Labour Markets

Disability employment quotas in Brazil: Enforcing the law with limited capacity

When it comes to labour laws, enforcement is often challenging, especially in developing countries. But what if enforcing regulations against just a few companies could influence dozens of others to comply as well? New research on Brazil's disability...

Labour Markets

Samuel Berlinski Jessica Gagete-Miranda

Published

11.07.25

The gender pay gap in South Africa: Firms, formality and churn

Half of South Africa’s gender pay gap comes from women sorting into low-paying firms, with low formality and high churn being key to understanding this dynamic.

Labour Markets

Ihsaan Bassier Leila Gautham

Published

15.07.25

Helping jobseekers understand their skills boosted earnings in South Africa

Short, low-cost workshops helped young South African jobseekers to learn about their skills, search for better-matched vacancies, and raise their earnings by 25%.

Labour Markets

Andrea Kiss Robert Garlick Kate Orkin Lukas Hensel

Published

01.07.25

Boosting women’s labour force participation in China: Current state and challenges

While the female labour force participation rate in China is currently above the global average, it has declined in recent decades, and women still face numerous structural challenges in the labour market. What are these barriers, and how can policy ...

Labour Markets

Xianghong Wang

Published

16.06.25

How do labour market fears shape attitudes toward refugees?

Evidence from Uganda and Ethiopia suggests that host prejudice against refugees increases when refugees are perceived as direct job competitors, but not necessarily when actual competition exists.

Labour Markets

Julie Bousquet Anna Gasten Mark Marvin Kadigo Jean-François Maystadt Colette Salemi

Published

16.06.25

Formalising work, redistributing power: Lessons from Mexico’s outsourcing ban

Evidence from Mexico suggests that carefully designed outsourcing regulation can significantly improve wages without reducing employment in developing countries.

Labour Markets

Alejandro Estefan Roberto Gerhard Joseph Kaboski Illenin Kondo Wei Qian

Published

19.06.25

The hidden costs of formalisation: Evidence from labour inspections in Brazil

In Brazil, labour inspections reduce informality but harm workers and firms when rigid labour regulations leave them with little room to adjust.

Labour Markets

Thaline do Prado Marcelo Santos Bernardus Van Doornik

Published

18.06.25

Why do so few married women work in Egypt? Testing for discrimination

An experiment in Egypt tested for employment discrimination by sex and marital status, and found no sizeable discrimination against married women.

Labour Markets

Caroline Krafft

Published

03.06.25

Women working in export processing zone in Nicaragua

How low-wage manufacturing employment for women changed household dynamics in Nicaragua

When new manufacturing sectors emerge in developing countries, a significant share of the workforce is often comprised of women, many of whom previously lacked access to non-agricultural employment. Such employment can have important consequences for...

Labour Markets

Louise Grogan

Published

23.05.25