Search

We analyse the effect of education on gender parity in wage employment in sub‐Saharan African countries. The data used cover a panel of 43 countries over the period 2000–2019. The two‐stage least squares method is used. The results show that secondary and tertiary education and gender parity in education improve gender equality in wage employment. Therefore, to reduce gender inequality in wage employment, African countries should promote gender equality, particularly in secondary and tertiary education, by adopting policies to alleviate the conditions and costs of schooling for girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite numerous policies implemented in this respect, Ghana still needs to catch up in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty in all forms by 2030. One way to escape poverty for most people is access to a steady flow of sufficient income from employment. However, with limited paid employment opportunities in Ghana, as is the case for other developing countries, the question of engagement in self-employment as a means to escape poverty emerges. This study conducts a thorough empirical analysis to gauge if self-employment could be an effective tool for addressing poverty in Ghana and the types of self-employment that possess the potential as an antidote to poverty in Ghana. The study thus examines the effects of self-employment on poverty and the type(s) of self-employment that is worth pursuing using nationwide cross-sectional survey data. The study with the aid of a linear probability model finds that self-employment has a significant positive relationship with poverty. Self-employed persons are more likely to be poor relative to persons in paid employment. However, non-agriculture self-employment and opportunity entrepreneurs is a viable route out of poverty even for persons with less than desired levels of education and skills. The implications for poverty reduction are discussed.

Despite numerous policies implemented in this respect, Ghana still needs to catch up in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty in all forms by 2030. One way to escape poverty for most people is access to a steady flow of sufficient income from employment. However, with limited paid employment opportunities in Ghana, as is the case for other developing countries, the question of engagement in self-employment as a means to escape poverty emerges. This study conducts a thorough empirical analysis to gauge if self-employment could be an effective tool for addressing poverty in Ghana and the types of self-employment that possess the potential as an antidote to poverty in Ghana. The study thus examines the effects of self-employment on poverty and the type(s) of self-employment that is worth pursuing using nationwide cross-sectional survey data. The study with the aid of a linear probability model finds that self-employment has a significant positive relationship with poverty. Self-employed persons are more likely to be poor relative to persons in paid employment. However, non-agriculture self-employment and opportunity entrepreneurs is a viable route out of poverty even for persons with less than desired levels of education and skills. The implications for poverty reduction are discussed. Impact statement: This study examines the effect of self-employment on poverty and the type(s) of self-employment that is worth pursuing using nationwide cross-sectional survey data. The findings show that selfemployed persons are more likely to be poor relative to persons in paid employment. However, non-agriculture self-employment and opportunity entrepreneurs is a viable route out of poverty even for persons with less than desired levels of education and skills. The relevance of this study is that it throws more light on the significance of policies to be directed to eliminating hindrances and bottlenecks in setting up own businesses and making them more productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the heterogeneous impact of a rural road improvement project on the economic activities and living standards of households in Morocco. Road pavement improvements are expected to promote better market access, encourage the transformation of traditional agricultural activities, and create opportunities for new economic activities. However, benefits may not extend evenly across different groups, and the distributional consequences call for careful empirical investigation. We employ a difference‐in‐differences (DID) estimation using a household‐level panel dataset collected under a quasi‐experimental setting in the 2010s. We classify households into three groups based on asset holdings (rich, middle, and poor). We provide several new findings. First, there was no significant transformation of agricultural production or sales for all groups. Second, rich households increased hired agricultural labor and began paid employment while middle households started new family businesses. Poor households, however, did not enjoy these new employment opportunities except for a marginal increase in family businesses. Third, due to shifts in employment, the rural road renewal project improved household consumption 3%–4% annually for rich and middle households, an impact not clearly seen among poor households. Thus, our findings show that the economic benefits of rural road improvement might not be well‐inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gendered dimensions of employment and mental health among urban informal-sector workers in Delhi, India. First, the study finds that men's employment declined by 84 percentage points during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic employment, while their monthly earnings fell by 89 percent relative to the baseline mean. In contrast, women did not experience any significant impact on employment during pandemic. Second, the study documents very high levels of pandemic-induced mental stress, with wives reporting greater stress than husbands. Third, this gendered pattern in pandemic-induced mental stress is partly explained by men's employment losses, which affected wives more than husbands. In contrast, women staying employed during the pandemic is associated with worse mental health for them and their (unemployed) husbands. Fourth, pre-existing social networks are associated with higher mental stress for women, possibly due to the "home-based" nature of women's networks. HIGHLIGHTS In India, men suffered larger employment losses than women during the pandemic. Women reported greater mental stress than men, although both reported high stress. Men's employment losses affected their wives' mental health more than their own. Having many peers is correlated with worse stress for women, but not men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the organization of production in Rwanda's main coffee producing zone. Most rural households in the region have limited access to land and stable employment. Yet, while differences in property and employment appear small from afar, this paper shows why they are consequential: even when marginal, these differences interact with time and market pressures (e.g. relative dependence on household food production or need for cash) that shape the complex and gendered labour relations between and within generally land-poor households. In a context of heightened precarity, such a labour-centred approach helps chart the prevailing trajectories of accumulation and exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming has been considered the main source of income for rural households in Nigeria, despite their involvement in other income-generating activities. Focusing on income derivable from farming alone may be partially responsible for the ineffective poverty reduction strategies in Nigeria. Using the National Living Standard Survey data collected by the National Bureau of Statistics, this paper investigated the composition and determinants of non-farm incomes of rural households in Nigeria. The results show that the share of farm, non-farm wage (NFW) and self-employment (NFS) incomes in total household incomes were 24.3%, 43.0% and 23.7% respectively. Households whose heads are males or have formal education had an increased likelihood of households' participation in NFW activities by 6.2% and 10.9% points respectively, while larger household size decreased it by 0.6% point. Furthermore, possession of capital assets, being a male household head and age increased the likelihood of participation in NFS employment activities by 33.3%, 1.5% and 0.3%; while larger farm size and household size decreased it by 1.6% and 0.1% respectively. The study concludes that any policy targeting poverty reduction should focus on providing a favourable environment for poor households to access non-farm activities in the studied area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • National panel survey data from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, representing 40 percent of the total population in SSA. • 44 percent of the rural and urban working-age population participates in off-farm employment. • Population weighted cross-country gender gap in off-farm employment is 9 percentage points, but this has declined over time in most countries. • About 39 million individuals across the five countries, is estimated to have entered and exited employment between 2010 and 2016. • Drivers of entry into off-farm employment and continued employment are country- and gender-specific. Abstract Off-farm income constitutes a substantial share of the household livelihood portfolios across Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, the determinants and dynamics of individuals' participation in off-farm employment activities have not received adequate attention due to the weaknesses in individual-level data collection and the lack of longitudinal studies. This paper uses national panel household survey data from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda; provides empirical evidence on individual-level off-farm (wage and self) employment participation rates; analyzes the extent and drivers of entry into off-farm employment and continued employment; and conducts the analysis by gender and rural/urban location. A non-negligible share of the rural and urban working-age individual population is found to participate in off-farm employment, ranging at the national-level from 34 percent in Ethiopia to 58 percent in Malawi. Men participate in wage and self-employment to a significantly greater extent compared to women across time as well as within and across countries, apart from women's participation in non-farm enterprises being more common in Nigeria and Tanzania. The population weighted cross-country gender difference in off-farm employment stands at 9 percentage points, but this has declined over time in most countries. A substantial share of the population, amounting to about 39 million individuals across the five countries, is estimated to have entered and exited employment between 2010 and 2016, pointing to the dynamic nature of off-farm employment. Drivers of entry into off-farm employment and continued employment are country- and gender-specific, with demographic factors, occurrence of shocks and job characteristics emerging as the most important determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The omnipresent narrative announcing a decline in wage employment and rise in self-employment raises questions about the best way of assessing and interpreting the conditions in which labour might be mobilised. The main issues here are whether the growing fragility of an archaic wage-based institution is cause for celebration; or instead, if there are reasons to regret a lost golden age; or lastly, if the very essence of wage-earning , above and beyond its legal aspects, merits further scrutiny.

This paper examines the economic landscape of contemporary Nunavut from the perspective of Inuit women's labour force activity. Gender is shown to play a crucial role in explaining wage work dynamics in contemporary Nunavut and, more importantly, within Inuit families. Despite the centrality of Inuit women's employment, family, and domestic responsibilities-as well as their increased participation in northern development-very few studies have examined gender dynamics in this context. Drawing on 29 families' personal stories collected by the author in the community of Kangiqtugaapik, Nunavut between 2011 and 2013, this paper examines how wage work is organized at the community, family, and individual levels. Nouveau régime de travail au Nunavut : perspective sur l'identité de genre Cet article examine le paysage économique du Nunavut à partir de l'activité économique des femmes inuites. Dans le Nunavut contemporain, l'identité de genre joue un rôle déterminant dans les dynamiques de travail salarié, particulièrement au sein des familles. Bien que les femmes inuites occupent une place centrale sur le marché du travail, dans les activités familiales et domestiques, et que leur participation au développement du nord n'ait cessé de croître, jusqu'à ce jour peu d'études se sont intéressées aux dynamiques de genre dans ce contexte. Afin d'examiner l'organisation du travail salarié à trois échelles - la communauté, la famille et l'individu - l'article s'appuie sur les récits individuels de 29 familles recueillis par l'auteur dans la communauté de Kangiqtugaapik, Nunavut entre 2011 et 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of the literature on job satisfaction concludes that self-employed workers enjoy higher levels of job satisfaction than their wage counterparts. In this article, we test this statement by including as an explanatory variable the preference of individuals for either type of employment. Using data drawn from 24,187 workers in the Spanish private sector, our results show that only self-employed workers report higher satisfaction levels than salaried employees when they actually display a preference for self-employment. Our conclusions posit that it is not self-employment per se, but being on the type of employment of preference (wage or self-employment) what contributes to explain the greater job satisfaction of self-employed workers when compared to employees. Additionally, our findings provide evidence on the lower level of satisfaction of reluctant entrepreneurs when compared to latent entrepreneurs. In other words, self-employed workers who prefer salaried employment are less satisfied than employees who report a preference for self-employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This article evaluates household welfare effects of large-scale agricultural investments in Tanzania, one of the main recipients of such investments in Africa. Specifically, the article compares households participating in sugar and rice investments through outgrower schemes or as agro-industry workers with non-participants in terms of household income and income poverty. Building on primary household data, it is one of the first studies to empirically analyze ex-post impacts of large-scale agricultural investments in Africa. The analysis draws on cross-section survey data of 516 households collected in Kilombero District, a priority cluster for the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). The results show overall positive household welfare differences between participants of the investments and the respective counterfactual. However, there are large differences between arrangements and subsectors. Estimated effects for outgrowers are largest, yet for land-rich outgrowers more so than for land-poor. Effects for agro-industry workers in the sugar investment are significantly larger than for those in the rice investment, though in both investments land-poor workers seem to benefit. Hence, the study results suggest potential benefits of outgrower schemes and potentials of agro-industry wage employment for the land-poor to escape extreme poverty. Yet, it also stresses particularly the need to address the constraints of land-poor outgrowers. Qualitative interviews, for example, pointed to growing risks for land-poor outgrowers in the context of rising elite capture by larger outgrowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women empowerment is a focus of regional and global programs created towards women development in recent years. Economic empowerment seems to bear fruits for the interpersonal, social, legal and political areas as well. Microfinance programs and wage employment programs have served as two significant instruments to stimulate this process of positive change starting from individual/ interpersonal level and expanding to families and communities. This exploratory study attempts to compare microfinance with wage programs to see their effectiveness in Karachi. A total of 120 interview questionnaire was distributed among women respondents, two focus studies and five interviews with the policy makers provided insights to understand these programs. The study discovers that women who availed microfinance programs have shown low rate of economic and social development, whereas women who availed wage programs have shown higher level of economic and social development. Furthermore, findings have also supported the fact that absence of legal framework, infrastructure, training programs by microfinance institutions inhibit the growth of the women enterprise and support wage employment which ensure the fulfillment of basic needs at early level. The new dimensions of the study can be further investigated by increasing the sample size.

Women empowerment is a focus of regional and global programs created towards women development in recent years. Economic empowerment seems to bear fruits for the interpersonal, social, legal and political areas as well. Microfinance programs and wage employment programs have served as two significant instruments to stimulate this process of positive change starting from individual/ interpersonal level and expanding to families and communities. This exploratory study attempts to compare microfinance with wage programs to see their effectiveness in Karachi. A total of120 interview questionnaire was distributed among women respondents, two focus studies and five interviews with the policy makers provided insights to understand these programs. The study discovers that women who availed microfinance programs have shown low rate of economic and social development, whereas women who availed wage programs have shown higher level of economic and social development. Furthermore, findings have also supported the fact that absence of legal framework, infrastructure, training programs by microfinance institutions inhibit the growth of the women enterprise and support wage employment which ensure the fulfillment of basic needs at early level. The new dimensions of the study can be further investigated by increasing the sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of the significance of public wage employment programmes in tackling unpredictable community “covariate” shocks and ensuring livelihood security of the rural poor has led to the enactment of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, with state guarantee of work. Implementation of the Act, our empirical findings tell us, has become the site of tangible exchanges between state and society, with factors such as the level of material support for it, the balance of power between the local state and the poor on the ground, and the larger socio-economic structure determining programme outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper addresses a central problem for labour historians--explaining the long-term shift of work from self- to wage employment. The paper questions the received view, which explains the shift with reference to crises in self-employment that forced peasants and artisans to become wage-earners. It instead favours an explanation that allows the worker the capacity to choose, and suggests how we can read these choices on the basis of historical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, entrepreneurship literature overlooks part-time entrepreneurs, i.e., those who devote time to entrepreneurial ventures and wage employment at the same time. In contrast, recent evidence from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a large cross-national study on the level of entrepreneurial activity, establishes that 80% of nascent entrepreneurs also hold regular wage jobs. This paper offers a model of entrepreneurial entry under financial constraints where individuals choose between wage employment, part-time, and full-time entrepreneurship. Those who become nascent entrepreneurs must further decide how much capital to invest and what proportion of time to spend in business. I test this model using data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, which covers start-ups and nascent entrepreneurs. My findings show that part-time entrepreneurs are not affected by financial constraints. The analysis suggests that industry barriers, risk aversion, and learning by doing might be other factors worth investigating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the CHIP rural household survey data, this paper estimates the returns to education in wage employment in rural China in 1995, 2002, and 2007. OLS estimation shows that the rates of return to education (RORE) for all rural wagers are 3% -4% in this period. After controlling ability bias and sample selection bias, the RORE for all rural wagers drops from 3.2% in 2002 to 2.6% in 2007, that for local wagers from 3.5% in 2002 to 2.0% in 2007, and that for migrant wagers is insignificant in 2002 but jumps to 4. 5% in 2007. Furthermore, education increases the probability of being a non-farm wager, especially a local wager. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nigeria, unemployment in rural areas translates to economic problems, such as high levels of rural–urban migration. Interventions aimed at promoting rural transformation and development are designed to generate employment by promoting the growth of sectors such as manufacturing and services in rural areas. In this study, the General Household Survey (GHS) panel data for the post-planting and post-harvest periods of the 2011/2012 and 2015/2016 cropping seasons for Nigeria was used to investigate developments in rural areas in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015, and identified how these developments influenced labor market outcomes among rural youths. Fixed effect models were employed to control for unobserved heterogeneity that may exist because of the different years in the data used. Key levers of sustainable social and economic development, such as access to finance, health services, markets, and infrastructure such as electricity, were considered. The empirical results from the study revealed that being educated as well as having access to infrastructure and information had positive effects on the number of youths that took up wage/salary employment in the rural areas. The study concluded that the diversification of youths into other sectors would have higher growth effects on the development of rural areas, as they can invest more in agriculture, while also reducing the level of dependence on the sector. The study recommends an increase in budgetary allocations for education and rural development projects, with a special focus on electricity and financial institutions, while increasing access to information on available job opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]