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Why Do Employment Policies Fail to Reduce Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa? Looking towards the brain drain

Author

Listed:
  • Manuela CHETUE Komguep

    (University of Dschang, Cameroon)

  • Luc NDEFFO Nembot

    (University of Dschang, Cameroon)

Abstract

This paper aims to determine the effect of employment policies on unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa, controlling for the brain drain. The Generalized Method Moment (GMM) is used to assess the direct and joint impact of employment policies and brain drain on unemployment, over the period from 1990 to 2010, on a sample of 17 Sub-Saharan (SSA) countries. The results show that, separately, employment policies and brain significantly contribute to reducing the level of unemployment with a more pronounced effect. Conversely, the study finds that the interaction between employment policies and the brain drain positively impacts the level of unemployment. Thus, policy-makers in SSA should consider reducing the brain drain so that employment policies can fully play their role in reducing unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Manuela CHETUE Komguep & Luc NDEFFO Nembot, 2021. "Why Do Employment Policies Fail to Reduce Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa? Looking towards the brain drain," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 615-633.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-20-01155
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unemployment; Employment policies; brain drain; GMM; SSA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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