Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa

Drawing on a new set of nationally representative, internationally comparable household surveys, this paper provides an overview of key features of structural transformation—labor allocation and labor productivity—in four African economies. New, mi...

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Main Author:	McCullough, Ellen B.
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015
Subjects:	LIVING STANDARDS JOBS EMPLOYMENT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY COUNTRY COMPARISONS PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS ECONOMIC GROWTH WORK FORCE ACCOUNTING PRODUCTION LAGS EMPLOYMENT SHARE STRUCTURAL CHANGE INCOME INTEREST SERVICE SECTOR GROSS REVENUES LABOR ALLOCATION INDUSTRY GROSS SALES STRATEGIES GDP PER CAPITA INFORMATION LABOR FORCE SERVICES WELFARE JOB EFFECTS INCENTIVES VARIABLES INPUTS RETAIL TRADE PAYMENTS SAVING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT VALUE OF OUTPUT TRENDS DEVELOPMENT PER CAPITA INCOMES LABOR MARKET SAVINGS EMPLOYMENT LEVELS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS INDUSTRY WAGE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT TRANSPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY FIRM LEVEL LABOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH WORKER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMETRICS INTEREST RATES LABOR PRODUCTIVITY INDUSTRIALIZATION MIGRATION TOTAL WAGES MARKETS HOUSEHOLD INCOME ORGANIZATIONS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS STANDARDS LABOR ENTERPRISES NATURAL RESOURCES FINANCE EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH FACTOR MARKETS CONSUMPTION HUMAN CAPITAL VALUE ADDED WORKERS WAGES POLICIES LABOR DEMAND VALUE BANK PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES CLERKS PURCHASING POWER DEMAND PERMANENT INCOME OCCUPATIONS AGE GROUPS OCCUPATION SAFETY NET RURAL POVERTY INCOME EARNING CONSUMERS AGRICULTURE SERVICES CATEGORY NET VALUE RURAL WORKERS MEASUREMENT WAGE RATE SHARES HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS DOWNWARD BIAS EARNING BENCHMARK ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE LABOR ORGANIZATION SERVICE SECTORS TRADE GDP GOODS LAND SECURITY MARGINAL REVENUE INVESTMENT RISK PRODUCTIVITY GAP CONTRACTING LABORERS LABOR ALLOCATION DECISIONS TRANSACTIONS COSTS SUPPLY REVENUE LABOR SUPPLY PROFIT DISSAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMICS RESEARCH CONSUMPTION LEVELS LABOR MARKETS GOVERNMENTS SAFETY RURAL INDUSTRY MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES WAGE EMPLOYMENT PRICES LABOR SHARE PRODUCTION COSTS NON-FARM SECTOR SERVICE PROVIDERS DEVELOPMENT POLICY FUTURE RESEARCH EXPECTED RETURNS EMPLOYEES
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/04/24310783/labor-productivity-employment-gaps-sub-saharan-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21848

id	okr-10986-21848
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-218482021-04-23T14:04:05Z Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa McCullough, Ellen B. LIVING STANDARDS JOBS EMPLOYMENT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY COUNTRY COMPARISONS PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS ECONOMIC GROWTH WORK FORCE ACCOUNTING PRODUCTION LAGS EMPLOYMENT SHARE STRUCTURAL CHANGE INCOME INTEREST SERVICE SECTOR GROSS REVENUES LABOR ALLOCATION INDUSTRY GROSS SALES STRATEGIES GDP PER CAPITA INFORMATION LABOR FORCE SERVICES WELFARE JOB EFFECTS INCENTIVES VARIABLES INPUTS RETAIL TRADE PAYMENTS SAVING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT VALUE OF OUTPUT TRENDS DEVELOPMENT PER CAPITA INCOMES LABOR MARKET SAVINGS EMPLOYMENT LEVELS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS INDUSTRY WAGE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT TRANSPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY FIRM LEVEL LABOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH WORKER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMETRICS INTEREST RATES LABOR PRODUCTIVITY INDUSTRIALIZATION MIGRATION TOTAL WAGES MARKETS HOUSEHOLD INCOME ORGANIZATIONS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS STANDARDS LABOR ENTERPRISES NATURAL RESOURCES FINANCE EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH FACTOR MARKETS CONSUMPTION HUMAN CAPITAL VALUE ADDED WORKERS WAGES POLICIES LABOR DEMAND VALUE BANK PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES CLERKS PURCHASING POWER DEMAND PERMANENT INCOME OCCUPATIONS AGE GROUPS OCCUPATION SAFETY NET RURAL POVERTY INCOME EARNING CONSUMERS AGRICULTURE SERVICES CATEGORY NET VALUE RURAL WORKERS MEASUREMENT WAGE RATE SHARES HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS DOWNWARD BIAS EARNING BENCHMARK ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE LABOR ORGANIZATION SERVICE SECTORS TRADE GDP GOODS LAND SECURITY MARGINAL REVENUE INVESTMENT RISK PRODUCTIVITY GAP CONTRACTING LABORERS LABOR ALLOCATION DECISIONS TRANSACTIONS COSTS SUPPLY REVENUE LABOR SUPPLY PROFIT DISSAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMICS RESEARCH CONSUMPTION LEVELS LABOR MARKETS GOVERNMENTS SAFETY RURAL INDUSTRY MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES WAGE EMPLOYMENT PRICES LABOR SHARE PRODUCTION COSTS NON-FARM SECTOR SERVICE PROVIDERS DEVELOPMENT POLICY FUTURE RESEARCH EXPECTED RETURNS EMPLOYEES Drawing on a new set of nationally representative, internationally comparable household surveys, this paper provides an overview of key features of structural transformation—labor allocation and labor productivity—in four African economies. New, micro-based measures of sector labor allocation and cross-sector productivity differentials describe the incentives households face when allocating their labor. These measures are similar to national accounts-based measures that are typically used to characterize structural changes in African economies. However, because agricultural workers supply far fewer hours of labor per year than do workers in other sectors, productivity gaps disappear almost entirely when expressed on a per-hour basis. What look like large productivity gaps in national accounts data could really be employment gaps, calling into question the prospective gains that laborers can achieve through structural transformation. These employment gaps, along with the strong linkages observed between rural non-farm activities and primary agricultural production, highlight agricultures continued relevance to structural change in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2015-05-04T17:15:28Z 2015-05-04T17:15:28Z 2015-04 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/04/24310783/labor-productivity-employment-gaps-sub-saharan-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21848 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7234 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English en_US
topic	LIVING STANDARDS JOBS EMPLOYMENT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY COUNTRY COMPARISONS PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS ECONOMIC GROWTH WORK FORCE ACCOUNTING PRODUCTION LAGS EMPLOYMENT SHARE STRUCTURAL CHANGE INCOME INTEREST SERVICE SECTOR GROSS REVENUES LABOR ALLOCATION INDUSTRY GROSS SALES STRATEGIES GDP PER CAPITA INFORMATION LABOR FORCE SERVICES WELFARE JOB EFFECTS INCENTIVES VARIABLES INPUTS RETAIL TRADE PAYMENTS SAVING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT VALUE OF OUTPUT TRENDS DEVELOPMENT PER CAPITA INCOMES LABOR MARKET SAVINGS EMPLOYMENT LEVELS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS INDUSTRY WAGE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT TRANSPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY FIRM LEVEL LABOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH WORKER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMETRICS INTEREST RATES LABOR PRODUCTIVITY INDUSTRIALIZATION MIGRATION TOTAL WAGES MARKETS HOUSEHOLD INCOME ORGANIZATIONS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS STANDARDS LABOR ENTERPRISES NATURAL RESOURCES FINANCE EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH FACTOR MARKETS CONSUMPTION HUMAN CAPITAL VALUE ADDED WORKERS WAGES POLICIES LABOR DEMAND VALUE BANK PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES CLERKS PURCHASING POWER DEMAND PERMANENT INCOME OCCUPATIONS AGE GROUPS OCCUPATION SAFETY NET RURAL POVERTY INCOME EARNING CONSUMERS AGRICULTURE SERVICES CATEGORY NET VALUE RURAL WORKERS MEASUREMENT WAGE RATE SHARES HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS DOWNWARD BIAS EARNING BENCHMARK ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE LABOR ORGANIZATION SERVICE SECTORS TRADE GDP GOODS LAND SECURITY MARGINAL REVENUE INVESTMENT RISK PRODUCTIVITY GAP CONTRACTING LABORERS LABOR ALLOCATION DECISIONS TRANSACTIONS COSTS SUPPLY REVENUE LABOR SUPPLY PROFIT DISSAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMICS RESEARCH CONSUMPTION LEVELS LABOR MARKETS GOVERNMENTS SAFETY RURAL INDUSTRY MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES WAGE EMPLOYMENT PRICES LABOR SHARE PRODUCTION COSTS NON-FARM SECTOR SERVICE PROVIDERS DEVELOPMENT POLICY FUTURE RESEARCH EXPECTED RETURNS EMPLOYEES
spellingShingle	LIVING STANDARDS JOBS EMPLOYMENT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY COUNTRY COMPARISONS PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS ECONOMIC GROWTH WORK FORCE ACCOUNTING PRODUCTION LAGS EMPLOYMENT SHARE STRUCTURAL CHANGE INCOME INTEREST SERVICE SECTOR GROSS REVENUES LABOR ALLOCATION INDUSTRY GROSS SALES STRATEGIES GDP PER CAPITA INFORMATION LABOR FORCE SERVICES WELFARE JOB EFFECTS INCENTIVES VARIABLES INPUTS RETAIL TRADE PAYMENTS SAVING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT VALUE OF OUTPUT TRENDS DEVELOPMENT PER CAPITA INCOMES LABOR MARKET SAVINGS EMPLOYMENT LEVELS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS INDUSTRY WAGE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT TRANSPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY FIRM LEVEL LABOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH WORKER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMETRICS INTEREST RATES LABOR PRODUCTIVITY INDUSTRIALIZATION MIGRATION TOTAL WAGES MARKETS HOUSEHOLD INCOME ORGANIZATIONS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS STANDARDS LABOR ENTERPRISES NATURAL RESOURCES FINANCE EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH FACTOR MARKETS CONSUMPTION HUMAN CAPITAL VALUE ADDED WORKERS WAGES POLICIES LABOR DEMAND VALUE BANK PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES CLERKS PURCHASING POWER DEMAND PERMANENT INCOME OCCUPATIONS AGE GROUPS OCCUPATION SAFETY NET RURAL POVERTY INCOME EARNING CONSUMERS AGRICULTURE SERVICES CATEGORY NET VALUE RURAL WORKERS MEASUREMENT WAGE RATE SHARES HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS DOWNWARD BIAS EARNING BENCHMARK ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE LABOR ORGANIZATION SERVICE SECTORS TRADE GDP GOODS LAND SECURITY MARGINAL REVENUE INVESTMENT RISK PRODUCTIVITY GAP CONTRACTING LABORERS LABOR ALLOCATION DECISIONS TRANSACTIONS COSTS SUPPLY REVENUE LABOR SUPPLY PROFIT DISSAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMICS RESEARCH CONSUMPTION LEVELS LABOR MARKETS GOVERNMENTS SAFETY RURAL INDUSTRY MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES WAGE EMPLOYMENT PRICES LABOR SHARE PRODUCTION COSTS NON-FARM SECTOR SERVICE PROVIDERS DEVELOPMENT POLICY FUTURE RESEARCH EXPECTED RETURNS EMPLOYEES McCullough, Ellen B. Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
geographic_facet	Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7234
description	Drawing on a new set of nationally representative, internationally comparable household surveys, this paper provides an overview of key features of structural transformation—labor allocation and labor productivity—in four African economies. New, micro-based measures of sector labor allocation and cross-sector productivity differentials describe the incentives households face when allocating their labor. These measures are similar to national accounts-based measures that are typically used to characterize structural changes in African economies. However, because agricultural workers supply far fewer hours of labor per year than do workers in other sectors, productivity gaps disappear almost entirely when expressed on a per-hour basis. What look like large productivity gaps in national accounts data could really be employment gaps, calling into question the prospective gains that laborers can achieve through structural transformation. These employment gaps, along with the strong linkages observed between rural non-farm activities and primary agricultural production, highlight agricultures continued relevance to structural change in Sub-Saharan Africa.
format	Working Paper
author	McCullough, Ellen B.
author_facet	McCullough, Ellen B.
author_sort	McCullough, Ellen B.
title	Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_short	Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full	Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr	Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort	labor productivity and employment gaps in sub-saharan africa
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2015
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/04/24310783/labor-productivity-employment-gaps-sub-saharan-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21848
_version_	1764449426268487680

Labor Productivity and Employment Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa

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