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Where Does Education Pay Off in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Two Cities of the Republic of Congo

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  • Kuepie, Mathias

    (LISER (CEPS/INSTEAD))

  • Nordman, Christophe Jalil

    (IRD, DIAL, Paris-Dauphine)

Abstract

Using first-hand data from the 2009 Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EESIC) in the two largest cities of the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, we analyse the impact of education on labour market outcomes, and identify the segments where education pays off the most. Multivariate analyses of the risk of unemployment and sectoral choice indicate that young people face serious difficulties in the labour market: for most of them, their only choice is to remain unemployed or to join the informal sector. To measure the specific impact of schooling on earnings, we address issues related to sample selection and endogeneity of education in the earnings function. The results shed light on heterogeneity in the returns to schooling across the two main cities and institutional sectors. An important finding is that the informal sector does not systematically lag behind the formal sectors in terms of returns to education. We emphasize convex returns to education, meaning that the last years in secondary and tertiary schooling yield the highest returns, while those of primary education are generally lower. This convexity is also apparent in the informal sector, where education (albeit on another scale) again appears as an important determinant of earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuepie, Mathias & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2015. "Where Does Education Pay Off in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Two Cities of the Republic of Congo," IZA Discussion Papers 9477, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9477
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Emmanuel Adu Boahen & Kwadwo Opoku & Simone Schotte, 2021. "Duration of Pre‐university Education and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Quasi‐experiment in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 208-232, January.
    3. M Niaz Asadullah & Saizi Xiao, 2019. "Labor Market Returns to Education and English Language Skills in the People's Republic of China: An Update," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 36(1), pages 80-111, March.
    4. Alina Kalle & Miriam Muller, 2024. "If Children Aren’t Full, Can Adults Eat?," World Bank Publications - Reports 42272, The World Bank Group.
    5. Gordon Abekah‐Nkrumah & Patrick Opoku Asuming & Hadrat Yusif, 2022. "The impact of an additional year in high school on academic performance at university: Evidence from a policy experiment in Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(6), November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    earnings functions; returns to education; unemployment; labour market participation; informal sector; Republic of Congo;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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