Organizers

About the conference

The Jobs and Development Conference is a global event co-organized by the World Bank, UNU-WIDER, and the ILO, with the Network on Jobs and Development – a partnership of research institutes from various regions of the world: the Development Policy Research Unit at University of Cape Town (DPRU, South Africa), the Institute for Structural Research (IBS, Poland), and the HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (HKUST IEMS, Hong Kong).

 

In 2024, the conference will be hosted by J-PAL Middle East and North Africa (MENA) based at the American University in Cairo.

STREAMING VIDEOS OF SELECTED SESSIONS

 

In 2024, selected sessions will be available to watch via live-streaming to YouTube. Please tune in to watch the Keynote Speaker, Plenary Panel, and the Special Sessions.

To receive the links, please register here.

REGISTRATION

 

Please note that due to budget constraints and capacity restrictions all attendees in 2024 are either presenting a research paper that was accepted via the Call for Papers process, or participating directly in a special session – there are unfortunately no opportunities to attend as a guest or observer. Registration is therefore by invitation only.

We encourage you to join us virtually for selected elements of the conference programme such as the Keynote Speakers and plenary sessions that will be streamed live via YouTube – details will be posted here and on social media in the next few weeks.

Thank you for your interest, and understanding.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS CLOSED

 

Please note that the submission process for the 2024 Jobs and Development Conference is officially closed. (The deadline was June 13, 2024.)

 

Notifications on contributed papers were sent by email on July 25, 2024.

 

Any queries can be emailed to the conference managers at j4d@jobsanddevelopmentconference.org

The Focus of the #Jobs4Dev 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:

  • New platform economy jobs
  • Labour market programmes and regulation
  • Gender and labour markets
  • COVID-19 pandemic, jobs and development
  • Immigration, migration and skills
  • Structural change
  • Climate change, energy and jobs

Announcement: Travel Grants for African Scholars

 

To support the participation of African scholars at the #Jobs4Dev 2024 conference in Cairo, Egypt travel grants to cover economy-class airfare and hotel accommodation costs have been made available for eligible African researchers with accepted papers. This is funded by financial means of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Keynote speakers for 2024

 

Dr Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme) and Chief Economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Visiting Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Prof. David Lam, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics and Research Professor Emeritus in the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.

Previous conferences

  08-09 October
  Cairo, Egypt
2024
The two-day format will feature keynote speeches, a policy panel, special sessions and about 60 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.
  14-15 December
  Cape Town, South Africa
2022
The 6th IZA/World Bank/NJD/UNU-WIDER Jobs and Development Conference is focused on “The Challenge of Creating Better Jobs in Developing Countries”.
  01-03 September
  ONLINE
2021
Among the wide range of topics discussed, experts highlighted the importance of remittances as a financial lifeline to developing countries and the role of institutions, infrastructure, data, and host country support in protecting migrant workers.
  01-04 September
  ONLINE
2020
With a special focus on COVID-19, the fourth Jobs and Development Conference: “Better Jobs for Development” discussed a wide range of development issues, including inequality, informality, labor mobility, and globalization.
  06-07 June
  Washington, D.C.
2019
The World Bank Jobs Group, in collaboration with IZA (Institute of Labor Economics) and the Network on Jobs and Development, organized the third edition of the Jobs and Development Conference on the theme "Improving Jobs Outcomes in Developing Countries" on June 6-7, 2019, in Washington D.C.
  11-12 May
  Bogotá, Colombia
2018
Nearly 100 economists, researchers, and policymakers from 25 countries joined the second edition of the Jobs & Development Conference at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, on May 11-12, 2018.
  02-03 November
  Washington, D.C.
2016
On November 2-3, 2016, the World Bank Jobs Group and the Network for Jobs and Development hosted the first edition of the Jobs and Development Conference, bringing together experts and academics from around the world.