Private sector development and manufacturing jobs in Eastern Africa

Abstract

The World Economic Forum (WEF) global competitiveness indicators show that Eastern Africa economies are still classified as a factor driven, implying that the key pillars for competitiveness are still the basic requirements such as adequacy of infrastructure, institutions, macroeconomic environment, and human capital development including including education, skills, and health. Therefore, the major constraints that business executives cite as particularly cumbersome for doing business over the last five years continue to be related to corruption, tax policy, access to finance, macroeconomic instability, and inadequate supply of infrastructure including in the transport and energy sectors. This study uses firm level data from WBES to analyze key issues, such as the share of jobs provided by manufacturing firms, women and youth employment, and the relationship between employment, skills, and wages in the region. Specifically, the study will investigate Job flows across industries within the region; The effect of labor productivity on wages in the manufacturing sector; The effect of credit constraints on employment growth in the manufacturing sector; and The effect of skill constraints on manufacturing firms in the region.