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The Search for Good Jobs: Evidence from a Six-Year Field Experiment in Uganda

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Listed:
  • Oriana Bandiera
  • Vittorio Bassi
  • Robin Burgess
  • Imran Rasul
  • Munshi Sulaiman
  • Anna Vitali

Abstract

There are 420 million young people in Africa today, and only one in three has a regular salaried job. We study how two common labor market interventions—vocational training and matching—affect the job search behavior of young workers. We do so by means of a field experiment tracking young job seekers for 6 years in Uganda’s main cities. Vocational training amplifies the job seekers’ initial optimism, leading them to search more intensively and toward high-quality firms. Adding matching has the opposite effect, plausibly because of low callback rates. These differences affect labor market outcomes in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Oriana Bandiera & Vittorio Bassi & Robin Burgess & Imran Rasul & Munshi Sulaiman & Anna Vitali, 2025. "The Search for Good Jobs: Evidence from a Six-Year Field Experiment in Uganda," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(3), pages 885-935.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/728429
    DOI: 10.1086/728429
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