Young adults and labor markets in Africa

Bandiera, Oriana ORCID: 0009-0002-6817-793X, Elsayed, Ahmed, Smurra, Andrea and Zipfel, Céline (2022) Young adults and labor markets in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36 (1). 81 - 100. ISSN 0895-3309

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Abstract

Every year, millions of young adults join the labor market in Africa. This paper harmonizes surveys and censuses from 68 low- and middle-income countries to compare their job prospects to those of their counterparts in other low-income regions. We show that employment rates are similar at similar levels of development but that young adults in Africa are less likely to have a salaried job, especially when the size of their cohort is large. Building on existing evidence on the impacts of interventions targeting both the demand and supply sides of the labor market, we discuss policy priorities for boosting the growth of salaried job creation in the region.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/jep
Additional Information:	© 2022 AER
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J13 - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J23 - Employment Determination; Job Creation; Demand for Labor; Self-Employment J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials by Skill, Training, Occupation, etc. O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
Date Deposited:	02 Mar 2022 12:57
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:53
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113891

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