All publications for topic

Informality and Structural Transformation in Egypt, Iraq and Jordan

Informality is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a diverse array of activities, transactions, and individuals, operating largely outside formal businesses but, to a different extent, also inside them. It represents a critical, yet problematic component of global economic activity; that is: while informality can be a coping mechanism towards poverty alleviation when the economy is not producing enough formal jobs, high levels of structural informality expose economies to long-term vulnerabilities, which may be further reinforced when shocks hit them.In light of the pervasiveness and persistence of informality in the MENA region and the increasing exposure to global and regional shocks, the ILO, OECD, and UNDP have joined forces to advocate for effective forward-looking policies in MENA countries that create resilience while considering their possible impact on formalisation. This joint report reflects the work so far conducted, which involved:Desk research and a series of consultations with policy makers were conducted in a group of three countries, namely Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, with a view to broadening the scope to more countries at a later stage of the joint activity. The analysis focused on the short and long-term impact of policy measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The preliminary conclusions were discussed at the ILO-OECD-UNDP Workshop on Addressing Informality in the MENA Region in Times of Shocks, held at the OECD Istanbul Centre in November 2022. The discussions reflected on how countries capitalised on emergency measures enforced during recurrent social and economic shocks to implement a long-term reform agenda to address underlying structural vulnerabilities of the informal economy and thereby gradually encourage formalisation.The elaboration of an original framework for assessing the impact of selected economic and social policies, particularly policy measures implemented as a response to the COVID 19 pandemic, on formalisation of jobs and businesses.

Active Labour Market Programs Improve Employment and Earnings of Young People

A systematic review by the World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO) combines results from evaluations of 220 youth-focused active labour market programs (ALMPs) conducted around the world since 1990. The evidence shows that investments in labour market programs for young people pay off: ALMPs significantly improve their employment and earnings prospects, particularly in Low- and Middle-income countries. Youth at greatest risk of labour market exclusion often benefit the most. To guide future program design, the report identifies features of ALMPs that are associated with positive impacts on youth. 

APESO

Asia-Pacific Employment and Social Outlook 2024: Promoting decent work and social justice to manage ageing societies

ILO Policy Tool

GENSEC: A Gender-responsive Sectoral Policy Tool

This ILO GENSEC Policy Tool shows "how to" embed gender equality objectives in sectoral policies to make them gender-responsive.

Technical note

ILO care policy investment simulator: Technical note

Research Paper No.20

The effects of automation in the apparel and footwear industries and their gender dimensions: Indonesia case study

ILO Working Paper 115

Imbalances between supply and demand Recent causes of labour shortages in advanced economies

Diagnostic analysis of informality in agriculture, agri-food, and construction

This diagnostic study is part of the International Labour Organization (ILO) SOLIFEM project, which seeks to support the transition from the informal to the formal economy through tripartite social dialogue in the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, with a particular focus on Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This study seeks in particular to analyse the causes and characteristics of informality in three sectors of the Lebanese economy with high employment rates for youth, or with the potential to increase such rates. Informality is a serious impediment to attaining long-term economic growth and creating enough job opportunities. The expansion of the informal economy, which has been further propelled by the prolonged financial, economic and political difficulties Lebanon has faced since 2019, is an obstacle to workers’ pursuit of decent, formal work opportunities.

Identifying skills for transitions to formality in the Lebanese agri-food sector

This study analyses skills in the Lebanese agri-food sector, focusing on the status and trends in demand for skills in formal and informal occupations identified in two selected agri-food subsectors, (1) dairy production, and (2) non-alcoholic beverages. The two subsectors were selected in collaboration with a reference group comprising representatives of the trade unions CGTL and FENASOL, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI), the ministries of labour, agriculture and industry, and the Ministry of Education Directorate General of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DGTVET). Five occupations within each subsector were selected to be the primary focus of the study, identified through ten scoping calls held with companies active in the dairy production and non-alcoholic beverages subsectors. A total of 22 interviews (11 per subsector) were later conducted with companies in the subsectors for the purposes of data collection; representatives of six of the nine technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutes affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture were interviewed.

Integrated approaches for formalization in Asia and the Pacific

This report highlights why the multi-faceted dimensions of informality demand an integrated approach to formalization, outlines the nature of an integrated approach to employment formalization, reviews the extent that countries in Asia and the Pacific are applying integrated approaches to formalization, and provides examples and an action-oriented outline for advancing integrated approaches to formalization in the region.

ILO Brief

Pacific Employment and Social Monitor, April 2024: Towards resilient labour markets and better jobs

Formalization

Formalization and simplified micro and small enterprise regimes: Towards reform of the Viet Nam household business legislation

ILO Working paper 112

New technologies, e-government and informality - epub

ILO Working paper 112

New technologies, e-government and informality

Skills development

Skills Matter!

ILO Working paper 111

Intergenerational trends in educational and income mobility in the United States of America since the 1960s

ILO Working paper 111

Intergenerational trends in educational and income mobility in the United States of America since the 1960s (mobi)

ILO Working paper 111

Intergenerational trends in educational and income mobility in the United States of America since the 1960s (epub)

Ghana

Green Jobs Assessment Model Ghana

ILO Working paper 110

Measuring labour market transitions of youths in Thailand: Evidence from rotation groups (2012–21) in the Labour Force Surveys (mobi)