About the conference
The Jobs and Development Conference is a global event co-organized by the World Bank, UNU-WIDER, and the ILO, the Development Policy Research Unit at University of Cape Town (DPRU, South Africa), the Institute for Structural Research (IBS, Poland), and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Institute for Emerging Market Studies (HKUST IEMS, Hong Kong).
In 2026, the conference will be hosted by the IEMS, based at the HKUST in Hong Kong, China.
The Focus of the #Jobs&Dev Conference
To expand the frontiers of global knowledge around jobs and advance the discussion on the most effective policies, the conference features policy-relevant papers on all topics in labor and development economics, but especially research that focuses on:
- AI, Technology & Structural Transformation
- Energy Transition, Resilience-Building, and Labor Markets
- Approaches to Estimating the Impact of Economic Policy on Jobs
- Labor Market Policies, Programs, Regulations, and Institutions
- Skills, Education & Lifelong Learning
- Demographic Shifts: Youth, Aging Labor Force, and Migration
- Inclusion, Job Quality & Decent Work
- Fiscal Policy for Economic Growth and Jobs
Keynote speakers for 2026
Professor Justin Yifu Lin (Professor and Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics, Honorary Dean of the National School of Development, and Honorary Dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University)
Professor Uta Schönberg (Chair Professor of Economics, HKU Business School, The University of Hong Kong)
08-09 October
Cairo, Egypt 14-15 December Cape Town, South Africa 01-03 September ONLINE 01-04 September ONLINE 06-07 June Washington, D.C. 11-12 May Bogotá, Colombia 02-03 November Washington, D.C.