Allocation of Labour in Urban West Africa: Implication for Development Policies

Ralitza Dimova (), Christophe Nordman and François Roubaud

No 3558, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: With the use of comparable data from seven West African capitals, we attempt to assess the rationale behind development policies targeting high rates of school enrolment through the prism of allocation of labour and returns to skills across the formal and informal sectors. We find that people with high levels of education allocate to the small formal sector and receive high compensation for their education and experience. Less educated workers allocate to the informal sector. While self-employment reveals some characteristics of a sector of dynamic entrepreneurship, the characteristics of the informal salaried sector are closer to those of a sector of hidden unemployment, or a stepping stone for better jobs in the future.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan West Africa; returns to skills; allocation of labour; self-selection; informal sector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J31 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2008-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dev and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published as 'Allocation of Labor in Urban West Africa: Insights from the Pattern of Labor Supply and Skill Premiums' in: Review of Development Economics, 2010, 14 (1), 75 - 92

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