work in progress:

What works? Training and wage subsidies for refugees in Turkey

Joint work with Mariano Calderón, Isaure Delaporte, Jochen Kluve and Hannah Liepmann, with the support of the ILO Country Office for Turkey.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a work-based learning and wage subsidy programme designed to promote formal employment among Syrian refugees and Turkish citizens. The analysis assesses impacts on labour market participation and job quality, with a focus on understanding which programme components are most effective in supporting integration into formal employment.

The Role of Skills in Mediating the Effects of Emerging Digital Technologies

Joint work with Isaure Delaporte and Fabien Petit.

This paper investigates which skills enable workers to adapt to emerging digital technologies. Using the TechXposure database combined with microdata surveys for more than 100 countries, we estimate the causal effect of exposure to emerging digital technologies on employment. We then examine how different skill profiles in mediate these effects, relying on occupation-specific skills intensity constructed constructed using big data from online job vacancies available in a set of countries.

How effective are ALMPs in Latin America?

Joint work with Valentina Calderón Mejía, Elva López Mourelo and Ana María Tribín.

This research evaluates the impacts of different types of active labour market policies on beneficiaries’ labour market outcomes in Latin America. Using a systematic meta-analysis of the empirical evaluation literature, the study identifies which policy instruments are most effective, for whom, and under what conditions.

What Works in Skills Development? A Global Meta-Analysis

Joint work with Isaure Delaporte and Miguel Ángel Malo.

This paper conducts a global systematic review and meta-analysis of impact evaluations of skills development programmes. The analysis is structured by type of intervention and target population, and explicitly considers complementarities with labour market policies such as ALMPs and public employment services. By synthesising quantitative and narrative evidence, the study identifies what works in skills development, for whom, and under what conditions, while highlighting key gaps in the existing evidence base.

Green Employment and Skills for the Green Transition: A Global Assessment

Joint work with Ronald Bachmann, Isaure Delaporte and Hannah Liepmann.

This project develops new measures of green jobs and green skills to assess the scale, composition, and quality of green employment across countries at different income levels. Using novel data capable of capturing task- and skill-level dynamics across and within occupations, the analysis compares skill requirements, wages, and job amenities between green and non-green jobs, with a focus on selected middle-income countries. The paper also examines how the greening of jobs is evolving within occupations over time, with implications for just transition policies.

Working papers:

Veronica Escudero, Hannah Liepmann, Damian Vergara. 2024. “Directed Search, Wages, and Non-wage Amenities: Evidence from an Online Job Board”, IZA DP No. 17211, August 2024.

Johannes Brehm, Angela Doku, Verónica Escudero. 2023. “What has been driving work-to-work transitions in the emerging world? – A comparative study of Indonesia and South Africa”. ILO Working paper 89.

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2013. “Understanding the drivers of the youth labour market in Kenya”, ILO Research Paper Series No. 8, ILO (Geneva).

Werner Eichhorst, Verónica Escudero, Paul Marx, and Steven Tobin. 2010. “The Impact of the Crisis on Employment and the Role of Labour Market Institutions”, IZA DP No. 5320, November 2010. Also available as IILS Discussion paper No. 202 (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero. 2009. “Effects of the Crisis on the Financial Sector: Trends and Policy Issues”, IILS Discussion paper No. 197, ILO (Geneva).

Refereed Journal Articles:

Verónica Escudero. 2025. “Workfare programs and their delivery system: Effectiveness of Construyendo Perú”, World Bank Economic Review, forthcoming.

Verónica Escudero, Hannah Liepmann and Ana Podjanin. 2024. “Using online vacancy and job applicants’ data to study skills dynamics”, Research in Labor Economics, Vol 52B, Big Data Applications in Labor Economics, Part B (eds. Ben Elsner and Solomon W. Polachek). December 2024.

  • Spanish version available here

Vera Chiodi and Verónica Escudero. 2024. “More is more. Livelihood interventions and child labor in the agricultural sector”. Journal of Development Effectivenness, 1-25, July 2024.

Antonia Asenjo, Verónica Escudero and Hannah Liepmann. 2023. “Why should we integrate income and employment support? A conceptual and empirical investigation”, The Journal of Development Studies, 60(1):1-29.

Verónica Escudero, Elva López Mourelo, and Clemente Pignatti. 2020. “Joint provision of income and employment support: Evidence from a crisis response in Uruguay”, World Development, 134, October 2020, 105015.

Verónica Escudero, Jochen Kluve, Elva López Mourelo, and Clemente Pignatti. 2019. “Active labour market programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis”, The Journal of Development Studies, 55(12): 2644-2661.

Verónica Escudero. 2018. “Are active labour market policies effective in activating and integrating low-skilled individuals? An international comparison”, IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 7(1):1-26.

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2018. “The European Youth Guarantee: a systematic review of its implementation across countries/La Garantie européenne pour la jeunesse‪: Bilan systématique des mises en œuvre dans les pays membres”, Travail et Emploi, 2018/1(153). English version available as ILO Working Paper No. 21, ILO (Geneva).

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2017. “Effectiveness of Active Labor Market Tools in Conditional Cash Transfers Programmes: Evidence for Argentina”, World Development, 94:422-447.

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2016. “The employment effect of changes in the composition of fiscal consolidations”, International Review of Applied Economics, 31(1):45-65.

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2014. “El sistema de garantía juvenil en Europa: características, desarrollo y desafíos”, ICE Revista Española, No. 881, pp. 83-100, Gobierno de España.

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2012. “Improving Competitiveness and Fostering Productivity in Spain”, Estudios de Economía Aplicada, 30(1):105-136.

Books & BOOK CHAPTERS:

Verónica Escudero. 2023. “How impact evaluation is shaping the design of labour market policies”, in Ferritu, G., Goulart, P. and Ramos, R. (eds.) Global Labour in Distress: the post-Cold War era, Vol. II, Section F, Palgrave Readers in Economics.

Philippe Askenazy and Verónica Escudero. 2022. “Dimension géographique des inégalités d’accès à l’emploi” (Geographical dymension of the inequalities in the access to employment), in Cottineau, C. and Vallée J. (eds.) Les inégalités dans l’espace géographique, Chapter 4, Enciclopédie des Sciences ISTE (London).

Antonia Asenjo, Verónica Escudero, Hannah Liepmann, Clemente Pignatti, and Domenico Tabasso. 2019. What works: Promoting pathways to decent work, Studies on Growth with Equity (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, Stefan Khun, Elva López Mourelo, and Steven Tobin. 2017. “Youth labour market prospects and recent policy developments”, in Malo, M.A. and Moreno Mínguez, A. (eds.) European Youth Labour Markets, Chapter 1, pp. 7-26, Springer, Cham.

Verónica Escudero, Elva López Mourelo, and Clemente Pignatti. 2016. What works: Active Labour Market Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, Studies on Growth with Equity (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2014. “Understanding the drivers of the youth labour market in Kenya”, in Malo, M.A. and Sciulli, D. (eds.) Disadvantaged Workers: Empirical Evidence and Labour Policies", AIEL Series in Labour Economics, Vol. XII, pp. 203-228, Springer.

Policy Reports:

Berg, J., Escudero, V. and Liepmann, H. (2023). “Chapter 4: Active labour market policies: Responding to crises and facilitating recovery”, in ILO, Public employment services and active labour market policies for transitions (Geneva: ILO).

Aleksynska, M.; Belser, P.; Escudero, V.; Ghosheh, N.; Milasi, S.; Parisotto A.; Pignatti, C.; Pintado Nunes, J.; Ritchotte, J.; and Tzannatos, Z. (2018). Decent work in Portugal 2008–18: From crisis to recovery (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, Richard Horne, Stefan Kühn, Santo Milasi, Elva López Mourelo, Clemente Pignatti, and Johanna Silvander. 2015. An Employment-oriented Investment Strategy for Europe, Studies on Growth with Equity (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, Santo Milasi, Clemente Pignatti, and Johanna Silvander. 2014. Spain: Growth with Jobs (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo 2013. Kenya: Making Quality Employment the Driver of Development (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero and Sameer Khatiwada. 2011. Spain: Quality Jobs for a New Economy (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, B.J Ha, Sameer Khatiwada and Steven Tobin. 2011. Germany: A Job-centred Approach (Geneva: ILO).

reports Chapters:

Verónica Escudero, Santo Milasi, and Clemente Pignatti. 2018. “Active labour market policies: From crisis interventions to structural measures”, in International Labour Organization, Decent work in Portugal 2008–18: From crisis to recovery, Chapter 4, pp. 91-110 (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, Sameer Khatiwada and Miguel Ángel Malo. 2013. “How to shift to a more equitable and job‐friendly path”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2013: Repairing the economic and social fabric, Chapter 5, pp. 101-118 (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero and Elva López Mourelo. 2012. “Fiscal consolidation and employment growth”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2012: Better jobs for a better economy, Chapter 3, pp. 59-80 (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero, Elva López Mourelo, and Sameer Khatiwada. 2012. “Making profits work for investment and jobs”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2011: Making markets work for jobs. Chapter 2, pp. 31-54 (Geneva: ILO).

Steven Tobin and Verónica Escudero. 2010. “World of work outlook: The challenge of job-rich recovery”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2010: From one crisis to the next?. Chapter 1, pp. 1-32 (Geneva: ILO).

Steven Tobin, Verónica Escudero and Emily McGirr. 2009. “The global jobs crisis: Patterns and medium-term scenarios”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2009: The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond. Chapter 1, pp. 1-44 (Geneva: ILO).

Ekkehard Ernst and Verónica Escudero. 2008. “The role of financial globalization”, in International Labour Organization, World of Work Report 2008: Income Inequalities in the Age of Financial Globalization. Chapter 2, pp. 39-70 (Geneva: ILO).

Verónica Escudero and Claudia Natali. 2008. “Regional Migration Overviews”, in International Migration Organization, World Migration Report 2008: Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy. pp 403-490 (Geneva: IOM).