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Jesko Hentschel

University Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco and IZA, Germany

I am very happy to contribute to the IZA World of Labor series—this project makes a core contribution in assembling pertinent and evidence-based information on employment and development. It convinces through a very rigorous selection process of topics and strong editorial oversight

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Affiliate Professor, Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, University Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco

Research interest

Development economics, human development theory, welfare economics

Website

https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/j/jesko-hentschel

Past positions

Deputy Director, World Development Report 2013: “Jobs”; Lecturer, University of Potsdam, Germany (2001–2003)

Qualifications

PhD, International Economics, University of Konstanz, 1991

Selected publications

  • World Development Report 2013: Jobs.

  • From Occupations to Embedded Skills: A Cross-Country Comparison. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6560, 2013 (with C. Aedo, M. Moreno, and J. Luque).

  • Live Chances in Turkey. Directions of Development. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010 (with M. Aran, R. Can, F. Ferreira, J. Gignoux, and A. Uraz).

  • “Bundling of basic public services and household welfare in developing countries: An empirical exploration for the case of Peru.” Oxford Development Studies 35 (2007): 329–346 (with A. Chong and J. Saavedra).

  • “Using rapid city surveys for the analysis of municipal social policy—An application in Cali, Colombia.” Habitat International 29 (2005): 667–688.

  • “Combining census and survey data to study the spatial dimensions of poverty.” World Bank Economic Review 14 (2000): 147–165 (with P. Lanjouw, J. Lanjouw, and J. Poggi).

article(s)

  • Skills or jobs: Which comes first?

    Jobs require skills, but they also build skills and create a demand for them

    Jesko Hentschel, February 2017
    Skills are widely regarded as being necessary for boosting productivity, stimulating innovation, and creating new jobs, while skill mismatches are often cited as being responsible for a lack of dynamism in the labor market. However, heavy investments in technical and vocational training programs are seldom a “silver bullet.” Recent evidence on skill building not only points to the core importance of foundational skills (both cognitive and social) for success in the labor market, but also emphasizes how jobs themselves can lead to learning and shape social competencies that, in turn, ignite innovation and create more jobs.
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