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Youth Unemployment and Government Pro-Employment Policies in Zimbabwe

Author

Listed:
  • Noah MAULANI

    (Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Institution of Social Sciences, Ankara, Turkey)

  • Billy AGWANDA

    (Istanbul Commerce University, African Studies and International Relations, Istanbul, Turkey)

Abstract

Youth unemployment remains a global threat pushing youths to participate in various unlawful and dangerous activities. In Zimbabwe, a weak economy and domestic sociopolitical challenges have pushed youth unemployment rates to one of the highest in the continent and globally. Despite accounting for the largest population, Zimbabwean youths continue to be marginalized from the national development discourse, and this has had a general negative impact on the Zimbabwean national development agenda. The National Youth Policy, enacted in 2000 by the government to address youth unemployment through a multi-sectoral framework, has resulted in minimal progress. This paper adopts an in-depth qualitative literature review of academic articles, government reports, World Bank and IMF reports to conduct an analysis of the root causes of high youth unemployment rates in Zimbabwe, its effects and the performance of the measures undertaken by the government to address the problem. This study has identified frequent economic crises, weak education system, and poor implementation of macroeconomic policies by the government as some of the challenges increasing the rates of youth unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Noah MAULANI & Billy AGWANDA, 2020. "Youth Unemployment and Government Pro-Employment Policies in Zimbabwe," Journal of Social Policy Conferences, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0(78), pages 229-256, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ist:iujspc:v:0:y:2020:i:78:p:229-256
    DOI: 10.26650/jspc.2020.78.0039
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jean Francky Landry Ngono, 2023. "Corrupting Politicians to Get Out of Unemployment: Empirical Evidence from Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1004-1032, June.
    2. Israel Nyaburi Nyadera & UÄŸur Yasin Asal & Billy Agwanda, 2021. "The Role of Regional Organisations in Economic Growth Among Developing Countries: A Case of the Af DB," India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, , vol. 77(3), pages 384-403, September.
    3. Hazel Mubango & Muziti Petronella & Muchowe Regis M., 2025. "Transforming Rural Learning Spaces: The Role of Entrepreneurship Education on Promoting Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(3s), pages 5738-5755, July.
    4. Billy Agwanda & Gershon Dagba & Prince Opoku & Mark Opoku Amankwa & Israel Nyaburi Nyadera, 2021. "Sub-Sahara Africa and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflecting on Challenges and Recovery Opportunities," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 37(4), pages 502-524, December.

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