Accounting for the Gender Gap in Urban Youth Unemployment in Africa: Evidence from Kenya
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Date
2021-04-19
Authors
Kamau, Paul
Wamuthenya, Wambui R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
Using a decomposition framework and Kenyan data from 1986, 1998 and 2005, this
study analyzes the factors associated with the likelihood of unemployment among
the urban youth labour force and the disproportionately higher vulnerability to
unemployment among female youth compared to male youth. Overall, the results
indicate that household-headship, training, marital status and being male as opposed
to being female are significantly correlated with the likelihood of being unemployed.
Level of formal education appears less important while experience appears to be
more important for female youth.
After controlling for potential endogeneity of training results indicate that access to
training/skills could help to diminish overall youth unemployment by about 58% and
by 53% and 51% for females and males, respectively. The decomposition analysis
indicates that the observed gender gaps in youth unemployment are largely explained
by differences in average characteristics between female and male youth. Householdheadship exerts the most positive effect in widening the differential. Over time, the
combined positive effect of human capital variables declines sharply, thus narrowing
the gap. Marital status increasingly limits young women from being employed, thus
widening the gap. Overall, the analysis provides limited justification for employment
discrimination in the youth labour market along gender lines.
Description
Keywords
Youth, , unemployment, , gender, , decomposition analysis