2019 Jobs and Development Conference

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.The two-day conference was a convergence of nearly 100 policymakers and labor economists to exchange ideas about what works for improving jobs outcomes and how developing countries are shaping up to tackle the future of work agenda. The conference featured over fifty papers chosen from more than 200 submissions.The conference commenced with a policymakers’ panel, chaired by Ian Walker, Manager of the World Bank’s Jobs Group. The panel featuring Prakash Loungani from the IMF, Indhira Santos from the World Bank, Steven Ayres from DfID, and Kunal Sen from UNU-WIDER, discussed ways to improve the design of labor market institutions in developing countries to accelerate the growth of good jobs and promote universal access to social protection; improve jobs outcomes for women; and transform agriculture to generate better jobs in Africa.

 

Distinguished economists Daron Acemoglu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Ricardo Hausmann (Harvard University) provided the keynote addresses at the conference. They made the case for paradigm shifts in how we think about economic growth, jobs, productivity, wages, and the future of work – both in developed and developing countries.

 

The messages from the keynote speakers resonated with the findings of the World Bank Jobs Group study, Pathways to Better Jobs in IDA Countries, which was also showcased at the Jobs and Development Conference.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

 

The conference featured these two keynote speakers:

JUNE 6, 2 PM

Daron Acemoglu (MIT): “Productivity, Work and Wages: Lessons for Developed and Developing Economies”

 

JUNE 7, 11 AM

Ricardo Hausmann (Harvard University): “Growth Diagnostics and Jobs”

To Download

   AGENDA 2019