The State of Economic Inclusion Report 2024

It is especially important to focus on women and youth in the expansion of economic inclusion programs. As illustrated in the report, these groups are a priority for most economic inclusion programs: 90 percent of programs target women, and 65 percent target youth. In regions experiencing a youth bulge, a much larger share of programs focuses on supporting the access of youth to better economic opportunities (86 percent of programs in the Middle East and North Africa and 70 percent of programs in Sub-Saharan Africa). However, targeting these groups is just the first step. Although these vulnerable groups share some of the same constraints to economic inclusion, understanding specific barriers to engaging in income-generating activities is key to supporting them effectively. There has been progress on this front in recent years, but more programs must take an evidence-based approach to customizing design and delivery for these groups.

Many more programs could adopt gender-intentional design and delivery that actively considers and addresses the different needs, experiences, and challenges of all women, particularly focusing on reducing gender inequalities. Emerging lessons stress the importance of addressing social norms, tailoring the timing and nature of program activities, and including components to reduce the burden of unpaid care work on women, which often limits their time and opportunities for economic participation. Beyond programmatic interventions, a critical dimension to scaling up also requires policy-level engagement, at a minimum to take advantage of any enabling policy frameworks (such as decent work provisions for childcare or community-based care) and, at best, to gradually influence legislative and regulatory barriers that women might face.

Similarly, economic inclusion programs offer a testing ground for innovative approaches to tackle job challenges and integrate young people into the economy, especially those hardest to reach. In contexts where labor demand is extremely low, these programs typically promote self-employment opportunities for poor and vulnerable youth. The prevailing trends of increasing urbanization and demographic shifts, such as the youth bulge in developing economies, present an opportunity to promote more access to wage employment for youth. By focusing on comprehensive provision of skills training, job placement services, and referrals, these programs can boost labor market participation of youth and promote their economic self-sufficiency. However, it is essential to integrate demand-side measures into such programs, and practitioners should better understand constraints such as skills mismatches, employer biases, regulatory barriers, and economic instability, all of which may dampen demand for labor. Building strong partnerships with employers, developing skills training programs aligned with market needs, and offering job-matching services can help connect young job seekers with suitable employment opportunities.

This report highlights the opportunities and challenges in scaling up both individual programs and establishing systematic links across programs for a more coherent economic inclusion policy framework. At the program level, it is important to prioritize the quality of program implementation as these programs scale up. Effective program delivery at scale will require well-structured institutional arrangements and organizational frameworks. Fifty-seven percent of the programs surveyed in the report indicate that they have scaled up institutionally by forming new partnerships or becoming more integrated with government structures. As government-led programs move to scale, collaborating with external organizations such as NGOs, community-based organizations, and the private sector is critical to overcoming capacity constraints. Leveraging existing delivery systems and digital technologies also plays a role in innovation and cost-effective delivery at scale.

At the policy level, as programs move to scale, a coherent approach toward an overall economic inclusion strategy is needed. The report underscores the diversity of economic inclusion programs across different countries and contexts, particularly within government institutions. While these programs often utilize distinct strategies and target various geographic areas and populations, fragmentation remains a substantial risk. To address this issue, it is crucial to develop national economic inclusion strategies that provide a coordinated approach, in particular by understanding the interplay between household- and area-focused interventions to catalyze sector-wide transformation. Enhancing interagency coordination, streamlining program design and implementation, and leveraging technology for integration are essential steps to reduce fragmentation. These actions can help create a unified, scalable approach to economic inclusion, ensuring programs work synergistically to maximize their impact on poverty reduction.

Scaling up involves replicating successful models while adapting them to local contexts, ensuring sustainability, and continuously evaluating and refining approaches. However, current evidence from government-led economic inclusion programs primarily comes from a few household-focused programs, which do not fully capture the variety of programs across different regions and contexts. A broader evidence base and a more comprehensive research agenda are needed to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of large-scale government-led programs in diverse settings. Critical learning gaps must be addressed, specifically for optimal program design for achieving scalability, impact, and cost-effectiveness. So far, most evaluations have measured impact in the short term, 1–3 years after program completion. To assess the long-term sustainability of these programs,more evaluations of at least 7–10 years after program completion are needed. Going forward, it is also crucial to better understand the impact of area-focused programs on poverty and the broader economy and their potential synergies with household-focused interventions.

Beyond building the evidence base, the research and evaluation agenda at the country level can help national governments build capacity for implementation. Research teams should work hand-in-hand with national governments and implementing agencies to establish robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks. Embedding impact evaluations during program rollout and scale-up can ensure the production and use of high-quality, operationally relevant data to inform decision-making. Engaging all stakeholders in the evaluation process can create a dynamic learning environment that improves program outcomes in real time.

Throughout the program cycle, a strong case exists for establishing comprehensive data systems, incorporating real-time monitoring and beneficiary feedback, and systematizing operational learning. In the design phase, expanding to new populations or geographies while ensuring strong program quality requires adopting good diagnostics, tailoring program components, and sequencing components. During implementation, monitoring participant progress, making real-time adjustments, and refining program design are hallmarks of success. Programs should balance participant needs, costs, complexity, and feedback from monitoring data to inform design refinements.

Economic inclusion programs have demonstrated their effectiveness in boosting income and assets by creating household enterprises or by diversifying income sources and occupational choices. The next generation of economic inclusion programming should focus on enhancing the sustainability of these impacts, for example, by integrating their participants into local and international markets and value chains to the extent feasible. Achieving this outcome requires a thorough understanding of market systems and the constraints specific to each context, followed by the development of tailored interventions to create strong market linkages. Thus, conducting detailed market assessments to identify opportunities and challenges, understanding consumer preferences, and analyzing competitive landscapes are needed. By doing so, programs can better align their interventions with market demands, enhancing the viability and profitability of household enterprises or the employability of their participants.

For many programs, securing sustainable financing and embedding economic inclusion in government systems and policies is a priority to achieve sustainability. It is also important to calibrate expectations—many participants of economic inclusion programs will make continued efforts to sustain household enterprises. As such, while economic inclusion programs typically provide a time-bound, sequenced set of components, referrals to other services or support will likely be necessary to sustain the positive impacts on incomes, assets, and occupational choices, especially due to the increasing frequency of economic and climate-related shocks.

Going forward, economic inclusion programs must retain their flexibility in responding to broader development challenges, most notably building climate resilience, as illustrated in this report’s special focus.