The programs expanded rapidly in the 1980s and early 1990s mainly because of concern about the increasing problem of insufficient employment. There was a sharp decline in the growth of employment in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s, and this decline, combined with the rapid growth of the labor force, led to rising unemployment and underemployment and widespread poverty. A 2020 brief examines the objectives of these labor programs, their short-term effects, and the policy issues associated with them. However, policymakers, donors, and researchers need to pay close attention to improving the design of public works and to searching for the right portfolio of intervention instruments.
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