Breaking the Chains of Poverty: Unraveling the Influence of Decent Work in Cameroon’s Journey towards Prosperity

This paper attempts to establish a relationship between decent work and poverty and what improvements of decent works would do in breaking the chains of poverty to propel Cameroon towards prosperity. The study, conducted on cross-sectional data of the fourth round of the Cameroon Household Consumption Survey, used the two stage least squares estimation strategy and found out that with decent work factors, such as wages, fair remuneration, employment security, and an encouraging environment for developing skills, household incomes would increase and poverty in Cameroon reduced. This therefore implies that improvements in decent work opportunities will be a sure way of reducing poverty levels in the country. Considering the positive effect of decent work on the reduction of poverty, efforts by the policymakers should focus on creating an enabling environment for decent work. This shall include putting in place labour regulations that protect workers’ rights, promote fair wages, and offer social protection. By giving precedence to policies that improve the availability of decent work opportunities, governments can contribute to other socio-economic objectives of reducing poverty and improving food security outcomes in Cameroon.