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.

Organized two years after the success of its inaugural event in Washington D.C., the two-day Conference aspired to promote dialogue and stimulate scientific research to close knowledge gaps and enable evidence-based policies for global development.

The conference, hosted by the World Bank Jobs Group, the IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, and the Network on Jobs and Development, opened with a policy panel discussion on the current trends and challenges facing labor markets around the world. Panelists included Anabel González (Former Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica), Carmen Pagés-Serra (IDB), Carolina Trivelli (Former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, Peru), and Andrés Mauricio Velasco (Technical Vice Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Colombia). The first day of the conference also included over 40 research presentations on topics including jobs polarization, impacts of workfare programs, disruptive technologies, labor informality, and gender gaps.

The second day commenced with two keynote addresses, delivered by Michał Rutkowski (World Bank) and Daniel Hamermesh (IZA). Rutkowski discussed the World Bank’s approach to the challenges of job creation around the world and highlighted the need to ensure job quality rather than focusing only on formalization of informal work. Hamermesh delivered a thought-provoking speech on how researchers were now less likely to refer to economic theory, which in turn has limited the scope of implications of their empirical research. The second day also featured sessions on 40 presentations on research and evidence from development and labour markets around the world.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The conference featured these two keynote speakers:

MAY 12, 2018: 9 AM (UTC -5)

Michał Rutkowski (World Bank): “Rethinking Job Creation: the World Bank Approach ”

Daniel S. Hamermesh (Barnard College, IZA): “Labor(ing) in Development Economics”

POLICY PANEL

MAY 11, 2018: 9:30 AM (UTC-5)

Chair: Michal Rutkowski (Senior Director and Head of Global Practice, Social Protection and Jobs, World Bank Group)

Panelists:

Anabel González (Former Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica; former Senior Director of Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank Group)

Carmen Pagés-Serra (Chief, Labor Markets and Social Security Division, IDB)

Carolina Trivelli (Former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, Peru)

Andrés Mauricio Velasco (Technical ViceMinister of Finance and Public Credit, Colombia)