YOUTH

In this paper, the authors examine the transition from school to work and the transition to marriage among young men with at least a secondary education in Egypt. The authors pay particular attention to how the first transition affects the second.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East region and one of the poorest in the world. Its population, already overwhelmingly young, is expanding rapidly, creating an explosion in the number of youth aged 15 to 29. In this paper, the authors identify processes through which many Yemeni youth are excluded from the opportunity to become productive adults and positive contributors to society. They present evidence that many youth face social exclusion, whereby they are cut off from the resources and institutions that could assist them in their transition to adulthood.

This paper examines four approaches to technical and vocational education and training used by USAID in South Africa, Indonesia, Georgia, and Morocco between 2007 and 2012 and is based on a 2010 desk review. This review examines how the four programs perform according to nine elements of highly effective workforce development and technical and vocational education and training systems.

This paper examines the employment impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Liberia. Its principal purpose is to explore the potential role that MNEs could play in creating more and better jobs. It is part of a broader study that also includes Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. This research is intended to provide a timely and meaningful contribution towards tackling national youth employment challenges exacerbated by fourteen years of armed conflict.

This Quick Note provides an overview of the World Bank report “Striving for Better Jobs: the Challenge of Informality in the Middle East and Africa”. It looks at the hopes of Arab youth during the spring revolution and the current economic situation by focusing on informal employment at a human development angle.

This note presents and analyzes the main design features of a variety of non-publicly provided Active Labor Market Programs in Arab-Mediterranean Countries, with a specific focus on programs targeted at youth. Programs from nine countries are included in the inventory: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

This article evolved from a presentation on research challenges and opportunities in asset building for children and youth at a symposium on Child Development Accounts in the United States in late 2008. The presentation was part of a panel entitled “Reflections and Conclusions” on the final day of the symposium. The authors reflect on where the field has been, and imagine some of the challenges ahead, from diverse perspectives.

This paper focuses on the extent and persistence of the impact of financial crises on youth (15-24) unemployment rate. It presents empirical estimations on the impact of past financial crises on young workers, as well as investigates the relationship between financial crises and youth unemployment rate by employing fixed effects panel estimation on a large panel of countries (about 70) around the world for the period 1980-2005. Gender specific effects of crises, as well as the “persistence" of the impact of financial crises on young workers is also investigated. Its econometric investigations can be useful to better assess its impact on youth unemployment.

Originally published in 2009 and updated in August 2011, this case study explores the role that Hatton National Bank (HNB), a prominent commercial bank in Sri Lanka, has played in providing financial services in rural areas and to vulnerable populations. HNB focuses on serving the youth through two programs: 1) establishing Student Banking Centres in schools and 2) targeting youth in rural areas in their village microfinance programs to receive both financial and non-financial services.