But where are the workers? How the youth entrepreneur model fails in Africa

Pierre Girard

The figures are now well known: 375 million young people will reach working age in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, and for many their livelihoods will depend mainly on the rural economy (Losch, 2016). Facing the massive generation of activity required by these demographic dynamics, entrepreneurship has become the leitmotiv of many donors’ and NGOs’ programmes and projects, as well as public policies. According to them, the multiplication of entrepreneurs can meet the employment challenge in the African countryside.

Amidst the positive picture presented by the ‘Afro-optimism’ narratives that have emerged since the growth recovery of the 2000s and the proliferation of over-publicised success stories, entrepreneurship is scarcely criticised. In view of the above, it is essential to qualify the unrealistic expectations generated by the fantasy in which millions of rural youth would constitute a myriad of independent entrepreneurs on the continent. Not everyone will become an entrepreneur in this fantasy: the majority of young people will combine different employment statuses where relationships of economic dependence and subordination will be dominant. Therefore, it would be better to focus public policies on social protection than on entrepreneurship.

Why a European Unemployment Insurance would help to make European Monetary Union more sustainable

Sebastian Dullien

Since the onset of the euro-crisis, the old debate pertaining to the supra-national stabilisers in the euro-area has gained new relevance. While economic textbooks have long stipulated that countries forming a monetary union need an alternative mechanism for dealing with asymmetric shocks and even the early feasibility studies on Economic and Monetary Union EMU had demanded a supranational transfer scheme (MacDougall 1977), EMU came into existence in the late 1990s without such a scheme.

By now, most observers agree that the euro-crisis was (with the exception of Greece) is not the result of irresponsible fiscal policies, but the consequence of problems in the banking systems which resulted partly from national boom-and-bust-cycles. Hence, for a more sustainable and better-functioning monetary union, a growing body of literature now asks for mechanisms to dampen booms and bolster recessions.

The new debate can best be observed in a number of European Union documents, such as the European Commission’s roadmap detailing propositions for a more complete monetary union; as well as that dubbed the “four presidents‘ report” prepared by the president of the European Council, in conjunction with presidents of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup. The European Commission’s concept for “Social Dimension of EMU” is also an example of such documents, all of which call for a “fiscal capacity” for the eurozone.

Outcomes of the 19th ICLS on Work Statistics: What counts as a Job?

Grant Belchamber

Sylvain Schetagne

A few months back, we raised issues regarding the revision by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) - organised by the ILO - on what counts as a job and the re-consideration and reset of guidelines to measure work and the labour force[1]. This debate came about because of the need to better provide policy makers with accurate information on the state of work and the labour markets. This debate was further fueled by the stagnant key labour market indicators. 

Thirty years ago, the main objective of employment statistics was to measure labour inputs in production, to calculate GDP and measure economic growth. The lens for measuring employment and unemployment was constructed to meet the needs of producing the National Accounts. Today, policy makers want to know about labour market trends, the effectiveness of labour market programs, labour underutilization, the participation of different sub-groups of the population and the engagement with the market economy.

What counts as a Job?

Grant Belchamber

Sylvain Schetagne

When key labour market indicators barely move while millions suffer from the deepest economic crisis in decades, it is time to revise them.

Poor indicators make for poor public policy. The global crisis highlights the compelling need to set clear and relevant international standards to collect labour statistics and measure labour market trends.

This job falls to the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), which is convened by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) every five years in Geneva. In October this year the 19th ICLS will re-consider and re-set the guidelines for measurement of Work and the Labour Force.

Different times, different needs
Today’s standards date from the 13th ICLS in 1982[1]. Thirty years ago the main objective of statistics on employment was to measure labour inputs in production, to calculate GDP and measure economic growth, and the lens for measuring employment and unemployment was constructed to meet the needs of producing the National Accounts.