Do you really need it? Educational mismatch and earnings in Ghana

Darko, Christian K.; Abrokwa, Kennedy K.

doi:10.1111/rode.12681

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…The findings strengthen support for the argument that not all jobs are “good jobs” that “provide greater wellbeing to the people who hold them” (World Bank, 2012, p. 35). This has resonance for problems of youth underemployment and unemployment in many LICs, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa, where jobs in the formal sector are in short supply (Honorati & Johansson de Silva, 2016) and people are often employed in jobs for which they are over educated (Carmichael et al, 2021; Darko & Abrokwa, 2020; Handel et al, 2016). The results also highlight the association between well‐being and access to wealth, particularly wealth in the form of consumer durables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Well‐being and employment of young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam: Is work enough?

Carmichael

Darko

Vasilakos

2021

Development Policy Review

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Summary Motivation Investing in youth employment is central to development agendas. However, policy directed towards increasing employment rates among young people needs to consider the well‐being implications of the different kinds of jobs they are able to access. This would help countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of decent work for all, including young people, by 2030. Purpose This article examines the association between the well‐being of young people in Ethiopia, Peru, India, and Vietnam and their employment and the job attributes of the work they do. Methods and approach The study uses five waves of the Young Lives longitudinal survey for a sample of children who are followed from the ages of eight to 22. Regression analysis estimates the relationship between well‐being, employment, and job attributes, taking into account gender, wealth, current, and childhood health, and exposure to shocks over life‐courses from the age of eight. Findings The results show that in these four countries, employment does not have an unqualified positive effect on well‐being. Not all jobs are “good jobs.” Job attributes matter, specifically, who employs the individual, their pay, the work environment, and the pride they take in their work. Well‐being is predicted by current and childhood health and household wealth with ownership of consumer durables associated more strongly with well‐being than housing quality or access to services. Greater exposure to shocks from the age of eight is found to have lasting effects on well‐being into young adulthood. Policy implications Policy aimed at improving young people’s opportunities for employment in the Global South also to consider the types of jobs they are able to access and how this impacts their well‐being. Policy also needs to take into account pre‐labour market conditions and circumstances.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Well‐being and employment of young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam: Is work enough?

Carmichael

Darko

Vasilakos

2021

Development Policy Review

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“…Undereducation appears to be a serious constraint in Kenya where 40.4% of those in work are undereducated while in Ghana undereducation is less prevalent, affecting 12.8% of those in work. Darko and Abrokwa's (2020) analysis of the nationally representative Ghana Living Standards Measurement Survey (GLSS) for 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2012-13 confirms the existence of both overeducation and undereducation. In sum, these studies suggest that overeducation and undereducation do occur in SSA, notwithstanding the lower overall levels of attainment, and they require further study to fully understand their wage effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Only a few studies have examined overeducation and undereducation in the context of developing countries. Examples of such research include Quinn and Rubb's (2006) and Pearlman and Rubb's (2020) studies of Mexico; Wu and Wang (2018) for China using the World Bank's STEP data, Abbas (2018) for Pakistan, Mehta et al (2011) for the Philippines, Mexico, Thailand and India, Wye and Ismail (2019) for Malaysia, and within sub-Saharan Africa (Herrera and Merceron 2013;Handel, Valerio, and Puerta 2016;Darko and Abrokwa 2020). The paucity of such studies is in part a result of lack of data, the recognition of which motivated the development of the World Bank's Skills Towards Employment and Productivity Survey (STEP) which a number of the studies referenced above used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wage effects of educational mismatch and job search in Ghana and Kenya

Carmichael

Darko

Kanji

2021

Education Economics

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Education is key to development strategies in Africa. We use overeducation and undereducation to analyse the effectiveness of education in preparing individuals for employment in Kenya and Ghana, using the Skills Towards Employment and Productivity Survey. Systematic differences in wages between matched, overeducated and undereducated workers hold across attainment levels, even controlling for cognitive skills. Overeducated workers are rewarded above exactly matched workers, partially supporting human capital theory. Undereducated workers are compensated over their education level, following the job competition model. Obtaining a job through social networks is widespread, but associated with lower wages for the overeducated and exactly matched.

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Overeducation in Trinidad and Tobago’s Labor Market

Doon

2023

The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Change

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Do you really need it? Educational mismatch and earnings in Ghana

Cited by 6 publications

References 61 publications

Well‐being and employment of young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam: Is work enough?

Well‐being and employment of young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam: Is work enough?

Wage effects of educational mismatch and job search in Ghana and Kenya

Overeducation in Trinidad and Tobago’s Labor Market

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