Boyz Next Door

World Bank DataDive 2025 β€” Jobs Challenge

Team

  • Yoji
  • Bachir
  • Mohaimenul

What We Did

We looked at whether regulatory quality actually matters for jobs. Using the new B-READY indicators (51 economies) combined with Enterprise Survey data, we tested which regulations help reduce vulnerable employment and ease firm-level constraints.

Main Finding

Labor regulation quality is what matters.

A 1-point improvement in labor regulation β†’ 0.48 percentage point reduction in vulnerable employment (p = 0.028, RΒ² = 74.3%).

Other regulatory dimensions (finance, trade, utilities) showed no significant effect once we controlled for GDP.

The Surprise

Better business entry regulations actually increase labor constraints (+0.51, p = 0.001). More firms = more competition for workers = perceived shortages. Entry reforms need to be paired with skills development.

Data

  • B-READY Pillar I (2024) β€” 51 economies, 11 regulatory dimensions
  • Enterprise Surveys β€” firm constraints, training rates
  • ILO β€” vulnerable employment rates
  • WDI β€” GDP per capita, trade openness

Policy Takeaway

  1. Prioritize labor regulations β€” worker protections, contract enforcement, dispute resolution
  2. Sequence entry reforms β€” don’t liberalize entry without investing in skills
  3. Growth still matters most β€” regulations complement development, they don’t replace it

Files

  • index.html β€” Interactive dashboard with country profiles
  • hackathon_analysis.ipynb β€” Full analysis code
  • hackathon_results.xlsx β€” All regression outputs

December 2024