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), HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (HKUST IEMS, Hong Kong), and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER, India).

 

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

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

PHOTOGRAPHS OF JOBS4DEV2022 NOW AVAILABLE

 

Selected photographs from the 2022 Cape Town conference are now available at the following link.

These images are available under a CC BY Creative Commons license, which requires that credit be given to the creator: Klara Beckerling of Everyday Studios.

Should you require a hi-res version of a particular photograph, please email your request.

STREAMING VIDEOS OF SELECTED SESSIONS

 

While the 2022 conference was predominantly held as an in-person event, selected sessions were available to watch via live-streaming to YouTube. This enabled a wider audience to listen in to the keynote speaker presentations, the Africa policy panel discussions and the special sessions being hosted by the World Bank and the Oxford Martin School with the Development Policy Research Unit.

 

To access the streaming videos, please go to YouTube.

Previous conferences

  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.