IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijlaec/v68y2025i1d10.1007_s41027-025-00556-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Labour Market Institutions, Innovation and Youth Employment in sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Abidemi C. Adegboye

    (University of Lagos)

Abstract

In this study, the effects of labour market institutions (LMIs) and innovation on youth employment are examined using data for 27 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period 2007 and 2019. The feasible generalised least squares method is employed in the empirical analysis. The study finds that a combination of flexible (employment protection) and tight (wage adjustments) LMIs is the best means of improving youth employment among SSA countries. Moreover, while R&D (research & development) expenditure of firms (demand-side innovation) promotes youth employment in the region, more supply-side focussed innovations are found to directly limit youth employment. It is, however, found that LMIs temper the effects of innovation on youth employment. In particular, LMIs favour innovations that are supply side, but limit the positive effects of demand-side innovation on employment. Policy measures on reforming LMIs and promoting innovation for improving youth employment are provided in the study.

Suggested Citation

  • Abidemi C. Adegboye, 2025. "Labour Market Institutions, Innovation and Youth Employment in sub-Saharan Africa," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 68(1), pages 203-219, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:68:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s41027-025-00556-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-025-00556-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41027-025-00556-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s41027-025-00556-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    2. Xavier Cirera & Leonard Sabetti, 2019. "The effects of innovation on employment in developing countries: evidence from enterprise surveys," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(1), pages 161-176.
    3. O'Higgins, Niall. & Moscariello, Valentino., 2017. "Labour market institutions and youth labour markets : minimum wages and youth employment revisited," ILO Working Papers 994964091302676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 1-33, March.
    5. Olivier Blanchard & Francesco Giavazzi, 2003. "Macroeconomic Effects of Regulation and Deregulation in Goods and Labor Markets," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 879-907.
    6. Viral V. Acharya & Ramin P. Baghai & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2013. "Labor Laws and Innovation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 997-1037.
    7. Lisi, Domenico & Malo, Miguel Ángel, 2017. "The impact of temporary employment on productivity : The importance of sectors' skill intensity," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 91-112.
    8. Kyoji Fukao & Kenta Ikeuchi & Young Gak Kim & Hyeog Ug Kwon, 2017. "Innovation and Employment Growth in Japan: Analysis Based on Microdata from the Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 200-216, June.
    9. Ibrahim Mike Okumu & Edward Bbaale & Madina Mwagale Guloba, 2019. "Innovation and employment growth: evidence from manufacturing firms in Africa," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-27, December.
    10. Dev Nathan & Neetu Ahmed, 2018. "Technological Change and Employment: Creative Destruction," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 281-298, June.
    11. Abidemi C. Adegboye, 2020. "Macroeconomic policies and sustainable employment yields in sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 515-527, December.
    12. David Giuliodori & Rodolfo Stucchi, 2012. "Innovation and job creation in a dual labor market: evidence from Spain," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(8), pages 801-813, November.
    13. Harrison, Rupert & Jaumandreu, Jordi & Mairesse, Jacques & Peters, Bettina, 2014. "Does innovation stimulate employment? A firm-level analysis using comparable micro-data from four European countries," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 29-43.
    14. Devanto Shasta Pratomo, 2016. "How does the minimum wage affect employment statuses of youths?: evidence of Indonesia," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(2), pages 259-274, May.
    15. Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "Innovation and employment," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 154-154, May.
    16. Lisi, Domenico & Malo, Miguel A., 2017. "The impact of temporary employment on productivity : The importance of sectors' skill intensity," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 91-112.
    17. Haroon Bhorat & Aalia Cassim & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix & Derek Yu, 2016. "Minimum Wages and Youth: The Case of South Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 25(suppl_1), pages 61-102.
    18. Baensch Laura & Lanzalot Maria Laura & Lotti Giulia & Stucchi Rodolfo, 2019. "Do Labor Market Regulations Affect the Link between Innovation and Employment? Evidence from Latin America," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, July.
    19. Sam Jones & John Page & Abebe Shimeles & Finn Tarp & John Page & Abebe Shimeles, 2015. "Aid, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(S1), pages 17-30, October.
    20. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    21. Mr. Romain A Duval & Mr. Prakash Loungani, 2019. "Designing Labor Market Institutions in Emerging and Developing Economies: Evidence and Policy Options," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2019/004, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Rajarshi Majumder, 2018. "Technology and Labour Market: Insights from Indian Manufacturing Sector," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 321-338, June.
    23. Betcherman, Gordon, 2014. "Labor market regulations : what do we know about their impacts in developing countries ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6819, The World Bank.
    24. Stephen Nickell & Luca Nunziata & Wolfgang Ochel, 2005. "Unemployment in the OECD Since the 1960s. What Do We Know?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(500), pages 1-27, January.
    25. Louise Fox & Ana Maria Oviedo, 2013. "Institutions and Job Growth in African Manufacturing: Does Employment Protection Regulation Matter?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(4), pages 616-650, August.
    26. Datta,Namita & Assy,Angela Elzir & Buba,Johanne & Johansson De Silva,Sara & Watson,Samantha Maria, 2018. "Integrated Youth Employment Programs: A Stocktake of Evidence on what works in Youth Employment Programs," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 30906061, The World Bank.
    27. Deon Filmer & Louise Fox, 2014. "Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa [L’emploi des jeunes en Afrique subsaharienne - Rapport complet]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 16608, April.
    28. Shanthi Nataraj & Francisco Perez-Arce & Krishna B. Kumar & Sinduja V. Srinivasan, 2014. "The Impact Of Labor Market Regulation On Employment In Low-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 551-572, July.
    29. Swapan Chakraborty, 2021. "Labour Market Regulation and Manufacturing Employment: A Study of Organized Manufacturing Sector Across Indian States," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(1), pages 1-22, March.
    30. Maria Marimpi & Pierre Koning, 2018. "Youth minimum wages and youth employment," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, December.
    31. Romain A Duval & Prakash Loungani, 2019. "Designing Labor Market Institutions in Emerging and Developing Economies; Evidence and Policy Options," IMF Staff Discussion Notes SDN/19/04, International Monetary Fund.
    32. Pasquale Tridico & Sebastiano Fadda & Antonella Mennella, 2014. "Flexibility and Productivity: The Case of the Labour Supply Contract Agreement in Italy," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 3, September.
    33. Lisi, Domenico & Malo, Miguel A., 2017. "The impact of temporary employment on productivity : The importance of sectors' skill intensity," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 91-112.
    34. Devanto Shasta Pratomo, 2016. "How does the minimum wage affect employment statuses of youths?: evidence of Indonesia," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(2), pages 259-274, May.
    35. Nathan, Dev. & Ahmed, Neetu., 2018. "Technological change and employment creative destruction," ILO Working Papers 994980893502676, International Labour Organization.
    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. Horst Feldmann, 2013. "Technological unemployment in industrial countries," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1099-1126, November.
    2. Adegboye Abidemi C. & Alao-Owunna Ifeoluwa & Bank-Ola Folake R., 2022. "Macroeconomic Shocks and Employment in sub-Sharan Africa: Do Labour Market Institutions Matter?," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 25(2), pages 97-118.
    3. Porath, Daniel & Nabachwa, Sarah & Agasha, Ester & Kijjambu, Nsambu Frederick, 2021. "Innovation and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa," UASM Discussion Paper Series 10/2021, University of Applied Sciences Mainz.
    4. Gabriel J. Felbermayr & Mario Larch & Wolfgang Lechthaler, 2013. "Unemployment in an Interdependent World," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 262-301, February.
    5. Christoph S. Weber, 2020. "The unemployment effect of central bank transparency," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 2947-2975, December.
    6. Tino Berger & Freddy Heylen, 2011. "Differences in Hours Worked in the OECD: Institutions or Fiscal Policies?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(7), pages 1333-1369, October.
    7. Doménech, Rafael & Garcí­a, José Ramón, 2008. "Unemployment, taxation and public expenditure in OECD economies," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 202-217, March.
    8. Koangsung Choi & Chung Choe & Daeho Lee, 2021. "The Effect of Employing Temporary Workers on Efficiency: Evidence From a Meta-Frontier Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    9. Carlos Bianchi & Hugo Laguna, 2020. "Firm’s innovation strategies and employment: new evidence from Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-06, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    10. Andrea Bassanini & Romain Duval, 2009. "Unemployment, institutions, and reform complementarities: re-assessing the aggregate evidence for OECD countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 25(1), pages 40-59, Spring.
    11. H Buscher & C Dreger & R Ramos & J Surinach, 2009. "The Impact of Institutions on the Employment Performance in European Labour Markets," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 14(1), pages 17-34, March.
    12. repec:eid:wpaper:01/10 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Richard Duhautois & Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière & Malo Mofakhami & Monika Obersneider & Dominik Postels & José Ignacio Anton & Rafael Muñoz De Bustillo & Fernando Pinto, 2018. "The Employment and Job Quality Effects of Innovation in France, Germany and Spain: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02613444, HAL.
    14. Horst Feldmann, 2013. "Banking System Concentration And Labor Market Performance In Industrial Countries," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(4), pages 719-732, October.
    15. Horst Feldmann, 2010. "Venture Capital Availability and Labor Market Performance in Industrial Countries: Evidence Based on Survey Data," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 23-54, February.
    16. Flavio Calvino & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2018. "The Innovation†Employment Nexus: A Critical Survey Of Theory And Empirics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 83-117, February.
    17. Sulistiyo K. Ardiyono & Arianto A. Patunru, 2022. "The impact of employment protection on FDI at different stages of economic development," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(12), pages 3679-3714, December.
    18. Richard Duhautois & Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière & Malo Mofakhami & Monika Obersneider & Dominik Postels & José Ignacio Anton & Rafael Muñoz De Bustillo & Fernando Pinto, 2018. "The Employment and Job Quality Effects of Innovation in France, Germany and Spain: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02966011, HAL.
    19. Bergljot B Barkbu & Jesmin Rahman & Rodrigo O. Valdes, 2012. "Fostering Growth in Europe Now," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 12/07, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Lastauskas, Povilas & Stakėnas, Julius, 2024. "Labor market policies in high- and low-interest rate environments: Evidence from the euro area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    21. Monica Correa Lopez & Agustin Garcia Serrador & Ana Cristina Mingorance, 2010. "Product Market Competition and Inflation Dynamics: Evidence from a Panel of OECD Countries," Working Papers 1025, BBVA Bank, Economic Research Department.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employment protection; Innovation; Labour market flexibility; Wage bargaining; Wage adjustment; Youth employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • K3 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:spr:ijlaec:v:68:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s41027-025-00556-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.