Working out of poverty: job creation and the quality of growth in Africa/ Louise Fox, Melissa Sekkel Gaal.

WORKING OUT OF POVERTY: JOB CREATION AND THE
QUALITY OF GROWTH IN AFRICA

INTRODUCTION 1
1. Context: the economic environment for job creation 4
DEMOGRAPHICS 5
WAGE AND SALARY EMPLOYMENT 5
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF GDP 7
STRUCTURAL SHIFTS WITHIN WAGE AND SALARY EMPLOYMENT 10
2. Constraints: the missing private sector demand 12
INVESTMENT CLIMATE 13
WAGE FLEXIBILITY 15
LABOR FLEXIBILITY 17
3. Conditions: the state of the African labor force 21
EDUCATION 21
Impact on growth 25
The returns to education 25
Other approaches to addressing the skills deficit 28
HEALTH 31
CHILD LABOR 33
4. Consequences: the growth of the informal sector 36
5. Conclusion: the prospects for better outcomes 43
References 45
List of Tables
Table 1: Percent of the population living on less than $1 a day, by region 1
Table 2: Growth of the labor force, wage and salary employment, and GDP per capita in selected African countries 6
Table 3: Indicators of labor flexibility, by region 17
Table 4: Implied returns to education in selected African countries 26
Table 5: Estimated life expectancy at birth in Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions, by gender, 2000-05 and 2010-15 31
Table 6: Informal sector share of labor force by area 38
Table 7: Labor force by sector and rural/urban, ages 10 and above 38
Table 8: Estimated average annual growth in earnings by sector of employment 41
List of Figures
Figure 1: Major Obstacles Facing African Firms 14
Figure 2: Women without education, national % and rural-urban gap in % points. 23
Figure 3: Percentage of children completing primary education, by gender and household income 24
List of Boxes
Box 1: Translating common labor concepts to conditions in Africa 3
Box 2: Most African countries did not realize high growth rates 1995-2006 8
Box 3: Definitions and classification of the informal sector 37
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