Yoonyoung (Yoon) Cho is a Senior Economist at the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank. She works on issues related to labor markets and social protection in developing countries including skills, entrepreneurship, migration, and jobs as well as safety nets focusing on the poor and vulnerable. She has extensive experience in development work covering the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. In 2020, she relocated to the World Bank Manila office where she leads the Bank’s engagement associated with social protection and jobs programs in the Philippines. She guides a team that supports the country’s safety nets including the flagship program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). She also leads the analytical activities and policy engagement on the jobs agenda that promotes more, better, and inclusive jobs.
Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including World Development and Labor Economics as well as numerous World Bank publications and knowledge products. Prior to joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2008, she worked for three years at the Korea Development Institute. She received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005.