Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group

Youth Employment is Not a Strategic Issue in the Bank’sCountry StrategiesYouth employment lending is concentrated in 10 countries that received70 percent of lending (figure 3.1). Among the top 10 borrowers for youthemployment are four IDA countries (Ghana, India, Kenya, and Nigeria).Support to youth employment was mainly to middle-income countries withlarge lending programs. These countries have programs in vocational training,school-to-work transition, and the investment climate to address youthemployment issues. The remaining 30 percent of youth employment lendingwas split among 47 countries (appendix D, table D.2).Bank lending was not targeted to the countries with the largest youthemployment problems. The lending portfolio analysis found no correlationbetween the actual lending amount for youth employment and selected youthemployment indicators in countries. This may reflect the lending priorityof countries for other needs. IDA countries might borrow less for youthemployment because their borrowing is constrained, so they instead focus onaddressing poverty, weak administration, and low educational attainment.Also, countries receive support from other donors.Youth employment program design and context matter, and carefuldiagnostics are needed. Limited evidence exists from cross-countryFigure 3.1Top 10 Youth Employment Borrowers (US$ millions)Turkey6032404India445334Colombia 181922Argentina 169650China194152Ghana 257124Nigeria 180120Kenya140111Tunisia 105605Bulgaria 2001000 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000Total commitment Actual funds allocatedSource: IEG portfolio review based on World Bank data.Note: Total commitment is the total project amount. Actual commitments reflect the amount actually allocatedto the youth employment intervention as described in the Project Appraisal Document or ImplementationCompletion Report.28 Youth Employment Programs