Jobs in Global Value Chains : New Evidence for Four African Countries in International Perspective
What is the potential for job growth in Africa under participation in global value chains (GVCs)? In this study the concept of GVC jobs is introduced which tracks the number of jobs associated with GVC production of goods. A novel decomposition app...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/334531564600910227/Jobs-in-Global-Value-Chains-New-Evidence-for-Four-African-Countries-in-International-Perspective http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32155 |
| Summary: | What is the potential for job growth in
Africa under participation in global value chains (GVCs)? In
this study the concept of GVC jobs is introduced which
tracks the number of jobs associated with GVC production of
goods. A novel decomposition approach is used to account for
GVC jobs by three proximate sources: global demand for final
goods, a country's GVC competitiveness (measured as the
country's share in serving global demand) and
technology (workers needed per unit of output). Based on
newly assembled data, it is shown how GVC jobs and incomes
have changed over the period 2000-14 in Ethiopia, Kenya,
Senegal and South Africa, compared to developments in some
other low- and middle-income countries in the world. The
four African countries stand out in terms of a low share of
GVC jobs in the (formal) manufacturing sector, and a
relatively high share in agriculture due to strong backward
linkages, especially in the case of food production. All
countries benefitted highly from growing global demand for
final goods. At the same time it appears that technical
change in GVCs is biased against the use of labour, greatly
diminishing the potential for job growth through GVC participation. |
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