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The Association Between the Labor Force and Socio-Economic forces in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a VECM approach

Year 2022, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 175 - 189, 31.12.2022

Abstract

Since gaining independence in the 1960s, education has dramatically increased in African nations. Immediate emphasis was placed on human resource development to advance and modernize many economic areas. As a result, education was seen as a development instrument since it produced a larger number of skilled workforces, which helped to build a critical mass of experts and specialists for economic development. In this study, we explored the association between the labor force and socio-economic forces in Sub-Saharan Africa from the period 2000 to 2020. A vector error correction model was exercised to observe the long-run and short-term cointegration between the labor force and explanatory factors such as literacy rate, economic growth, government expenditure, and progression to the secondary school level. What’s more, we discerned the causality among the variables to conclude if there is a unidirectional or bidirectional relationship. The findings demonstrated that in the short run socioeconomic forces do not have any considerable impact on the labor force. Nonetheless, the long-run results revealed that economic growth and progression to the secondary education level have a positive impact on the labor force. Whilst, the Sub-Saharan African government’s expenditure presented a negative impact on the labor force. Last but not least, the literacy rate exhibited an insignificant impact which suggests how inconsequential the literacy rate is to determine the labor force in Africa. Further, the findings will assist managers, scholars, and lawmakers in identifying the appropriate types of measures required in their fields of expertise or countries of interest in order to capitalize on the labor force and upgrade the current policies and reforms concerning the workforce, employment, and job market.

References

  • Amin, A. A. (2021). Sub-Sahara Africa's Higher Education: Financing, Growth, and Employment. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(1), 14-23.
  • Assaad, R. B. (2019). Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa. IZA World of Labor.
  • Baker, S. R. (2016). Measuring economic policy uncertainty. The quarterly journal of economics, 131(4), 1593-1636.
  • Beegle, K. &. (2019). Accelerating poverty reduction in Africa. World Bank Publications.
  • Bloom, D. E. (2017). Africa's prospects for enjoying a demographic dividend. Journal of Demographic Economics, 83(1), 63-76.
  • Bosio, E. R. (2021). “The Invisible Burden: How Arrears Could Unleash a Banking Crisis.” VoxEU.
  • Brück, T. &. (2019). Reprint of: food security and violent conflict: introduction to the special issue. World Development, 119, 145-149.
  • Casterline, J. B.‐M. (2017). Fertility desires and the course of fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. Population and Development Review, 43, 84-111.
  • Chacaltana, J. L. (2018). New technologies and the transition to formality: The trend towards e-formality. ILO Employment Policy Department Working Paper, 247.
  • Cleland, J. (2017). Population growth, employment, and livelihoods: The triple challenge. Journal of Demographic Economics, 83(1), 51-61.
  • Diao, X. E. (2021). Africa’ S Manufacturing Puzzle: Evidence from. NBER Working Paper, w28344.
  • Dickey. 1979. "Distribution of Estimates of autoregressive Time Series with Unit Root." Journal of the American Statistical Association 427-431.
  • Dieppe, A. (. (2021). Global productivity: trends, drivers, and policies. World Bank Publications.
  • Fasih, T. H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on labor market outcomes: lessons from past economic crises. The World Bank Blogs.
  • Fosu, A. K. (2019). Domestic credit and export diversification: Africa from a global perspective. Journal of African Business, 20(2), 160-179.
  • Granger. 1969. "Investigating Causal Relations by EconometricModels and Cross-Spectral Methods"." Econometrica 37, 424-438.
  • Gill, I. S. (2019). Has Africa Missed the Bus? The Confusing Consensus about the Continent’s Growth. Duke Global Working Paper, Series No. 2019/01.
  • Isukul, A. C. (2019). Economic diversification in Nigeria: Lessons from other Countries of Africa. DBN Journal of Economics & Sustainable Growth, 2(1).
  • Kilic Celik, S. M. (2020). “Subdued Potential Growth: Sources and Remedies.”. Policy Research World Bank, Working Paper 9177.
  • Klasen, S. L. (2021). What drives female labour force participation? Comparable micro-level evidence from eight developing and emerging economies. The Journal of Development Studies, 57(3), 417-442.
  • Mbaye, A. A. (2018). The competitiveness challenge of the formal sector in Francophone Africa: Understanding the role of the informal sector and the business environment. competitiveness in the global economy, pp. 25-51.
  • Monga, C. S. (2019). Creating decent job strategies, policies, and instruments. Africa Development Bank.
  • Orkin, K. G.-W. (2021). International Evidence to Inform Decision-Making on Implementing Social Protection Measures During a Crisis. The University of Oxford.
  • Rovo, N. (2020). Structural Reforms to Set the Growth Ambition. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (9175).
  • Valero, A. &. (2019). The economic impact of universities: Evidence from across the globe. Economics of Education Review, 68, 53-67.
  • World Development Report (2019). Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Sahra Altı Afrika'da İşgücü ve Sosyo-Ekonomik Güçler Arasındaki İlişki: Bir VECM yaklaşımından elde edilen kanıtlar

Year 2022, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 175 - 189, 31.12.2022

Abstract

1960'larda bağımsızlığını kazanmasından bu yana, Afrika ülkelerinde eğitim önemli ölçüde arttı. Birçok ekonomik alanı ilerletmek ve modernize etmek için insan kaynaklarının geliştirilmesine acil vurgu yapıldı. Sonuç olarak, eğitim, ekonomik kalkınma için kritik bir uzman ve uzman kitlesinin oluşturulmasına yardımcı olan daha fazla sayıda vasıflı iş gücü ürettiği için bir kalkınma aracı olarak görülüyordu. Bu çalışmada, Sahra Altı Afrika'da 2000-2020 yılları arasında işgücü ile sosyo-ekonomik güçler arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırdık. okuryazarlık oranı, ekonomik büyüme, devlet harcamaları ve orta öğretim düzeyine ilerleme gibi güçlü ve açıklayıcı faktörler. Dahası, tek yönlü mü yoksa çift yönlü bir ilişki olup olmadığı sonucuna varmak için değişkenler arasındaki nedenselliği ayırt ettik. Bulgular, kısa vadede sosyoekonomik güçlerin işgücü üzerinde önemli bir etkiye sahip olmadığını göstermiştir. Bununla birlikte, uzun vadeli sonuçlar, ekonomik büyümenin ve orta öğretim düzeyine ilerlemenin işgücü üzerinde olumlu bir etkiye sahip olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bununla birlikte, Sahra Altı Afrika hükümetinin harcamaları işgücü üzerinde olumsuz bir etki yarattı. Son olarak, okuryazarlık oranı, Afrika'daki işgücünü belirlemek için okuryazarlık oranının ne kadar önemsiz olduğunu gösteren önemsiz bir etki sergiledi. Ayrıca bulgular, yöneticilere, akademisyenlere ve yasa koyuculara, işgücünden yararlanmak ve işgücü, istihdam, istihdam ve sosyal güvenlik ile ilgili mevcut politika ve reformları yükseltmek için uzmanlık alanlarında veya ilgilendikleri ülkelerde gerekli olan uygun önlem türlerini belirlemede yardımcı olacaktır. ve iş piyasası.

References

  • Amin, A. A. (2021). Sub-Sahara Africa's Higher Education: Financing, Growth, and Employment. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(1), 14-23.
  • Assaad, R. B. (2019). Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa. IZA World of Labor.
  • Baker, S. R. (2016). Measuring economic policy uncertainty. The quarterly journal of economics, 131(4), 1593-1636.
  • Beegle, K. &. (2019). Accelerating poverty reduction in Africa. World Bank Publications.
  • Bloom, D. E. (2017). Africa's prospects for enjoying a demographic dividend. Journal of Demographic Economics, 83(1), 63-76.
  • Bosio, E. R. (2021). “The Invisible Burden: How Arrears Could Unleash a Banking Crisis.” VoxEU.
  • Brück, T. &. (2019). Reprint of: food security and violent conflict: introduction to the special issue. World Development, 119, 145-149.
  • Casterline, J. B.‐M. (2017). Fertility desires and the course of fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. Population and Development Review, 43, 84-111.
  • Chacaltana, J. L. (2018). New technologies and the transition to formality: The trend towards e-formality. ILO Employment Policy Department Working Paper, 247.
  • Cleland, J. (2017). Population growth, employment, and livelihoods: The triple challenge. Journal of Demographic Economics, 83(1), 51-61.
  • Diao, X. E. (2021). Africa’ S Manufacturing Puzzle: Evidence from. NBER Working Paper, w28344.
  • Dickey. 1979. "Distribution of Estimates of autoregressive Time Series with Unit Root." Journal of the American Statistical Association 427-431.
  • Dieppe, A. (. (2021). Global productivity: trends, drivers, and policies. World Bank Publications.
  • Fasih, T. H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on labor market outcomes: lessons from past economic crises. The World Bank Blogs.
  • Fosu, A. K. (2019). Domestic credit and export diversification: Africa from a global perspective. Journal of African Business, 20(2), 160-179.
  • Granger. 1969. "Investigating Causal Relations by EconometricModels and Cross-Spectral Methods"." Econometrica 37, 424-438.
  • Gill, I. S. (2019). Has Africa Missed the Bus? The Confusing Consensus about the Continent’s Growth. Duke Global Working Paper, Series No. 2019/01.
  • Isukul, A. C. (2019). Economic diversification in Nigeria: Lessons from other Countries of Africa. DBN Journal of Economics & Sustainable Growth, 2(1).
  • Kilic Celik, S. M. (2020). “Subdued Potential Growth: Sources and Remedies.”. Policy Research World Bank, Working Paper 9177.
  • Klasen, S. L. (2021). What drives female labour force participation? Comparable micro-level evidence from eight developing and emerging economies. The Journal of Development Studies, 57(3), 417-442.
  • Mbaye, A. A. (2018). The competitiveness challenge of the formal sector in Francophone Africa: Understanding the role of the informal sector and the business environment. competitiveness in the global economy, pp. 25-51.
  • Monga, C. S. (2019). Creating decent job strategies, policies, and instruments. Africa Development Bank.
  • Orkin, K. G.-W. (2021). International Evidence to Inform Decision-Making on Implementing Social Protection Measures During a Crisis. The University of Oxford.
  • Rovo, N. (2020). Structural Reforms to Set the Growth Ambition. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (9175).
  • Valero, A. &. (2019). The economic impact of universities: Evidence from across the globe. Economics of Education Review, 68, 53-67.
  • World Development Report (2019). Washington, DC: The World Bank.
There are 26 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Economics
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Sadık Aden Dırır 0000-0002-8159-5442

Early Pub Date December 31, 2022
Publication Date December 31, 2022
Submission Date October 8, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 5 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Dırır, S. A. (2022). The Association Between the Labor Force and Socio-Economic forces in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a VECM approach. Journal of Politics Economy and Management, 5(2), 175-189.

The author(s) is (are) the sole responsible for the opinion and views stated in the articles.

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