White Paper

The outcomes of technology's impact on employment are not really known for sure. Predictions suggest that there will be more jobs, different jobs, less jobs, even no jobs. However, not much is being written about how people will need new skills more often to stay employable for jobs that may not have been heard of yet. This report presents new findings based on a 2016 survey of 18,000 employers in 43 countries across six industry sectors to determine how they expect technology will impact their business in the next two years, and how they are ensuring their workforce has the right skills and is ready to adapt.

We carried out a deep dive into people’s mindsets to explore whether Millennials think differently about the gender gap and if they will be the generation to eradicate it. We wanted to understand whether attitudes differ between women and men, how long it will take to close the gap and what solutions are needed to make change happen faster. Our research points to clear conclusions. We need to move from talking about diversity to taking real action that achieves real results. This report presents seven practical steps – real steps for real people working in businesses around the world – to reach the tipping point where women will accelerate into leadership roles, faster.

We provide a new measure of automation based on patents and study its employment effects. Classifying all U.S. patents granted between 1976 and 2014 as automation or non-automation patents, we document a strong rise in both the absolute number and the share of automation patents. We link patents to the industries of their use and, through local industry structure, to commuting zones. According to our estimates, advances in national automation technology have a positive influence on employment in local labor markets. Manufacturing employment declines, but this is more than compensated by service sector job growth. Commuting zones with more people working in routine occupations fare worse. Our findings are robust to weighting patents by the number of their citations or focusing exclusively on patents by governments, research institutions or foreign assignees.

This report that takes stock of the growing demand for "green" products. Based on a BCG study conducted in July 2008 on green consumer attitudes among 9000 adults in nine countries and interviews with some 20 leaders, this report revisits some key questions: how is demand changing? What is the price elasticity of "green" products? What are the obstacles to eco-responsible purchasing and what are its drivers? With the bonus of excellent examples. Essential to update a number of our misconceptions about the real brakes on green buying.

Migration is one of the defining features of the 21st century and significantly contributes to economic and social development everywhere. As such, migration will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a series of briefings, ODI, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), explains the relationship between migration and critical development issues that are central to the SDGs. The briefings provide a set of recommendations for governments and policymakers tasked with delivering the 2030 Agenda.

Across Europe, new forms of employment are emerging that are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. Some transform the relationship between employer and employee, some change work organisation and work patterns, and some do both. This report identifies nine forms of employment that are new or have become increasingly important in Europe since the year 2000. While there is wide diversity in terms of their characteristics and employment relationship, all the forms aim to increase flexibility for employers and/or employees. Although some have the potential to benefit employers and employees equally, in a few cases concerns have been raised about their impact on working conditions and the labour market. The report concludes with recommendations about the need to raise awareness of the potential problems and establish safety nets for workers. An executive summary and case studies are also available.

To close the literacy and numeracy skills gap between immigrants and Indigenous people and the overall population, more education and training is needed.

In this E-Brief, I compare the literacy and numeracy skill levels of Canadians in 2012, the latest evaluation, to those comparable competencies in 2003 (see Box for an explanation of these two international OECD surveys). Although more Canadians over the 2003-2012 period obtained a post-secondary education, their skill levels in literacy and numeracy moderately declined. Most participating OECD countries also experienced a decline in average numeracy scores, but Canada and Norway were the only two with a fall in literacy skills (Figures 1A and 1B).

In the automation age, women face new challenges overlaid on long-established ones. Technology adoption could displace millions from their jobs; many others will need to change the way they work. Globally, 40 million to 160 million women may need to transition between occupations by 2030, often into higher-skilled roles. If they make these transitions, women could find more productive, better paid work; if they don’t, they could face a growing wage gap or leaving the labor market. Men and women need to be skilled, mobile, and tech-savvy in the automation age, but women face pervasive barriers. Concerted and creative new solutions are needed to enable women to move forward.