IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/afrdev/v30y2018i4p386-398.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Wages and Labour Productivity in African Manufacturing

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Mawejje
  • Ibrahim Mike Okumu

Abstract

We examine the relationship between labour productivity and wages using a sample of manufacturing firms in 39 African countries. The analysis is based on the World Bank's enterprise survey data. Controlling for regressor endogeneity and country fixed effects, our main finding is that wages reflect labour productivity and worker skills. In addition, the adoption of management quality standards, foreign ownership, and location in the capital city are all positively associated with wages. Female workers and adverse business environments characterized by electricity outages and bribery are negatively associated with wages. These findings are robust to inclusion of control variables, alternative measures of labour productivity, and exclusion of firms located in upper middle income countries and North Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Mawejje & Ibrahim Mike Okumu, 2018. "Wages and Labour Productivity in African Manufacturing," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 30(4), pages 386-398, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:afrdev:v:30:y:2018:i:4:p:386-398
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8268.12346
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12346
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1467-8268.12346?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Margaret McMillan & Kenneth Harttgen, 2014. "Working Paper - 209 - What is driving the African Growth Miracle," Working Paper Series 2145, African Development Bank.
    2. Christophe J. Nordman & François Roubaud, 2009. "Reassessing the Gender Wage Gap in Madagascar: Does Labor Force Attachment Really Matter?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(4), pages 785-808, July.
    3. Jozef Konings & Luca Marcolin, 2014. "Do wages reflect labor productivity? The case of Belgian regions," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    5. Futoshi Yamauchi, 2016. "The Effects of Improved Roads on Wages and Employment: Evidence from Rural Labour Markets in Indonesia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(7), pages 1046-1061, July.
    6. Chris Milner & Verena Tandrayen, 2007. "The Impact of Exporting and Export Destination on Manufacturing Wages: Evidence for Sub‐Saharan Africa," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 13-30, February.
    7. Micheline Goedhuys & Pierre Mohnen, 2017. "Management Standard Certification and Firm productivity: Micro-evidence from Africa," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 19(1), pages 61-83.
    8. Fafchamps, Marcel & Hamine, Said El, 2017. "Firm productivity, wages, and agglomeration externalities," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 291-305.
    9. Bah, El-hadj & Fang, Lei, 2015. "Impact of the business environment on output and productivity in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 159-171.
    10. Joseph Mawejje & Ibrahim Mike Okumu, 2016. "Tax Evasion and the Business Environment in Uganda," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 84(3), pages 440-460, September.
    11. Lazear, Edward P, 1979. "Why Is There Mandatory Retirement?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1261-1284, December.
    12. Marcel Fafchamps & Mans Söderbom & Najy Benhassine, 2009. "Wage Gaps and Job Sorting in African Manufacturing," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(5), pages 824-868, November.
    13. Feldstein, Martin, 2008. "Did wages reflect growth in productivity?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 591-594.
    14. Williams, Nicolas, 2009. "Seniority, experience, and wages in the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 272-283, June.
    15. El-Hadj Bah & Lei Fang, 2015. "Working Paper - 219 - Impact of the business Environment on Output and Productivity in Africa," Working Paper Series 2159, African Development Bank.
    16. Fu, Dahai & Wu, Yanrui, 2013. "Export wage premium in China's manufacturing sector: A firm level analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 182-196.
    17. Dirk Willem te Velde, 2003. "Do Workers in Africa Get a Wage Premium if Employed in Firms Owned by Foreigners?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 12(1), pages 41-73, March.
    18. Abdoul' Ganiou Mijiyawa, 2013. "Africa's Recent Economic Growth: What Are the Contributing Factors?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 25(3), pages 289-302, September.
    19. Frank, Robert H. & Hutchens, Robert M., 1993. "Wages, seniority, and the demand for rising consumption profiles," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 251-276, August.
    20. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2165-2214 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Oi, Walter Y. & Idson, Todd L., 1999. "Firm size and wages," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2165-2214, Elsevier.
    22. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2005. "Why do large firms pay higher wages? Evidence from matched worker‐firm data," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7/8), pages 705-723, October.
    23. Loewenstein, George F & Sicherman, Nachum, 1991. "Do Workers Prefer Increasing Wage Profiles?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 67-84, January.
    24. E. D. Gould, 2007. "Cities, Workers, and Wages: A Structural Analysis of the Urban Wage Premium," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(2), pages 477-506.
    25. Stephen S. Golub & Janet Ceglowski & Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Varun Prasad, 2018. "Can Africa compete with China in manufacturing? The role of relative unit labour costs," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 1508-1528, June.
    26. Maureen Were & Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa, 2009. "Do Exporting Firms Pay Higher Wages? Evidence from Kenya’s Manufacturing Sector," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 21(3), pages 435-453.
    27. John Page, 2012. "Can Africa Industrialise?-super- †," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 21(suppl_2), pages -124, January.
    28. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    29. Bernard Gauthier & Jonathan Goyette, 2014. "Taxation and corruption: theory and firm-level evidence from Uganda," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(23), pages 2755-2765, August.
    30. Margaret S. McMillan & Kenneth Harttgen, 2014. "What is driving the 'African Growth Miracle'?," NBER Working Papers 20077, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    31. Francis Menjo Baye & Boniface Ngah Epo & Jean Ndenzako, 2016. "Wage Differentials in Cameroon: A Gendered Analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 75-91, March.
    32. Zheng Fang & Chris Sakellariou, 2015. "Glass Ceilings versus Sticky Floors: Evidence from Southeast Asia and an International Update," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 215-242, September.
    33. Charles Brown & James L. Medoff, 2003. "Firm Age and Wages," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(3), pages 677-698, July.
    34. Martin Andersson & Johan Klaesson & Johan P Larsson, 2014. "The sources of the urban wage premium by worker skills: Spatial sorting or agglomeration economies?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 727-747, November.
    35. Fredrik Heyman, 2007. "Firm Size or Firm Age? The Effect on Wages Using Matched Employer–Employee Data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(2), pages 237-263, June.
    36. Irene Brambilla & Nicolas Depetris Chauvin & Guido Porto, 2017. "Examining the Export Wage Premium in Developing Countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 447-475, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gaston Brice Nkoumou Ngoa & Roger Tsafack Nanfosso & Benjamin Fomba Kamga, 2021. "Le recours des professionnels de santé à la pluriactivité dans un pays en développement: Le cas des métropoles du Cameroun," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(2), pages 249-262, June.
    2. Ebo Botchway & Kofi Fred Asiedu, 2020. "Ownership type and earnings gap decomposition: Evidence from the Ghanaian labor market," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 619-631, December.
    3. Ibrahim Mike Okumu & Patricia Naluwooza & Edward Bbaale, 2022. "Firm Dynamics, Job Creation and Job Destruction in Africa: Is the Quality of Institutional Environment Relevant?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 2970-3004, December.
    4. Cyprian Amutabi & Anthony Wambugu, 2020. "Determinants of labor productivity among SMEs and large‐sized private service firms in Kenya," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 591-604, December.
    5. Ibrahim Mike Okumu & Joseph Mawejje, 2020. "Labour productivity in African manufacturing: Does the level of skills development matter?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(4), pages 441-464, July.
    6. Albert Makochekanwa & Mamello Amelia Nchake, 2019. "Do Female Managers Affect Productivity? Evidence from Zimbabwean Manufacturing Firms," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 31(3), pages 364-379, September.
    7. Zewdie Habte Shikur, 2020. "Industrial policy measure and economic structure in Ethiopia: the case of Oromia region," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 255-274, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ibrahim Mike Okumu & Joseph Mawejje, 2020. "Labour productivity in African manufacturing: Does the level of skills development matter?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(4), pages 441-464, July.
    2. Paul Hek & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "Are older workers overpaid? A literature review," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(4), pages 436-460, August.
    3. Hellerstein, Judith K & Neumark, David & Troske, Kenneth R, 1999. "Wages, Productivity, and Worker Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 409-446, July.
    4. Cirera, Xavier & Martins-Neto, Antonio Soares, 2023. "Do innovative firms pay higher wages? Micro-level evidence from Brazil," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    5. Alex Coad, 2018. "Firm age: a survey," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 13-43, January.
    6. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Weiss, Matthias, 2016. "Productivity and age: Evidence from work teams at the assembly line," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 30-42.
    7. Alberto Bayo-Moriones & Jose E. Galdon-Sanchez & Maia Güell, 2010. "Is seniority-based pay used as a motivational device? Evidence from plant-level data," Research in Labor Economics, in: Jobs, Training, and Worker Well-being, pages 155-187, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    8. Sliwka, Dirk & Werner, Peter, 2016. "How Do Agents React to Dynamic Wage Increases? An Experimental Study," IZA Discussion Papers 9855, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Brancati, Emanuele & Di Maio, Michele & Rahman, Aminur, 2024. "Finance, informal competition, and expectations: A firm-level analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Cindy Zoghi, 2010. "Measuring Labor Composition: A Comparison of Alternate Methodologies," NBER Chapters, in: Labor in the New Economy, pages 457-485, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Lukau Matezo Espoir, 2020. "Determinant of export diversification:An empirical analysis in the case of SADC countries," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(7), pages 130-144, December.
    12. Bayo-Moriones, Alberto & Galdon-Sanchez, Jose Enrique & Martinez-de-Morentin, Sara, 2008. "What Are the Factors Behind Pay Settlements? Evidence from Spanish and British Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3401, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Benoit Dostie, 2011. "Wages, Productivity and Aging," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 139-158, June.
    14. Antoni, Manfred & Janser, Markus & Lehmer, Florian, 2015. "The hidden winners of renewable energy promotion: Insights into sector-specific wage differentials," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 595-613.
    15. Karmen Naidoo & Léonce Ndikumana, 2023. "The role of unit labor costs in African manufacturing investment and export performance," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1874-1909, August.
    16. Grund, Christian & Sliwka, Dirk, 2003. ""The Further We Stretch the Higher the Sky" - On the Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction," Bonn Econ Discussion Papers 1/2003, University of Bonn, Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE).
    17. Paul Verstraten & Gerard Verweij & Peter Zwaneveld, 2018. "Why do wages grow faster in urban areas? Sorting of high potentials matters," CPB Discussion Paper 377, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    18. Clark, Andrew E., 1999. "Are wages habit-forming? evidence from micro data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 179-200, June.
    19. Paul Verstraten & Gerard Verweij & Peter Zwaneveld, 2018. "Why do wages grow faster in urban areas? Sorting of high potentials matters," CPB Discussion Paper 377.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    20. Florian Lehmer & Joachim Möller, 2010. "Interrelations between the urban wage premium and firm-size wage differentials: a microdata cohort analysis for Germany," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 31-53, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:afrdev:v:30:y:2018:i:4:p:386-398. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/afdbgci.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.