Working papers
ILO Working Paper 181
Advancing Green Trade and Employment under Global Uncertainty
This paper examines global trade patterns in green goods towards 2030. This is done in the context of current global trade tensions. The paper uses international trade flow data from WITS/COMTRADE, in conjunction with the IMF’s classification of...
ILO Working paper 180
Mobile Internet and Employment
This paper looks at how 3G mobile internet expansion affected labour market outcomes in 52 countries between 2004 and 2023, finding that its effects vary with countries' stage of digital diffusion and level of development, and that it does not...
ILO Working Paper 179
When the Border Closes A Demand-Driven Spatial Model of Mass Return Migration in Cambodia
ILO Working Paper 178
Climate-Related Heat Stress and Occupational Mortality in Colombia
This paper looks at the relationship between high temperatures and mortality among workers in Colombia, identifying the occupations most affected and highlighting the need for stronger prevention and social protection measures.
ILO Working Paper 177
Why social dialogue is necessary for sustainable economic development: Exploring peak-level social dialogue in alternative scenarios
This paper argues that social dialogue is a necessary instrument for delivering sustainable economic development and social progress for all. It played a key role in shaping countries’ responses to the financial crisis of 2008–09 and the COVID-19...
ILO Working Paper 176
Inclusive social insurance: Exploring real solutions to reach the self-employed
Drawing from ten country case studies, this working paper sheds light on a set of ongoing debates surrounding the design and implementation of solutions to extend social insurance coverage to self-employed workers.
ILO Working Paper 175
Does a General-Purpose Large Language Model Improve Physicians’ Clinical Reasoning?
This working paper examines whether access to a general-purpose large language model can improve physicians’ clinical reasoning, drawing on a randomized trial involving doctors in Indonesia, Kenya and the Netherlands. It also explores how such tools...
ILO Working paper 174
Good practices and strategic recommendations for strengthening trade union cooperation and collaboration in Africa
Trade union cooperation and collaboration are essential to strengthening workers’ voice, bargaining power and influence across Africa. This publication examines good practices from eight African countries, showing how unions can overcome...
ILO Working paper 173
Financing occupational safety and health prevention: A comparative analysis of six case studies
This working paper examines the financing of occupational safety and health (OSH) prevention through six country case studies: Germany, Japan, Quebec (Canada), Peru, the Philippines and Tunisia. It compares institutional arrangements, financing...
Working paper 172
Social Justice: The Historical Evolution of a Shared Ideal
This working paper traces the historical evolution of social justice, from early practices of care and mutual aid to its development as a global political ideal. It explores how the concept has been shaped by philosophical traditions, social...
ILO Working Paper 171
The role of national social dialogue institutions in shaping investment policies
This paper examines how national social dialogue institutions can help align foreign direct investment with decent work and sustainable development. Drawing on eleven case studies, it highlights emerging practices, institutional challenges and...
ILO Working Paper 170
AI systems @ work: a changing psychosocial work environment
This working paper examines how AI systems are transforming the psychosocial work environment, focusing on their effects on workers’ mental and social well-being. It explores emerging workplace risks linked to digitalization, including surveillance,...
ILO Working Paper 169
Unpacking informality: A multidimensional policy decomposition
This working paper presents a practical additive decomposition of informal employment, showing where policy action can reduce it. Applied to the case of Colombia, it identifies the main factors behind recent declines in informality.
ILO Working Paper 168
Nursing and Artificial Intelligence in the Republic of Korea
This working paper explores how artificial intelligence is being introduced into nursing work in the Republic of Korea and what this means in practice. It highlights the gap between technological innovation and frontline needs, pointing to the...
ILO Working Paper 167
Labour market concentration and wage inequality: A cross-country descriptive analysis
This working paper explores how labour market concentration relates to wage inequality across countries, and the role labour market institutions can play in shaping these outcomes.
ILO working paper 166
Disruption without dividend? - How the digital divide and task differences split GenAI’s global impact
This paper examines how Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) may affect labour markets across 135 countries, covering around two-thirds of global employment. It focuses on how exposure differs between advanced and developing economies, and how...
ILO Working Paper 165
Gridded-Labour Market Data in Ghana using Remote Sensing and Random Forest
This study proposes the first set of high-resolution maps of labor market data, based on disaggregating district-level statistics from the 2021 housing and population census of Ghana at a 0.005-degree resolution using remote sensing and machine...
ILO Working paper 164
Opportunities and Challenges for Decent Work in the Platform Economy in Asia and the Pacific
This paper explores how the evolving platform economy is reshaping the economic landscape across Asia and the Pacific, and how countries in this diverse region are navigating emerging opportunities and challenges. It situates platform work within...
ILO Working paper 163
Converging Patterns of Global Labour Earnings Inequality from 1995 to 2023
This working paper analyses how labour earnings inequality evolved across 25 countries between 1995 and 2023 using harmonized microdata and multiple inequality measures. It compares changes in the distribution of labour earnings within countries and...
ILO Working Paper 162
Reviving and Reconnecting Economic Growth and Employment in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is currently navigating a complex economic transition marked by high inflation, declining foreign exchange reserves, vulnerabilities in the financial sector and the impending graduation from Least Developed Country status in 2026. The...