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Priorities for Boosting Employment in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence for Mozambique

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Should policy‐makers, including foreign donors, focus employment strategies in sub‐Saharan Africa on strengthening access to formal wage employment or on raising productivity in the informal sector? We examine the evidence in Mozambique and show that crude distinctions between formality and informality are not illuminating. The observed welfare advantage of formal sector workers essentially derives from differences in endowments and local conditions. Non‐agricultural informal work can yield higher returns than formal work. The implication is that the informal sector must not be marginalized; and raising productivity in agriculture must be accorded a central place in boosting employment.

Source: African Development Review

DOI: 10.1111/1467-8268.12139

Authors: Sam Jones, Finn Tarp

Institutions: University of Copenhagen, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,700