IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ctw/wpaper/idrcdprusenegal.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Senegal’s International Competitiveness and Employment Creation for Women and Youth. The Product Space Analysis and Fieldwork Findings

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmadou Aly Mbaye
  • Stephen Golub
  • Anastasia Vasilyeva

    (University Cheikh Anta DIOP (UCAD)
    Professor)

Abstract

Senegal benefits from political stability and a favorable geographic location, but economic performance since independence has been disappointing, with resulting pervasive underemployment, especially for women and youth. This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space framework. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. We depart from the usual product-space approach, however, in arguing that Senegal can foster increasing complexity and employment growth within existing product lines with strong comparative advantage by improving product quality and cost-competitiveness. To do so will require addressing long-standing weaknesses in the business climate, particularly deficient public services, corruption and restrictive labor market regulations.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Stephen Golub & Anastasia Vasilyeva, 2019. "Senegal’s International Competitiveness and Employment Creation for Women and Youth. The Product Space Analysis and Fieldwork Findings," Working Papers idrcdprusenegal, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    • Handle: RePEc:ctw:wpaper:idrcdprusenegal
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.dpru.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/36/Publications/Other/Senegal_Economic%20Complexity%20Paper_21May2019.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2019
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey Frankel, 2014. "Mauritius: African Success Story," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume IV: Sustainable Growth, pages 295-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Ricardo Hausmann & Jasmina Chauvin, 2015. "Moving to the Adjacent Possible: Discovering Paths for Export Diversification in Rwanda," CID Working Papers 294, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    3. Stephen Golub & Aly Mbaye & Hanyu Chwe, 2015. "Labor Market Regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa, With a Focus on Senegal," Working Papers 201505, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    4. Stephen S. Golub & Janet Ceglowski & Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Varun Prasad, 2018. "Can Africa compete with China in manufacturing? The role of relative unit labour costs," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 1508-1528, June.
    5. Paul Mosley, 2018. "Why has export diversification been so hard to achieve in Africa?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 1025-1044, April.
    6. Golub, Stephen S. & Mbaye, Ahmadou Aly, 2009. "National Trade Policies and Smuggling in Africa: The Case of The Gambia and Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 595-606, March.
    7. E. Philip English, 2016. "Senegal—a service economy in need of an export boost," WIDER Working Paper Series 150, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Chandra, Vandana & Osorio Rodarte, Israel, 2007. "Options for Export Diversification and Faster Export Growth in Ghana," MPRA Paper 18539, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ricardo Hausmann & Jason Hwang & Dani Rodrik, 2007. "What you export matters," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger, 2007. "The Structure of the Product Space and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage," CID Working Papers 146, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    11. Cisse, Fatou & Choi, Ji Eun & Maurel, Mathilde, 2014. "Scoping paper on industry in Senegal," WIDER Working Paper Series 157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Ricardo Hausmann & César Hidalgo, 2011. "The network structure of economic output," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 309-342, December.
    13. Ricardo Hausmann & Brad Cunningham & John Matovu & Rosie Osire & Kelly Wyett, 2014. "How should Uganda grow?," CID Working Papers 275, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    14. Fatou Cissé & Ji Eun Choi & Mathilde Maurel, 2014. "Scoping Paper on Industry in Senegal," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Terrell, Katherine & Svejnar, Jan, 1990. "How industry - labor relations and government policies affect Senegal's economic performance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 271, The World Bank.
    16. Madani, Dorsati, 1999. "A review of the role and impact of export processing zones," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2238, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christian Estmann & Bjørn Bo Sørensen & Benno Ndulu & John Rand, 2022. "Merchandise export diversification strategy for Tanzania: Promoting inclusive growth, economic complexity and structural change," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2649-2695, August.
    2. Wai Kit Si Tou, 2021. "Enhancing export competitiveness by deeper integration: The case of the East African Community," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(3), pages 493-507, May.
    3. Hailu, Degol & Kipgen, Chinpihoi, 2017. "The Extractives Dependence Index (EDI)," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 251-264.
    4. Sandra Poncet & Felipe Starosta de Waldemar, 2015. "Product Relatedness and Firm Exports in China," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(3), pages 579-605.
    5. Ferrarini, Benno & Scaramozzino, Pasquale, 2013. "Complexity, Specialization, and Growth," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 344, Asian Development Bank.
    6. Haroon Bhorat & Chris Rooney & François Steenkamp, 2019. "Building Economic Complexity in Africa," Working Papers idrcdprusynthesis, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    7. Stefan Schiman & Andreas Reinstaller, 2015. "Analyse der Terms-of-Trade Österreichs," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60648, Juni.
    8. Michael Klien & Michael Böheim & Matthias Firgo & Andreas Reinstaller & Peter Reschenhofer & Yvonne Wolfmayr, 2021. "Stärkung der Unabhängigkeit des Wirtschaftsstandortes Österreich bei kritischen Produkten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 67234, April.
    9. Jaime de Melo, 2020. "A Dashboard for Trade Policy Diagnostics," Working Papers hal-03004368, HAL.
    10. UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa & Haroon Bhorat & Francois Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney, "undated". "Understanding the Determinants of AfricaÕs Manufacturing Malaise," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2017-06, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    11. Bhorat, Haroon & Steenkamp, François & Rooney, Christopher, 2017. "Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, determinants and consequences: Understanding the Determinants of Africa’s Manufacturing Malaise," UNDP Africa Reports 267644, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    12. Antonella Chiappelo & Alejandro Danón & Guillermina Marto & Nicolás Pinto, 2019. "Tell me what you export today and I will tell you what you will export tomorrow: The Product Space and the Evolution of Country pattern of specialization," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4171, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    13. Haroon Bhorat & Francois Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney, "undated". "Africa’s Manufacturing Malaise," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2016-03, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    14. El-Haddad, Amirah, 2018. "Exporting for growth: identifying leading sectors for Egypt and Tunisia using the Product Space Methodology," IDOS Discussion Papers 25/2018, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    15. repec:rac:ecchap:2017-06 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Apokin, Alexander (Апокин, Александр) & Gnidchenko, Andrey (Гнидченко, Андрей) & Sabelnikova, Ekaterina (Сабельникова, Екатерина), 2017. "Import Substitution Potential and Gains from Economic Integration: Disaggregated Estimations [Потенциал Импортозамещения И Выгоды От Экономической Интеграции: Дезагрегированные Оценки]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 2, pages 44-71, April.
    17. Alessia Lo Turco & Daniela Maggioni, 2016. "On firms’ product space evolution: the role of firm and local product relatedness," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(5), pages 975-1006.
    18. Dany Bahar & Rodrigo Wagner & Ernesto Stein & Samuel Rosenow, 2017. "The Birth and Growth of New Export Clusters: Which Mechanisms Drive Diversification?," CID Working Papers 86a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    19. Queiroz, Arthur Ribeiro & Romero, João Prates & Freitas, Elton, 2023. "Economic complexity and employment in Brazilian states," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    20. Andrey A. Gnidchenko, 2019. "Structural Transformation and Quality Ladders: Solving the “Theil's Cube”," HSE Working papers WP BRP 218/EC/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    21. Andreas Reinstaller & Elisabeth Christen & Harald Oberhofer & Peter Reschenhofer, 2016. "Eine Analyse der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Österreichs im bilateralen Handel mit den USA (TTIP)," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58723, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ctw:wpaper:idrcdprusenegal. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Waseema Petersen (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dpuctza.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.