Jobs from Extractives
At a Glance
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Jobs boost living standards, raise productivity, foster social cohesion, and can provide a key path out of poverty.
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Extractive companies can generate significant local employment, considering both direct jobs at project sites and also the indirect and induced effects of company employees buying goods and services locally.
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To maximize extractive projects’ potential to create jobs, early planning is crucial, since projects often require specialized skills that can take time to acquire.
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Leveraging economic diversification through the extractive sector may require stable macroeconomic policies that attract foreign investment, provide more leverage in trade agreements, and improve the financial market.
Case Studies
Key Resources
- Flagship Report Paper Series, Paper 7: Leveraging Extractive Industries for Skills Development to Maximize Sustainable Growth and Employment (African Development Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
- Employment from Mining and Agricultural Investments: How Much Myth, How Much Reality? (Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Olle Ostensson, Perrine Toledano)
- Delivering on the Promise: Leveraging Natural Resources to Accelerate Human Development in Africa (African Development Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
- Unlocking Opportunities for Women and Business: A Toolkit of Actions and Strategies for Oil, Gas, and Mining Companies (International Finance Corporation)
- Local Content Policies: Stimulating Direct Local Employment (Tim Grice)
Topic Briefing
Increasing the quantity and quality of jobs within a country is a critical pathway for economic development. Jobs boost living standards, raise productivity, foster social cohesion, and provide a key path out of poverty. Policy fundamentals such as macroeconomic and fiscal stability, the investment climate, and the quality of infrastructure affect the demand side of job creation, while education and skills affect the supply side. Policies that promote innovation and human capital development can increase productivity and competitiveness in the economy.