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Transitions To Employment And Marriage Among Young Men In Egypt

Author

Listed:
  • RAGUI ASSAAD

    (University of Minnesota and Population Council, USA)

  • CHRISTINE BINZEL

    (DIW, Berlin, Germany)

  • MAY GADALLAH

    (Cairo University, Egypt)

Abstract

We examine in this paper the transition from school to work and the transition to marriage among young men with at least a secondary education in Egypt, with particular attention to how the first transition affects the second. In examining the transition from school to work, we analyze the determinants of the duration of transition to first employment after school completion, as well as the type and quality of job obtained in such employment. We then move to an examination of the determinants of further mobility to a second job. In examining the transition to marriage, we investigate the effect of time to the first job and the time to the first good job, if any, on the timing of marriage, controlling for cohort of birth, education, family background and community-level variables. We find that the duration of transition to first employment has fallen over time, primarily because of the reduced availability of formal employment, especially public employment, making it less worthwhile for young men to remain jobless searching for such employment. Having access to work in a family enterprise reduces significantly the duration of transition from school to work as does the need to be the main breadwinner of the family. While education beyond the secondary level has no significant effect on the duration of the transition, it does significantly affect the probability of getting a good job and a formal job, as a first job. The hazard of transition to a second job is negatively associated with the time it takes to get a first job, but that is primarily because it is negatively associated with the quality of the first job and the fact that it takes longer to get good first jobs. Our findings relating to the transition to marriage confirm both the importance of early entry into the job market and of obtaining good jobs for early transition into marriage. However, if delayed entry (due to search) raises the hazard of getting a good job, it may actually be a worthwhile strategy, from the point of view of curbing the delay in marriage, for an individual to spend more time in job search.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Christine Binzel & May Gadallah, 2010. "Transitions To Employment And Marriage Among Young Men In Egypt," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 39-88.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:medjxx:v:02:y:2010:i:01:n:s1793812010000162
    DOI: 10.1142/S1793812010000162
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J Taylor & A N Nguyen, 2003. "Transition from school to first job: the influence of educational attainment," Working Papers 540112, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    2. Dustmann, C. & Rajah, N. & van Soest, A.H.O., 1998. "School Quality, Exam Performance and Career Choice," Discussion Paper 1998-16, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
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    4. Michaela R. Kreyenfeld, 2000. "Employment careers and the timing of first births in East Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2000-004, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Ferrall, Christopher & Betts, Julian & Finnie, Ross, 2000. "The Transition to Work for Canadian University Graduates: Time to First Job, 1982-1990," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2000141e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad, 2020. "Employment’s Role in Enabling and Constraining Marriage in the Middle East and North Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2297-2325, December.
    2. Björn Nilsson, 2019. "The School-to-Work Transition in Developing Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 745-764, May.
    3. Eleonora Bertoni & Giorgio Ricchiuti, 2017. "A Multilevel Analysis of Unemployment in Egypt," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(4), pages 494-514, December.
    4. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Colette Salemi, 2023. "Socioeconomic Status and the Changing Nature of School-to-Work Transitions in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 697-723, August.
    5. Binzel, Christine, 2011. "Decline in Social Mobility: Unfulfilled Aspirations among Egypt's Educated Youth," IZA Discussion Papers 6139, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Bertoli, Simone & Marchetta, Francesca, 2015. "Bringing It All Back Home – Return Migration and Fertility Choices," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 27-40.
    7. May Gadallah, 2011. "Factors of Career Mobility in Egypt by Gender," Working Papers 623, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2011.
    8. May Gadallah & Rania Roushdy & Maia Sieverding, 2017. "Young People’s Gender Role Attitudes Over the Transition to Adulthood in Egypt," Working Papers 1122, Economic Research Forum, revised 07 2017.
    9. Amr Ragab & Ayhab F. Saad, 2023. "The effects of a negative economic shock on male marriage in the West Bank," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 789-814, September.
    10. Anda David & Rana Hendy, 2016. "Does International Migration Help Them Marry earlier? A Hazard Model for the Case of Egypt," Working Papers 1051, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2016.
    11. Hanan Nazier & Racha Ramadan, 2017. "Marriage Outcomes and Women Empowerment After Marriage: A Three Countries Story," Working Papers 1074, Economic Research Forum, revised 04 Jun 2017.
    12. Rania Salem, 2016. "The gendered effects of labour market experiences on marriage timing in Egypt," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(11), pages 283-314.
    13. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline, 2017. "Excluded Generation: The Growing Challenges of Labor Market Insertion for Egyptian Youth," IZA Discussion Papers 10970, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Dominique J. Rolando, 2017. "The Role of Housing Markets in the Timing of Marriage in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia," Working Papers 1081, Economic Research Forum, revised 04 Oct 2017.
    15. Binzel, Christine & Assaad, Ragui, 2011. "Egyptian men working abroad: Labour supply responses by the women left behind," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(S1), pages 98-114.
    16. Irene Selwaness & Rania Roushdy, 2017. "The Arab Spring and the Employability of Youth: Early Evidence From Egypt," Working Papers 1097, Economic Research Forum, revised 05 2017.
    17. Krafft Caroline & Assaad Ragui & Rahman Khandker Wahedur, 2021. "Introducing the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, January.
    18. Irene Selwaness & Caroline Krafft, 2021. "The Dynamics of Family Formation and Women’s Work: What Facilitates and Hinders Female Employment in the Middle East and North Africa?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(3), pages 533-587, June.
    19. Rania Salem, 2015. "Changes in the Institution of Marriage in Egypt from 1998 to 2012," Working Papers 911, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2015.
    20. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline, 2014. "The economics of marriage in North Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 067, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Obbey Ahmed Elamin, 2018. "Impact of Informal Job-search on Wages for University Graduates in Egypt and Jordan," Working Papers 1272, Economic Research Forum, revised 19 Dec 2018.
    22. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft, 2014. "The Economics of Marriage in North Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-067, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    23. Samer Kherfi, 2015. "Determinants of Unemployment Duration," Working Papers 909, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2015.

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