73906
                              IEG Evaluation on World Bank and IFC Support for
                                        Youth Employment Programs

                              Report to the Board of Executive Directors from the

                                    Committee on Development Effectiveness ∗

                                             Meeting of July 11, 2012


       The Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) met to discuss the IEG Evaluation on World
Bank and IFC Support for Youth Employment Programs (CODE2012-0030).
        The Committee welcomed the IEG evaluation and broadly supported IEG’s major
recommendations for the WBG’s work in youth and employment programs in client countries. The
Committee agreed that although the evaluation was only able to look at a small portfolio of work—with a
focus on the investment climate, labor market, and education—it was valuable in highlighting the
urgency of youth employment issues. Members appreciated that Bank and IFC Management welcomed
the evaluation and its findings and that they agreed with the broad conclusions of the review. Members also
viewed the discussion as a good primer for the forthcoming meeting on the 2013 World Development
Report (WDR) on Jobs.
         Members underscored the need for the WBG to improve its analytical capacity on youth
employment, develop diagnostic tools and strengthen evidence-based approaches. Members also agreed
that the Bank and IFC should be more strategic in comprehensively addressing youth employment issues.
A number of members urged management to undertake a more systematic approach to data collection,
including data disaggregated by age and by gender, i.e. youths versus the broader working population.
         Several members observed that despite the depth of youth employment problems, over the past
decade there had been little country demand for operations. It was noted that while it was not a priority issue
for clients in the past, given competing development demands, events in the Middle East have since brought
the issue to the forefront. Accordingly, it will be important for the Bank to modify its approach to client
engagement to ensure that youth unemployment receives more attention and is mainstreamed appropriately in
Country Assistance and Poverty Reduction Strategies. It was further noted, however, that the magnitude of
the problem is so large—including with respect to statistical capacities in client countries—that the Bank
Group will not be able to address it singlehandedly. The quest to find appropriate solutions and remedies
is thus a challenge not just for the WBG but for the entire global community. In this sense, a number of
members emphasized that the WBG could play a catalytic role, spur collective action and coordinate
partnerships on a global level—vis-à-vis donors, trust funds, multilateral organizations, and in particular
national governments (over and above existing alliances with the UN and ILO). This is especially relevant
since youth employment issues are so complex, varying greatly from region to region, country to country
and across sectors.
         A few members commented on the broader challenges with respect to the WBG’s work on “the
frontiers of development,� noting gender as an example in addition to youth employment, and the challenges
in developing targeted approaches given the complexity of cross-cutting issues. A few members wondered
how the WBG’s risk tolerance level is tied into these issues. It was noted, again, that these would be key
items for the discussion of the WDR 2013.




∗
    This report is not an approved record.