World Bank is the biggest multilateral development bank in the world, established in 1945 together with the IMF as Bretton Woods Institutions. World Bank actually refers to International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA). In addition to these International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) constitutes the World Bank Group. The main purpose of the World Bank Group is to alleviate the poverty in the world and to boost the shared prosperity, which are called as "twin goals". The headquarters of the World Bank Group is located in Washington DC, USA, while it has country offices in almost all member countries. And, World Bank Turkey Country Office is now looking for an Economist to work in Ankara, Turkey, where the application deadline is 28 November 2014.
- 141249
- Economist
- Social Protection
- Professional & Technical
- GF
- Ankara, Turkey
- Local Hire
- English [Essential]; Turkish [Essential]
- 28-Nov-2014
The Europe and Central Asia region comprises 30 diverse countries, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Four of our clients are IDA only and another 5 are IDA blend countries. The remaining 21 are IBRD eligible. Although 10 of our clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and or lending services. Country Partnership Strategies (CPSs) reflect this strong diversity with substantial variation in lending prospects, but strong demand for Bank technical services t across the board.
Turkey is one of the largest countries in ECA, with per-capita GDP on the verge of reaching high-income. Solid growth and an appreciating currency has helped more than triple GDP per capita and incomes for the bottom 40 percent since the start of the century, with a large decline in poverty and remarkable improvements in health and education outcomes. Nonetheless, in several dimensions of well-being, Turkey remains solidly a middle income country, facing numerous structural challenges.
Turkey’s economic development over the past decade has resulted in impressive economic and social achievements. After a banking crisis in 2001, the country embarked on a concerted path of structural reform supported by strong fiscal consolidation, strengthened banking supervision, a reform of the social security system, and a shift to a flexible exchange rate regime with an independent central bank responsible for inflation targeting. Per-capita income subsequently almost tripled in less than a decade, and Turkey, with a population of almost 75 million, is now an upper middle-income country with the world’s 18th largest economy. Social outcomes have also improved considerably as a result of economic growth and improved public service delivery, with improved access to education (and virtually universal enrollment at the primary level) and health services (linked to the Health Transformation Program).
The benefits of economic growth have been widely shared in Turkey: incomes of the bottom 40 percent of the population rose as much as the average over the past decade. While Turkey’s apid economic progress since the early 2000s is relatively well known, its most impressive achievement may well lie in the extent to which this growth has been inclusive. Between 2002 and 2012, and despite increasing expenditure inequality after the 2008 crisis, extreme poverty has fallen from 13 percent to 5 percent while moderate poverty fell from 44 percent to 21 percent (defined using the World Bank Europe and Central Asia regional poverty lines of US$2.5/PPP and US$5/PPP, respectively). Turkey’s performance in poverty reduction places the country among the top quartile of global poverty reduction episodes during 2006-2011. The labor market has been the most important factor driving poverty reduction in Turkey in the 2000s, with about two thirds of the decline in poverty due to higher private sector earnings or higher employment rates among poor households.
However, Turkey’s achievements have recently been challenged by an uncertain economic and political outlook. Economically, Turkey faces the prospect of lower growth in a context of less abundant international finance, unless it can strengthen competitiveness. Turkey’s business environment remains relatively burdensome, with the country ranking 69th in the 2014 Doing Business Report. Improving the investment climate is critical for raising Turkey’s labor productivity growth and further boosting its export performance. Notwithstanding rapid employment growth between 2007 and 2012, Turkey continues to have the strictest employment legislation among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Turkey’s employment rate remains below that of most peers, with a particularly low level of female labor force participation. Reforms to make the labor market more flexible could contribute to facilitating greater female employment. The implementation of further microeconomic reforms to deepen the financial sector will help provide greater access to financial services for all citizens and can also contribute to reversing the significant decline in Turkey’s domestic saving rates that took place over the past decade. In parallel, continued improvements in enterprise governance could help Turkey attract further foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, bringing in associated new technologies and providing a more stable source of external financing.
The Europe and Central Asia Social Protection & Labor Global Practice at the World Bank is recruiting an Economist for the Turkey Country Office located in Ankara. The Turkey program currently includes analytical work and technical advice on labor markets, social protection, poverty and gender. The Economist will use strong quantitative and analytical skills to contribute to and support the research, analysis, technical advice and operational work in these areas as well as work in the broader country program as needed.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.
The Economist will provide technical support to a number of global practices working on Turkey under the guidance of the respective task team leader (TTL). The Economist is expected to undertake the following tasks:
(i) preparing literature reviews;
(ii) conducting data analysis;
(iii) writing of technical notes & background papers;
(iv) preparing informal notes for the team on new events, data and policies regarding employment, poverty & social protection and education;
(v) providing technical support to the preparation and supervision of lending operations;
(vi) communicating with government counterparts and other partners (e.g. academia, civil society, other international organizations); and
(vii) supporting teams visiting from Washington DC
The Economist is expected to contribute to a number of current areas of work, including:
• Jobs and development in Turkey
• Poverty measurement and analysis
• Social Protection
The Economist will be supervised by the ECA Practice Manager for Social Protection and Labor, based in Washington DC. The Program Leader responsible for Equity and Social Services for Turkey, based in Ankara will coordinate the work program with the different TTLs.
The incumbent will be stationed in Ankara, Turkey. The duration of contract is two years, subject to renewal.
The successful candidate should have the following qualifications:
- Advanced degree (Masters, preferably PhD), in Economics or Public Policy and at least 5 years of relevant experience;
- Excellent skills with statistical programming packages, including STATA;
- Interpersonal and communication skills to successfully operate in team-based work culture;
- Ability to undertake tasks independently;
- Significant professional experience in economic research or public policy analysis (work on Turkey is a plus);
- Excellent oral and written communications skills in English and Turkish
- Ability to work under tight deadlines, manage multi-task requirements and a high degree of pro-activity and initiative.
- Hands-on and results-oriented approach;
- Willingness to travel, as required by the different tasks.
The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Source: worldbank.org
