Working papers

ILO Working paper 35

Estimating labour market transitions from labour force surveys: The case of Viet Nam

This paper discusses methodologies to estimate the incidence and frequency of labour market transitions, and applies these methodologies to labour force survey data from Viet Nam in 2011-19. It demonstrates the feasibility and value of transitions...

ILO Working Paper 33

Preferential tax regimes for MSMEs: Operational aspects, impact evidence and policy implications

ILO Working paper 34

Old age work and income security in middle income countries: comparing the cases

This paper considers the demographic ageing trend experienced in 35 middle-income countries. It examines employment and other related dimensions that can reflect their preparedness to secure adequate income for their ageing population. Drawing from...

ILO Working paper 32

Digital Work in Eastern Europe: Overview of Trends, Outcomes, and Policy Responses

This paper presents the emergence and growth of digital labour markets in Eastern Europe over the period 1999-2019. It presents the profiles of digital workers, their working conditions and discusses how these are shaped by the business models of...

ILO Working paper 31

Turning up the heat: Exploring potential links between climate change and gender-based violence and harassment in the garment sector

This working paper highlights the intersection between climate change and gender-based violence and harassment by exploring how climate change, measured by increasing heat stress and extreme weather events, could lead to heightened violence being...

ILO Working Paper 30

The impact of extreme weather on temporary work absence

The study examines the impact that extreme weather has on temporary work absence in Jamaica, a central concern given the country’s negative experience with such events. The study uses quarterly data containing key labour market indicators on an...

ILO Working paper 29

Public Employment Programmes in the Care Economy - The Case of South Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis have increased unemployment levels in the care economy, detrimental effects of which are felt by care workers, the majority of whom are women. The South African experience shows that Public...

ILO working paper 28

Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector - Country Practices and Innovations

ILO Working paper 27

Platform work and the employment relationship

This working paper analyses national and supranational case law and legislation about the employment status of platform workers. It does so by referring to the ILO Employment Relationship Recommendation, 2006 (No. 198). It finds that this...

ILO Working Paper 26

Hurricanes and their implications for unemployment: Evidence from the Caribbean

Although extreme climate events pose significant challenges to labour markets, there is a paucity of empirical literature studying their impacts. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of hurricane strikes on unemployment across a sample...

ILO Working paper 25

Homeworking in the Philippines: Bad job ? Good job ?

This report focuses on two categories of homeworkers in the Philippines: industrial homeworkers, who assemble or fabricate goods for factories, retailers or their agents under subcontracting arrangements; and online workers, who render services to...

ILO Working paper 24

Online digital labour platforms in China: Working conditions, policy issues and prospects

This paper summarizes the results of an ILO survey, conducted in 2019, of workers’ characteristics and working conditions on three major digital labour platforms in China.

ILO Working Paper 23

China's move to measuring relative poverty: implications for social protection

ILO Working paper 22

Home-based work and homework in Ghana: An exploration

This research report explores the nature and character of home-based work and the more narrow concept of homework in Ghana.

ILO Working paper 21

Home bounded - Global outreach: Home-based workers in Turkey

This report focuses on industrial home-based pieceworkers and IT-enabled remote workers, who are commonly referred to in Turkey as “freelancers”.

ILO Working Paper 19

Trends and new developments in employment services to support transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa Regions

This paper presents the findings of a survey undertaken in selected countries in the Sub Saharan Africa and Middle East and North Africa regions (SSA and MENA) aimed at reviewing the status of employment service provision, challenges and...

ILO Working Paper 20

COVID-19, jobs and the future of work in the LDCs: A (disheartening) preliminary account

This paper provides an overview of the evolution of the COVID-19-induced health and labour market crises in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), drawing on a large set of available data and sources. It highlights how the outbreak is affecting jobs...

ILO Working paper 18

More is more. Livelihood interventions and child labor in the agricultural sector

This paper presents the results of two randomized livelihood intervention programmes aimed to reduce child labor, particularly in its most exploitative forms, in rural areas of Peru and the Philippines. It assess whether livelihood support...

ILO Working Paper 16

The Effectiveness of National Social Dialogue Institutions: From Theory to Evidence

This paper analyses the effectiveness of National Social Dialogue Institutions (NSDIs). The study evaluates how and when NSDIs prove less effective than they should in performing their tasks, how to measure such effectiveness, and how to improve...

ILO Working Paper 17

Does economic growth deliver jobs? Revisiting Okun’s Law

This paper revisits the relationship between economic growth and employment creation as expressed in Okun’s law by using the latest updated global ILO dataset for new and more detailed estimates.