Earnings Growth and Employment Creation

The primary aim of this evaluation is to
develop lessons from the Bank’s experience in the three
selected countries of Columbia, Tunisia, and Turkey
regarding assistance aimed at employment creation and
earnings growth. The evaluation focuses on employment
creation and earnings growth because these have a strong
bearing on the extent to which the central objective of
poverty reduction is achieved. The evaluation assesses the
impact of the Bank’s assistance on employment outcomes and
focuses on relevance and effectiveness of Bank engagement on
employment issues. Two findings in connection with outcomes
across the three countries are highlighted. First, progress
in economic growth and earnings was better than progress in
employment and unemployment. Second, although the
availability of statistics on employment and earnings
outcomes has improved, there are still significant
deficiencies. These findings suggest a number of
implications for Bank support during the global unemployment
crisis as follows: (a) deploy the Bank’s integrative
capability to provide support in the different areas
affecting employment outcomes; (b) focus on the classical,
cyclical, and structural sources of unemployment; (c) update
and improve employment and earnings data; (d) adjust
programs to emphasize support with strong employment
earnings effects;(e)advise countries on affordable fiscal
stimuli; (f) support the development of unemployment
insurance mechanisms; and (g) develop strategies to advance
job flexibility and worker protection. IEG recommends that
the Bank continue focusing on advice and projects to improve
coverage and quality.