There is a strong concern that technology is increasingly replacing routine tasks, displacing lower-skilled workers. Labor market institutions exist to protect workers from shocks but, by increasing labor costs, labor policy may also constrain firms from adjusting the workforce and, hence, from fully benefiting from technology adoption.
... See More + This paper assesses the link between access to digital technologies and the demand for skills in the largest Latin American country, Brazil. Between 1996 and 2006, the country experienced a period of strong growth in Internet service provision, as well as in the enforcement of labor market regulations at the subnational level. The paper's empirical strategy exploits administrative data to assess the extent to which the adoption of digital technology affects employment and the skill content of jobs at the local level. In addition, the paper investigates whether the stringency of labor regulations influences this adjustment, by comparing the effect across industries subject to different degrees of enforcement of labor regulations. Using the fact that industries vary in the degree of reliance on digital technologies, the estimates suggest that digital technology adoption leads to a reduction in employment in local labor markets. The decrease in employment is larger for routine tasks, thereby shifting the composition of the workforce toward nonroutine, cognitive skills. However, and in contrast with labor policy intentions, the evidence points to the idea that labor market regulations differentially benefit the skilled workforce, particularly those workers employed in nonroutine, cognitive tasks.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8187 SEP 08, 2017
Almeida,Rita Kullberg; Corseuil,Carlos H. L.; Poole,Jennifer PamelaDisclosed
The development objective of the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project for Kenya is to improve student learning in secondary education and transition from primary to secondary education, in targeted areas.
... See More + The project comprises of four components. The first component, improving quality of teaching in targeted areas will address the critical supply-side issues that constrain teaching and learning, using a results-based financing (RBF) modality. It consists of following sub-components: (i) reducing teacher shortage; (ii) enhancing teacher professional development; and (iii) provision of textbooks. The second component, improving retention in upper primary school and transition to secondary school in targeted areas will address the critical supply and demand issues that constrain retention at primary and secondary schools and transition from primary to secondary. It consists of following sub-components: (i) improving school infrastructure; and (ii) improving retention in upper primary school and transition to secondary school of poor and vulnerable students. The third component, system reform support will contribute to the Government of Kenya (GoK’s) ongoing efforts to put in place a new curriculum that is more attuned and responsive to the socioeconomic reality of Kenya and its vision 2030. It consists of following sub-components: (i) development and introduction of a competency-based curriculum; and (ii) strengthening of national system for monitoring learning progress and national examination. The fourth component, project management, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation will support and finance effective project management through two sub-components: (a) project management, coordination, and communication; and (b) research and monitoring and evaluation.
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Could a partial subsidy for child education increase children's participation in paid work? In contrast to much of the theoretical and empirical child labor literature, this paper shows that child work and school participation can be complements under certain conditions.
... See More + Using data from the randomized evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines, the analysis finds that some children, who were in neither school nor work before the program, increased participation in school and work-for-pay after the program. Earlier cash transfer programs, notably those in Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador, increased school attendance while reducing child labor. Those programs fully offset schooling costs, while the transfers under the Philippine transfers fall short of the full costs of schooling for a typical child. As a result, some beneficiary children from poor Philippine households increased work to support their schooling. The additional earnings from this work represent a substantive share of the shortfall in the schooling costs net of transfer. The paper rules out several potential alternative explanations for the increase in child labor, including changes in household productive activities, adult labor supply, and household expenditure patterns that, in principle, can arise after a cash transfer and may also affect the supply of or demand for child labor.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8182 SEP 06, 2017
De Hoop,Jacobus Joost; Friedman,Jed; Kandpal,Eeshani; Rosati,Furio CamilloDisclosed
The objective of the model is to address the lack of integration between healthcare and social careservices, which can particularly affect older people.
... See More + Using information gained from Model 1 and 2, as well as analyses of health and social service delivery for the elderly, the proposed Model 3 combines the most important elements of both sectors under one umbrella: the Home Care Center (HCC). The model replies to the needs indicated by the client during discussions and technical analyses but also is reflecting the RAS agreement between The National Health Fund and The World bank. Objectives of introducing integrated care at the community level: 1) improvements in access to healthcare, nursing, rehabilitation and long-term care services for older people following hospitalization- filling the gap in the inclusive way 2) decrease in the risk of re-hospitalization of older patients due to improved medical, nursing, rehabilitation and care activities – improving the quality 3) decrease in costs of medical treatment, efficiency improvements, and- improving efficiency
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The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) is a flagship program designed to support countries in systematically examining and strengthening the performance of their education systems.
... See More + Part of the World Bank’s Education Sector Strategy, SABER uses diagnostic applications for examining education systems and their component policy domains against global standards and best practices in comparison with the policies and practices of countries around the world. By leveraging global knowledge, the SABER applications fill a gap in the availability of data and evidence on what matters most to improve the quality of education and achievement of better results. This report discusses the results of applying the SABER–Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) framework to analyzing the main information system currently used for data collection in Ukrainian pre-university education, the State Information System of Education (DISO). The objectives of this report are to examine the system according to key policy areas, identify successes and challenges in the system, and provide recommendations to support the continued advancement of EMIS in Ukraine. The information used in this analysis was collected by a local consultant during late 2016 and analyzed by World Bank staff in early 2017.
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The development objective of the Basic Education Sector Support Project for Mauritania is to improve quality of pre-service teacher training in primary education and to promote equitable access to lower secondary education.
... See More + A 15-month extension of the current Project closing date is necessary in order to ensure completion of ongoing activities and addition of a limited number of small activities which will support the achievement and sustainability of the PDO. The restructuring also clarifies some of the indicators in the results framework (RF) and adjust some indicators’ annual and end-of-project targets. On the first objective of improving the quality of teaching in primary schools, the additional time would allow the delivery of complementary equipment to the ENIs, provide TA to accompany ENI trainers in the use of student assessment results, assess Mathematics competencies of current teachers (to inform in-service training), and enhance the ENI entrance exam. On the second objective of promoting equitable access to lower secondary education, the additional time would allow the Project to complete the provision and delivery of complementary equipment to the newly built collèges de proximité, address issues of access to water for some schools and the absence of trees in and around schools detected by the safeguards team, and add two new activities to the incentive package to retain adolescent girls (hygiene kits and sport activities). Finally, the additional 15 months is key to complete essential activities to strengthen sector governance and management, a dimension that contributes to both objectives. These activities include the EMIS, which has been delayed, and a Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) survey.
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The context for WBG partnership with the Philippines has evolved since the launch of the CPS in 2014, driven by several key factors. First, the election of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 marked an important political transition.
... See More + Grounded in a strong election mandate, the government is aiming to leverage the solid position of the Philippine economy to scale up public investment for poverty reduction, job creation and economic growth. While inclusive growth and poverty reduction remain at the center of the Philippine development agenda, the government has proposed new approaches for attaining these objectives in the context of a wide-ranging legislative agenda. Second, the Philippines has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with growing access to finance for development. As the Philippine government’s demands for WBG services evolve, there is increasing focus on the need to maximize WBG comparative advantages to help address the most complex development challenges facing the country, including deep poverty in areas that are conflict-affected, remote, and/or highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Third, the new Philippines Development Plan (PDP 2017-2022), launched in June 2017, reflects heightened ambition and aims to lift roughly six million Filipinos from poverty and to achieve upper middle income status by 2022. The PDP 2017-2022 also highlights a prominent priority of the government: delivering a comprehensive agenda for peace and development in conflict-affected areas. Challenges associated with conflict and internal security add urgency to the focus on accelerating gains in peace and development in the Philippines, particularly in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. The CPS aims to promote inclusive growth, poverty reduction and shared prosperity across five Engagement Areas (EAs): (i) transparent and accountable government; (ii) empowerment of the poor and vulnerable; (iii) rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth; (iv) resilience to climate change, environment, and disaster risk management; and (v) peace, institution building, and social and economic opportunity, with focus on conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. Dialogue with the government, partners and stakeholders affirm strong strategic alignment between the CPS and the PDP 2017-2022. WBG engagement for peace and development in Mindanao is also gaining new prominence. Looking ahead, WBG partnership for delivery on the PDP 2017-2022 will require building on the strengths of the WBG program, tackling implementation weaknesses, maximizing synergy across IBRD, IFC and MIGA, and addressing key risks.
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Country Assistance Strategy Document 117771 AUG 31, 2017
Ratings for the Support to Basic Education Project for Congo, Democratic Republic of were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: Enhancing Ministry of Education capacities in a fragile context, while effectively delivering a program, can serve as a bridge towards sustainable development. Social accountability can be successfully used in fragile contexts to promote accountability at local and national levels. Effective preparation and strategic monitoring of civil works in a fragile context is one of the most critical steps for achieving targeted results, both in terms of numbers and quality of classrooms constructed. Priority actions are necessary to build momentum and catalyze broader support for the enactment of policy reforms geared toward a fast transition to strategic goals.Important and far-reaching reforms require significant time and an understanding of the underlining theory of change.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4233 AUG 30, 2017
This paper takes advantage of repeated cross-section household surveys and a sharp discontinuity created by the introduction of an unconditional cash transfer to elders.
... See More + The paper evaluates the impact of these cash transfers on the educational expenditures for children within a household. The analysis finds positive and significant effects of the program at the aggregate level. It also finds that the program has stronger effects in indigenous populations and among female and rural populations. The results are robust with respect to a series of falsification tests, survey structures, model specifications, and estimation methods.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8176 AUG 29, 2017
This study experimentally evaluates the short-term impacts of public per-student subsidies to partnering local entrepreneurs to establish and operate tuition-free, coeducational, private primary schools in educationally underserved villages in Sindh province, Pakistan.
... See More + Two subsidy structures were tested, one in which the subsidy amount did not differ by student gender, and the other in which the subsidy amount was higher for female students. The program administrator introduced the latter structure with the aim of correcting for the gender disparity in school enrollment in the general program setting. The program increased school enrollment by 30 percentage points in treated villages, for boys and girls. It increased test scores by 0.63 standard deviations in treated villages. The gender-differentiated subsidy structure did not have larger impacts on girls' enrollment or test scores than the gender-uniform one. Program schools proved more effective in raising test scores than government schools located near the villages, with program-school students scoring 0.16 standard deviations higher, despite coming from more socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Estimations of the demand for schooling and education production suggest nearly efficient choices on school inputs by the program administrator and partnering entrepreneurs.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8177 AUG 29, 2017
Public works programs can be effective safety nets if they help allocate resources toward poor households. By setting wages lower than market rates public works programs identify poor households reasonably well.
... See More + When these programs are oversubscribed and lack beneficiary selection rules however, discretion by local politicians can influence their distribution and their effectiveness as safety nets. This paper tests this hypothesis using household survey data on a seasonal public works program in Bangladesh. The results show access to local politicians is a significant determinant of participation, and can increase the relative probability of participation by 110 percent. Participation has a positive impact on food and nonfood consumption of poorer participants. The same is not true for less poor participants. The results suggest rather than relying on local politicians, public works aiming to maximize their impact on poverty should rely on an objective and transparent targeting system that ensures participation of larger numbers of poorer households.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8178 AUG 29, 2017
Arsenic contamination in shallow groundwater aquifers remains a major barrier to providing access to safe drinking water in Bangladesh. Chronic exposure to arsenic has been shown to cause serious health impacts, including various cancers, skin lesions, neurological damage, heart disease, and hypertension.
... See More + Numerous epidemiological studies have shown cognitive impacts on memory, linguistic-abstraction, attention, learning, and physical ability. The neurotoxic effects of arsenic could be particularly harmful for children during their critical growth periods and have impacts on early childhood development. This study uses cross-sectional data from the nationally representative 2012-13 Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey to investigate the effects of arsenic contamination in drinking water on early childhood development outcomes in a sample of around 7,500 children ages 3-5 years. Early childhood development is measured in four skills domains: literacy-numeracy, physical, social-emotional, and learning using the Early Childhood Development Index. Arsenic contamination is measured in source drinking water at the cluster-level. After controlling for a range of demographic, social, and economic characteristics of households, the results show that arsenic contamination is significantly and negatively associated with the overall Early Childhood Development Index, on outcomes within the physical, social-emotional, and learning skills domains. Further, there is a clear dose-response relationship, where those children with exposure to higher concentrations of arsenic have worse developmental outcomes.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8172 AUG 24, 2017
This book is comprised of one study and three field evaluations of civic tech initiatives in developing countries. The study reviews evidence on the use of twenty-three information and communication technology (ICT) platforms designed to amplify citizen voices to improve service delivery.
... See More + Focusing on empirical studies of initiatives in the global south, the authors highlight both citizen uptake (yelp) and the degree to which public service providers respond to expressions of citizen voice (teeth). The first evaluation looks at U-report in Uganda, a mobile platform that runs weekly large-scale polls with young Ugandans on a number of issues, ranging from safety to access to education to inflation to early marriage. The following evaluation takes a closer look at MajiVoice, an initiative that allows Kenyan citizens to report, through multiple channels, complaints with regard to water services. The third evaluation examines the case of Rio Grande do Sul’s participatory budgeting - the world’s largest participatory budgeting system - which allows citizens to participate either online or offline in defining the state’s yearly spending priorities. While the comparative study has a clear focus on the dimension of government responsiveness, the evaluations examine civic technology initiatives using five distinct dimensions, or lenses. The choice of these lenses is the result of an effort bringing together researchers and practitioners to develop an evaluation framework suitable to civic technology initiatives.
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The overall objective of Third Rural Sector Support Project is to integrate environmental concerns into the social and economic development process in the country.
... See More + The NEAP therefore outlines a strategy and program for addressing environmental issues and forms the basis for the current environmental policy in Rwanda. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: guidance on the judicious use of chemicals in the cultivation and production of crops as well as farmers training in techniques of agrochemical applications (handling, labelling and application of agro-chemicals under field conditions) will be provided; improved wellbeing of project beneficiaries due to job opportunities creation, increased number of business oriented in the project area; affording regional and international markets by selling our rice production; and In order to reduce the quantities of exhaust fumes, all plant and construction vehicles will be operated according to manufacturer’s recommendations and shall be properly supervised, managed and maintained in good condition and adjusted to limit the emission of black smoke. Designated access routes will be set and complied by the Contractor to confine the areas likely to be affected by air pollution due to construction traffic. There shall be no burning of waste materials on site. To minimize the noise from construction activities, the Contractor shall restrict any of his operations, which result in undue noise disturbance to nearby communities and dwellings (e.g. blasting activities and operation of heavy machinery and construction traffic) between hours of 6:00 and 18:00. Badly maintained construction equipment will not be allowed to operate on the site to ensure quiet operation. Designated access routes will be set and complied by the Contractor to confine the areas likely to be affected by noise pollution due to construction traffic.
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The overall objective of Third Rural Sector Support Project is to integrate environmental concerns into the social and economic development process in the country.
... See More + The NEAP therefore outlines a strategy and program for addressing environmental issues and forms the basis for the current environmental policy in Rwanda. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: guidance on the judicious use of chemicals in the cultivation and production of crops as well as farmers training in techniques of agrochemical applications (handling, labelling and application of agro-chemicals under field conditions) will be provided; improved wellbeing of project beneficiaries due to job opportunities creation, increased number of business oriented in the project area; affording regional and international markets by selling our rice production; and In order to reduce the quantities of exhaust fumes, all plant and construction vehicles will be operated according to manufacturer’s recommendations and shall be properly supervised, managed and maintained in good condition and adjusted to limit the emission of black smoke. Designated access routes will be set and complied by the Contractor to confine the areas likely to be affected by air pollution due to construction traffic. There shall be no burning of waste materials on site. To minimize the noise from construction activities, the Contractor shall restrict any of his operations, which result in undue noise disturbance to nearby communities and dwellings (e.g. blasting activities and operation of heavy machinery and construction traffic) between hours of 6:00 and 18:00. Badly maintained construction equipment will not be allowed to operate on the site to ensure quiet operation. Designated access routes will be set and complied by the Contractor to confine the areas likely to be affected by noise pollution due to construction traffic.
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