Youth in Africa's labor market

This book examines the challenges African youth face in their transition to work and presents a strategy for meeting these challenges. It argues that African youth start working too early and are unprepared to meet the demands of the labor market. Leaving school early - or not entering at all - limits their human capital accumulation and restricts their upward mobility, with grave implications for both individuals and national economies. This book describes how Africa's young people spend their time and presents a case for investing in youth in Africa, analyzing the two paths to working life for Africa's youth: directly (without the benefit of education) and through school. It also presents new evidence on the effects of education on employment and income in selected countries, and examines youth unemployment and its determinants. The case studies conducted in selected African countries analyze policies and programs implemented on youth employment and suggest a policy framework to help African youth successfully transition to working life. Part one, 'Youth in Africa's labor market: a synthesis' by Marito Garcia and Jean Fares, contains the following chapters: Why is it important for Africa to invest in its youth?; Transitions to working life for Africa's youth; How do Africa's young people spend their time?; The effect of education on income and employment; Working in bad jobs or not working at all; The three pillars of policy: lessons from international experience. Part two, 'Youth in Africa's labor market: country case studies', contains the following chapters: School-to-work transitions: regional overview / Lorenzo Guarcello, Marco Manacorda, Furio Rosati, Jean Fares, Scott Lyon and Cristina Valdivia; What determines labor market participation by youth in Burkina Faso? / Daniel Parent; Child labor and youth employment in Ethiopia / Lorenzo Guarcello, Scott Lyon and Furio Rosati; Youth in the labor market and the transition from school to work in Tanzania / Florence Kondylis and Marco Manacorda; How did universal primary education affect returns to education and labor market participation in Uganda? / Lisa Dragoset and Lars Vilhuber.

Excerpt from published foreword with additional information reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

This book examines the challenges African youth face in their transition to work and presents a strategy for meeting these challenges. It argues that African youth start working too early and are unprepared to meet the demands of the labor market. Leaving school early - or not entering at all - limits their human capital accumulation and restricts their upward mobility, with grave implications for both individuals and national economies. This book describes how Africa's young people spend their time and presents a case for investing in youth in Africa, analyzing the two paths to ...  [+] Show more