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Private Returns to Education in Urban Cameroon

Author

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  • Christian Zamo-Akono
  • Roger Tsafack Nanfosso

Abstract

Earlier studies on the impact of education on earnings highlighted a declining pattern of the private returns in developing countries. However, recent research has argued that failing to account for the segmented structure of the labour market could be misleading. This study aims to estimate private returns to education in Cameroon, focusing on how they vary across the different segments of the Cameroon labour market. The data used in this study are drawn from the 2005 Employment and Informal Sector Survey, which is nationally representative and comprehensive survey providing information over 8,540 households and 38,599 individuals around the country. The estimation of wage equations corrected from selectivity bias reveals that there are convex rates of return to education in all the segments of the labour market. As far as the private sector is concerned, it is found that those who graduated from primary school earn no returns compared to those who never attended school. The fact that only degrees are rewarded on the Cameroon labour market evidences the existence of a sheepskin effect in Cameroon and may serve as a confirmation of the signalling role of education in this context.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Zamo-Akono & Roger Tsafack Nanfosso, 2013. "Private Returns to Education in Urban Cameroon," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 3(2), pages 23-37, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:mth:ber888:v:3:y:2013:i:2:p:23-37
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. T. Paul Schultz, 2004. "Evidence of Returns to Schooling in Africa from Household Surveys: Monitoring and Restructuring the Market for Education," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 13(02), pages 95-148, December.
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    5. Emini, Christian Arnault & Cockburn, John & Decaluwe, Bernard, 2005. "The poverty impacts of the Doha Round in Cameroon : the role of tax policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3746, The World Bank.
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    10. Adebayo Aromolaran, 2004. "Wage Returns to Schooling in Nigeria," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 16(3), pages 433-455.
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    Cited by:

    1. Issofou Njifen & Peter Smith, 2024. "Education-Job Mismatch and Heterogeneity in the Return to Schooling: Evidence from Cameroon," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 860-887, March.
    2. Tanthaka Vivatsurakit & Jessica Vechbanyongratana, 2020. "Returns to education among the informally employed in Thailand," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 34(1), pages 26-43, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Returns to education; Labour market sectors; Earnings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General

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