2020
ITU

This tool is designed as a practical step-by-step tool for national digital skills assessments. It can be used to determine the existing supply of a digitally skilled cohort at a national level, to assess skills demand from industry and other sectors, to identify skills gaps, and to develop policies to address future digital skills requirements. 

Global
Toolkit
2020
Journal of Economic and Human Geography

This article draws on data from the Online Labour Index and interviews with freelancers in the United States securing work on online platforms, to illuminate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

North America
Knowledge Brief
2020
Google & IFC

Collaboration between IFC and Google, this report talks about the potential of Africa’s Internet economy, promising tech entrepreneurs driving innovation, and the growing tech talent across the continent. Analysis in the report finds that Africa’s Internet economy can reach $180 billion by 2025, accounting for 5.2% of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP). By 2050, the projected potential contribution could reach $712 billion, 8.5% of the continent’s GDP.

Africa
Report
2020
IISD

This literature review seeks to enunciate the different understandings of the term “circular economy” and the baselines that have been used for projections on job impacts and growth. It introduces some of the targets for European countries that are championing the transformation from a linear to a circular economy. The report also outlines the current literature’s understanding of job sectors that might change in the future.

Global
Report
2020
OECD

This OECD Short Note explores the connection between consumption patterns, behavior, and gender in achieving a circular economy. It highlights that different consumption habits between men and women can influence the effectiveness of sustainability efforts. The report emphasizes the need for a gender-sensitive approach to encourage behaviors that promote a more circular economy and achieve environmental goals.

Global
Knowledge Brief
2020
ILO

The ILO's "Global Employment Trends for Youth" report examines challenges and opportunities for young workers in today's job market. It emphasizes the need for policies promoting full employment, decent work, and a smooth school-to-work transition, particularly in light of technological advancements impacting job creation, training, and the global economic slowdown. The report highlights the missed target of reducing youth unemployment and urges renewed efforts to create decent jobs for the next generation.

Global
Report
2020
ILO

The research reviews the entrepreneurial ecosystem to assess the capacity to foster young green entrepreneurship and address social and environmental challenges. The report considers from the perspective of key stakeholders, primarily those providing business development services and experts in the field of youth and social entrepreneurship and government representatives and entrepreneurs themselves.

Global
Report
2020
Humans in the Loop

Humans in the Loop uses the AI annotation market to create livelihoods opportunities for conflict-affected people and communities. This report summarizes how Humans in the Loop is impacting conflict-affected communities by connecting them to digital work programs and training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global
Good Practice/Case Study
2020
Information, Communication & Society

Information and communication technologies have long been predicted to spread economic opportunities to rural areas. However, the actual trend in the 21st century has been the opposite. Knowledge spillovers have fueled urbanization and pulled job-seekers into large cities, increasing the gap with rural areas. In this article, the authors argue that new assemblages of technologies and social practices, so-called ‘online labour platforms’, have recently started to counter this trend. 

Global
Knowledge Brief
2020
World Bank

This report places the notion of social inclusion in an analysis of Africa’s achievements and challenges. Its interdisciplinary approach uses evidence to bring empirical weight to issues that are often debated through advocacy and contestation. It also contributes to the priority areas of a new regional strategy for the Africa region of the World Bank by focusing on women’s empowerment, digital technology, fragility, and climate change, among others.

Africa
Report
2020
UNEP

This report presents an analysis of the implementation and results of the SWITCH Africa Green programme in the integrated waste management (IWM) sector focusing on the participating countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. It covers the strategic interventions in the waste sector notably municipal solid waste management, e-waste management, waste to energy (e.g. biogas production and briquette production), as well as industrial symbiosis (IS). It analyses the results realised, cross cutting issues, challenges, lessons learnt and presents a set of recommendations. 

Africa
Report
2020
Circle Economy

Through the lens of three focus areas—skills, quality of work and inclusivity—this report provides an overview of how current labour market issues apply to the circular economy transition, the opportunities that circularity presents for the labour market and the challenges that need to be overcome to achieve a future labour market that enables people and the planet to thrive.

Global
Report
2020
Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE)

This Jobs Solutions Note identifies practical solutions for development practitioners to proactively integrate gender inclusion in digital jobs programs. Based on curated knowledge and evidence for a specific topic and relevant to jobs, the Jobs Solutions Notes are not intended to be exhaustive; they provide key lessons, solutions and approaches synthesized from the experiences of the World Bank Group and partners. This Note draws from S4YE’s 2018 annual report, Digital Jobs for Youth: Young Women in the Digital Economy, highlighting new and emerging strategies to designing gender-inclusive digital jobs interventions for youth. The Note employs a nuanced definition of “digital jobs” to enable practitioners and policy makers to develop a range of interventions tailored to specific contexts and target groups, to improve young women’s employment outcomes from digital jobs programs.

Global
Report
2020
Öko-Institu

This paper primarily focuses on potential negative social impacts of environmental (transition) policies – with regard to jobs/workers and regions as well as consumers/households – and ways to mitigate such impacts on a European and national level. Moreover, the paper focuses on intra-EU socioeconomic effects and distributional justice rather than international, procedural or recognitional justice. The whole paper is based on a review of existing research literature and policy documents.

Europe and Central Asia
Knowledge Brief
2020
European Commission

In 2017, the JRC conducted the COLLEEM pilot survey, an initial attempt to provide quantitative evidence on platform work. This report builds on previous findings and contributes by describing the results of the second wave of COLLEEM (2018).

Europe and Central Asia
Report
2020
Online Labour Observatory

The Online Labour Index 2020 delivers a more detailed picture of the world of online freelancing via an interactive online visualisation updated daily. It provides easy access to downloadable open data for policymakers, labour market researchers, and the general public.

Global
Report
2020
Mercy Corps

This report analyzes the digital gig economy in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia and provides policy recommendations for a long-term approach that considers the needs of platforms, gig workers, consumers, and the government authorities themselves.

Africa
Report
2020
Oxford Internet Institute

This brief examines online jobs with a dual-lens. The distancing effect: demand for online work grows as companies switch from on-site contractors to remote freelancers.The downscaling effect: demand for online work diminishes, as companies facing declining revenues reduce non-essential spending, including external contractors.

Global
Knowledge Brief
2020
GSMA

This report examines the challenge facing youth seeking employment in Sub-Saharan Africa's mobile industry: the skills gap. It then explains how the mobile industry will continue to be a significant job creator for youth and unpack the role the industry will play in creating jobs and supporting youth through their employment journeys. 

Africa
Report
2020
Chatham House

Considerations of justice and social equity are as important for the circular economy transition as they are in the contexts of low-carbon transitions and digitalization of the economy. This paper sets out the just transition approach, and its relevance in climate change and energy transition debates.

Global
Knowledge Brief