects have been ignored by the Bank. The status of each activity in relation to the recommendations noted in IEGâs YE are described.
The Bank reported that its collaboration with the ILO with the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) supported government statistical agencies in the collection of labor market outcome data for youth in relevant surveys. ADP supports statistical agenciesâ knowledge about census and surveys, rather than focus on age-disaggregated labor market data. The Bank and ILOâs collaboration for ADP relates to an unspecified number of Latin American countries.
The Bank through its collaboration with the ILO has made available to the Bankâs Microdata Library 668 new household surveys with age-disaggregated data (e.g. criteria was survey containing a full labor module and all age disaggregated data of labor). At this yearâs annual meetings, high-level meetings were held between the Bank and ILO, which is expected to result in several hundred additional surveys to the Microdata Library in the subsequent year.
The Bankâs International Income Distribution Database (I2D2), which contains over 1,000 micro surveys from over 150 countries was initiated by recent World Development Reports (Jobs and Equity). It was housed in DECDG, and available to any staff member requesting data. However, the database has not been available to the public, as Bank Management had proposed nor within its specified timeline. The main obstacle has been the lack of institutional and financial support by the Bank to clean the database. As country teams have utilized data, surveys have been cleaned. Interviews noted that as the database has been now moved to GPVDR who will be supporting it, the database is expected to be available to the public in 2015.
The Bank had proposed a "Good Practice Note" as a means of ensuring youth employment interventions are informed by relevant analytical work or due diligence. The Bankâs MAR response did not provide an update on the Good Practice Note however, an interview stated that a partner organization completed the Note, but was not distributed inside the Bank. The Bank shared a technical paper prepared by a partner organization, which would not constitute a Good Practice Note, and hence the activity has not been completed. However, to satisfy the second recommendation, the Bank has developed the Jobs Diagnostic Tool with specific module for youth. The tool may help improve Bank diagnostics during policy dialogue, design of operation, and development of Country Strategies. As this is a recent activity, there is no data on use of the tool, but it was reported that the Jobs CCSA has prioritized using the tool with approximately 20 country teams during FY15.
Bank management originally noted its commitment to ensure youth employment outcomes are included in results frameworks and properly measured. However, the Bank has not established activities to ensure better monitoring and evaluation in operations with the collection of age-specific employment and earning outcome data disaggregated by gender and socio-economic groups.
The Bank has not proposed activities to address the dearth of information on the cost of youth employment interventions.
WB Action 1.A.(a) Publication of I2D2 standardized age disaggregated survey datasets in the internal Microdata Library
Indicator: Number of age-disaggregated employment datasets available in Microdata Library.
Baseline: 0 standardized surveys datasets in Microdata Library
Target: 600 standardized surveys datasets in Microdata Library
Timeline: 400 datasets by the end of FY13, 600 datasets by end FY14
As of end FY14 655 I2D2 surveys have been documented by DECDG. The I2D2 Team (based in DECRG) did not give us the go ahead to publish the data though as they wanted to undertake a data revision. They are therefore not published. We have been in contact with the I2D2 Team and they have indicated that they are still committed to publishing these data in the Microdata Library. New data will come to DECDG soon.
WB Action 1.A.(b) Expansion of the internal Microdata Library by adding household surveys with labor-related data
Indicator: Number of household surveys with age-disaggregated labor data added in Microdata Library
Baseline: none
Target: 300 household surveys added in Microdata Library
Timeline: 100 by the end FY13, 300 by end of FY14
Achieved: total in internal Microdata Library catalog at end FY13 ( 251), total in internal Microdata Library catalog at end FY14 (668)
WB Action 1.A.(c) Collaboration with ILO and other statistical agencies participating in the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) on disseminating age-disaggregated data
Indicator: number of countries engaged in the ADP
Baseline: none
Target: [to be determined by end of FY13]
Timeline: [to be determined by end of FY13]
There were 63 Countries participating in ADP activities at the end of FY13 and 73 by the end of FY14. The support though to all these countries is not focused on only labor age-disaggregated data but on all survey data. The numbers above are therefore for support to countries (statistical agencies) for all surveys and not just labor. The specific collaboration with ILO within the ADP program has been limited to Latin America in FY14 but is ongoing and does not translate into a number yet.
The ILO regional partner Sistema de Información y Análisis Laboral de América Latina y el Caribe (SIALC) held a regional Microdata Management Toolkit Workshop in Panamá on 3 â 7 February 2014. The workshop was held in SIALC facilities with 6 participants, 2 from the ILOâ Statistics Department at Geneva and 4 from the ILOâSIALC office at Panama City.
The five day-training course was divided into two parts. The first part of the workshop provided an introduction to the ADP tasks and its implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The second part of the course was dedicated to a hands-on practice in which participants imported survey metadata (DDI) using the NESSTAR Metadata Editor. Projects focused on labor statistics (surveys) produced by National Statistics Offices (NSO) & Labour Ministries in LAC. For the statistical operations not documented by the NSO, the SIALC will document only the mandatory fields of the DDI and publish internally in ILOâs NADA Catalog. At a later stage, this reduced documentation will be shared with the NSO to promote the completion of documentation and dissemination activities using the DDI standard.