Senegal’s International Competitiveness and Employment Creation for Women and Youth. The Product Space Analysis and Fieldwork Findings

Ahmadou Mbaye, Stephen Golub and Anastasia Vasilyeva ()
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Anastasia Vasilyeva: University Cheikh Anta DIOP (UCAD)

Working Papers from University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit

Abstract: Senegal benefits from political stability and a favorable geographic location, but economic performance since independence has been disappointing, with resulting pervasive underemployment, especially for women and youth. This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space framework. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. We depart from the usual product-space approach, however, in arguing that Senegal can foster increasing complexity and employment growth within existing product lines with strong comparative advantage by improving product quality and cost-competitiveness. To do so will require addressing long-standing weaknesses in the business climate, particularly deficient public services, corruption and restrictive labor market regulations.

Keywords: Economic Complexity; Senegal; Employment; Women; Youth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 76 pages
Date: 2019-05
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Published in IDRC|DPRU Working Paper Series by the Development Policy Research Unit, May 2019, pages 1-76

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