Working Paper
Education Policy, Vocational Training, and the Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Technical, vocational education, and training has remained an explosive topic because it can create a divided society in terms of education and the benefits associated with it. Internationally, it has always been a complex and controversial topic...
Research Brief
Aid and Management Training
It is widely recognized that entrepreneurship is of critical importance to industrial development. Despite this importance we know little about the skills of business owners and managers in developing countries. In the WIDER Working Paper ‘The Role...
Working Paper
Worker retraining and transfer payments
We conduct an incentive-theoretical analysis of political economy considerations in the design of social protection programmes in developing countries to accompany economic reforms. We focus on two aspects of social protection—the provision of...
Working Paper
Who benefits from job training programmes?
Using admission lotteries and registry data linking labour market outcomes, we study the effect of a vocational training programme focused on disadvantaged individuals in Brazil. The intensive programme is an 18-month classroom training coupled with...
Research Brief
Is technical and vocational education and training a solution for youth unemployment?
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is often seen as a silver bullet resolving issues ranging from youth unemployment to labour market-related structural change. This is particularly true for developing countries with deficient...
Working Paper
The Role of Training in Fostering Cluster-Based Micro and Small Enterprises Development
While it has been increasingly recognized that efficient management holds the key to the development of micro and small enterprises in developing countries, we know very little about the managerial capacity of business owners and managers in these...
Report
Survey on the school-to-work transition of technical and vocational training graduates in Mozambique
This report documents the main conclusions of the Survey on the School-to-Work Transition of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Graduates in Mozambique. The research was planned and implemented by researchers from the United Nations...
Working Paper
Gender matters
In many developing countries the skill base is a cause of concern with respect to international competition. Firm-provided training is generally seen as an important tool for bridging the skills gap between labour force and private sector demand. Yet...
Working Paper
The Success of Learnerships?
Vocational training programmes, like South Africa’s learnership programme, which combine classroom learning and on-the-job training seem like the type of intervention which can create skills, get young people into jobs quicker, and reduce youth...
Working Paper
Gender Differentiation in the Analysis of Alternative Farm Mechanization Choices on Small Farms in Kenya
Using multinomial logit we analyze factors that influence the choice of mechanization technologies in Nyanza Province. The results show that farmers are aware of the attributes of the mechanization technologies, and that animal traction is the most...
Working Paper
Reducing early pregnancy in low-income countries
Many adolescent girls in low-income countries face the challenge of early pregnancy and lifelong dependence upon family and partners. In this paper, we review the literature on field interventions aimed at reducing early pregnancies in low-income...
Working Paper
Skills and Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa
The shortages of entrepreneurial skills have lowered search effectiveness of potential young entrepreneurs and the rate of youth start-ups. Our paper contributes to closing the gap in the entrepreneurship and development literature with a model of...
Working Paper
Growth of Knowledge-intensive Entrepreneurship in India, 1991–2007
There is enough consensus to show that India’s economic performance since 1991 is a direct result of the economic liberalization measures that have been put in place. One of the outcomes of this improved performance is the growth of innovations in...
Working Paper
Impact of soil conservation adoption on intrahousehold allocations in Zambia
In this paper, we examine the impact of soil conservation adoption on gender-specific resource allocations within households in Zambia. The extension of funding of conservation farming (CF) training sessions in 2007 in specific districts in Zambia...
Working Paper
Does managerial personality matter?
Using novel data from micro, small, and medium firms in Vietnam, we estimate the relationship between behavioural and personality traits of owners/managers—risk attitudes, locus of control, and innovativeness—and firm-level decisions. We extend the...
Journal Article
Does managerial personality matter?
Using novel data from micro, small and medium firms in Vietnam, we estimate the relationship between behavioural and personality traits of owners/managers – risk attitudes, locus of control, and innovativeness – and firm-level decisions. We extend...
Working Paper
Good business practices improve productivity in Myanmar’s manufacturing sector
We look into the relationship between business practices and enterprise productivity using panel data with matched employer and employee information from Myanmar. The data show that micro, small, and medium-size enterprises in Myanmar typically do...
Research Brief
Finding optimal solutions for efficient youth labour policies
According to South Africa’s National Development Plan Vision 2030, serious action needs to be taken to reduce poverty and encourage economic growth. One of the main challenges involves reducing the unemployment rates in South Africa, particularly...
Policy Brief
Mining for change
For a growing number of countries in Africa the discovery of natural resources is a great opportunity, but one accompanied by considerable risks. There is an extensive literature linking natural resource dependence to poor economic performance. One...
Working Paper
Improving the quality of hospital care for children by supportive supervision
Objective: To determine whether periodic supportive supervision after a training course improved the quality of paediatric hospital care in Kyrgyzstan, where inappropriate care was common but in-hospital postnatal mortality was low. Methods: In a...
Working Paper
Impact Assessment of the Facilitadores Judiciales Programme in Nicaragua
Facilitadores Judiciales is a programme run by the Organization of the American States and the Nicaraguan judiciary. The main objective of the programme is to improve access to justice for the disadvantaged people in Nicaragua. From 1998 to 2010 the...
Working Paper
Maternal and neonatal services in Ethiopia
Problem: Maternal and neonatal mortality remains high in low- and middle-income countries, with poor quality of intrapartum care as a barrier to further progress. Approach: We developed and tested a method of measuring the quality of maternal and...
Working Paper
Labour market projections and time allocation in Myanmar
Myanmar has, in recent years, strengthened its focus on human capital as a development pillar, and introduced legislation and adopted conventions on child labour. But child exploitation continues, including use of forced labour by the military and...
Working Paper
Making Aid Work for Education in Developing Countries
This paper examines the effect of education aid on primary enrollment and education quality. Using the most recent data on aid disbursements and econometric specifications inspired by the general aid effectiveness literature, we find some evidence...