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  4. Winter 2022
  5. Young Adults and Labor Markets in Africa

Young Adults and Labor Markets in Africa

  • Oriana Bandiera
  • Ahmed Elsayed
  • Andrea Smurra
  • Céline Zipfel
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 36, no. 1, Winter 2022
(pp. 81-100)
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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.

Citation

Bandiera, Oriana, Ahmed Elsayed, Andrea Smurra, and Céline Zipfel. 2022. "Young Adults and Labor Markets in Africa." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36 (1): 81-100. DOI: 10.1257/jep.36.1.81

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • J23 Labor Demand
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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