The Jobs and Development Conference (#Jobs4Dev) is a global event co-organized by the World Bank, UNU-WIDER, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the now concluded Network on Jobs and Development (NJD) – a partnership of research institutes from various regions of the world: the Development Policy Research Unit at University of Cape Town (DPRU, South Africa), Institute for Structural Research (IBS, Poland) and the HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (HKUST IEMS, Hong Kong). The 2024 edition of the conference will take place on October 8 & 9, 2024, hosted by J-PAL MENA at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

The conference strives to expand the frontiers of global knowledge around jobs, improve understanding of the interplay between development and quantity and quality of work, and advance the discussion on the most effective policies to improve jobs outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Each year, the conference combines key-note lectures, presentations of high-quality research and policy-oriented discussions, creating a platform for interactions between academics and policy-makers.

The conference builds upon the Employment and Development conferences organized by the World Bank and IZA between 2006-2015, and the Jobs and Development conference organized by the NJD and the World Bank in 2016. The UNU-WIDER has also been involved as a partner since 2019. The ILO joined in 2023, ahead of preparing for the 2024 edition of the conference.

2024 Conference : 

The conference will take place on October 8 & 9, 2024, in Cairo, Egypt. The two-day format will feature keynote speeches, a policy panel, special sessions and about 50 paper presentations in parallel sessions. The event will focus on policy-relevant research, applicable to identifying solutions to jobs challenges in low- and middle-income countries.

To expand the frontiers of global knowledge around jobs and advance the discussion on the most effective policies, we are interested in policy-relevant papers on all topics in labor and development economics, but especially in papers that focus on:

• Society, Economic Activity and the Environment
• Trade and Labor issues
• Labor Market Programmes and Regulation
• Youth Employment
• Gender and Labor Markets
• Immigration, Migration and Skills
• Structural Transformation and Technological Change
• Greening, Just Transition, Energy and Jobs
• Skills and Lifelong Learning

2024 Organizing committee
The World Bank – Federica Saliola
UNU-WIDER – Kunal Sen
The ILO – Lawrence Jeff Johnson
The Network on Jobs and Development (NJD) – Haroon Bhorat (DPRU, UCT) and Piotr Lewandowski (IBS)
Gary Fields (Cornell University)
J-PAL MENA, AUC – Ahmed El Sayed

2024 Conference Organising Committee:

Project Manager: Sarah Marriott (DPRU, UCT)
Local Organising Team Manager: Heba Hany (J-PAL MENA, AUC)
Logistics and Planning team: Wadia Naidoo (DPRU, UCT), Ehab Fawzy (J-PAL MENA, AUC) and Zeina Osama (J-PAL MENA, AUC)