Zambia Jobs Diagnostic: Volume 1 – Analytics

Dino Leonardo Merotto

No 27563117, Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides from The World Bank

Abstract: One of the world’s most youthful countries, Zambia’s economy has been booming since the early 2000s on the back of record high copper prices and private sector investment response to the better business environment. But poverty rose from 2010 to 2015 and remains very high in rural areas. Economic transformation is underway with workers moving to off-farm jobs, but these are heavily skewed in the capital Lusaka and in the Copperbelt, are mostly informal, and aside from jobs on the commercial farms, good waged are inaccessible to large groups of rural Zambians, especially women and youth. As labor has started moving out of agriculture into industry and especially into services, productivity and hours worked have fallen on average, especially for young people and those with low levels of education. Better educated people in the upper income quintiles are gaining most from rapid growth in Zambia, with the public sector hiring a substantial share of better educated Zambians and paying them more for a given level of education. The majority of Zambia’s rising number of poor people are stuck in low productivity agriculture. This report identifies the main jobs challenges facing Zambia and recommends policies and programs that could reduce poverty and make growth more inclusive by generating more and better jobs for Zambia.

Keywords: poverty head count; Agriculture; European Development Finance Institutions; labor force participation rate; per capita income growth; employment elasticity of growth; poverty elasticity of growth; economic stabilization and recovery; average for sub-saharan africa; people in urban area; labor productivity; share of employment; share of work; copper price; good investment climate; movement of worker; jobs in agriculture; labor productivity growth; agricultural productivity growth; agriculture and service; output per worker; employment in agriculture; european investment bank; supply of labor; standard of living; employment in industry; privileges and immunity; civil society group; macroeconomic and fiscal; vulnerable population group; road development program; signs of recovery; share of labor; purchasing power parity; labor force participant; income urban population; growth in population; social security benefit; formal sector employment; movement of labor; demand for worker; increase in labor; decomposition of growth; commodity price fluctuation; high-value agricultural product; annual average growth; formal sector wage; unpaid family worker; economic development policy; gaps in productivity; high productivity jobs; public sector worker; gender wage gap; private sector wage; young people; rural area; employment rate; formal employment; Labor Market; dependency ratio; total employment; demographic dividend; income share; real gdp; rural agriculture; agricultural labor; Informal Jobs; employment growth; rural population; Population Projection; labor-intensive growth; inclusive growth; commercial farming; local economy; employment share; economic diversification; Learning and Innovation Credit; export trade; Population Growth; informal firms; land resource; regression results; working-age population; wage work; regional policy; high share; land resources; land border; wage worker; average productivity; economic recovery; unemployment rate; urban employment; agriculture industry; rural link; informal sector; spatial analysis; cross border; live animal; urban worker; population share; average rainfall; cereal production; exchange rate; administrative boundary; off-farm employment; largest firms; dynamic gains; productivity gain; population size; low-income economy; manufacturing sector; Employment Sector; informal employment; net effect; urban job; regression analysis; road corridor; school-age population; commercial agriculture; sectoral employment; micro firms; crop potential; Job Creation; global market; female source; working age; urban service; unfair competition; demographic change; process industry; mineral boom; global partnership; smallholder linkage; supply side; fiscal correction; extensive consultation; representative group; job growth; development partner; skilled people; government grant; diagnostic work; original work; sole responsibility; copyright owner; commercial purpose; power shortage; absolute poverty; energy crisis; Social Protection; border crossing; Fiscal policies; fiscal policy; wage employment; macroeconomic reform; rural transportation infrastructure; high poverty; smallholder farming; employment type; vulnerable group; industrial labor; firm dynamic; investment response; positive growth; industrial sector; employment demand; working population; Exchange Rates; rural economy; unpaid work; smallholder farmer; traded goods; age structure; job crisis; supply-chain linkage; increased rate; large population; sectoral breakdown; Demographic Transition; contract work; skill development; estimated elasticity; informal worker; rising inequality; business environment; farm level; jobs diagnostic; agricultural activity; crop season; population census; recorded poverty; livestock producer; urban gap; national poverty; Rural Poor; living standard; Macroeconomic Trends; fiscal measure; formal manufacturing; annual production; poverty headcount; dual economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 74
Date: 2017-01-01
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