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Employment Generation in Rural Africa: Mid-Term Results from an Experimental Evaluation of the Youth Opportunities Program in Northern Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorBlattman, Christopher
dc.contributor.authorFiala, Nathan
dc.contributor.authorMartinez, Sebastian
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-01T20:46:29Z
dc.date.available2017-06-01T20:46:29Z
dc.date.issued2011-12
dc.description.abstractCan cash transfers promote employment and reduce poverty in rural Africa? Will lower youth unemployment and poverty reduce the risk of social instability? The authors experimentally evaluate one of Uganda's largest development programs, which provided thousands of young people nearly unconditional, unsupervised cash transfers to pay for vocational training, tools, and business start-up costs. Mid-term results after two years suggest four main findings. First, despite a lack of central monitoring and accountability, most youth invest the transfer in vocational skills and tools. Second, the economic impacts of the transfer are large: hours of non-household employment double and cash earnings increase by nearly 50 percent relative to the control group. The authors estimate the transfer yields a real annual return on capital of 35 percent on average. Third, the evidence suggests that poor access to credit is a major reason youth cannot start these vocations in the absence of aid. Much of the heterogeneity in impacts is unexplained, however, and is unrelated to conventional economic measures of ability, suggesting we have much to learn about the determinants of entrepreneurship. Finally, these economic gains result in modest improvements in social stability. Measures of social cohesion and community support improve mildly, by roughly 5 to 10 percent, especially among males, most likely because the youth becomes a net giver rather than a net taker in his kin and community network. Most strikingly, we see a 50 percent fall in interpersonal aggression and disputes among males, but a 50 percent increase among females. Neither change seems related to economic performance nor does social cohesion a puzzle to be explored in the next phase of the study. These results suggest that increasing access to credit and capital could stimulate employment growth in rural Africa. In particular, unconditional and unsupervised cash transfers may be a more effective and cost-efficient forming of large-scale aid than commonly believed. A second stage of data collection in 2012 will collect longitudinal economic impacts, additional data on political violence and behavior, and explore alternative theoretical mechanisms.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/944601468192251018/Employment-generation-in-rural-Africa-mid-term-results-from-an-experimental-evaluation-of-the-Youth-Opportunities-Program-in-Northern-Uganda
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/26827
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/26827
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesSP Discussion Paper;No. 1120
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectACCOUNTING
dc.subjectAGE COHORT
dc.subjectAGGRESSION
dc.subjectATTRITION
dc.subjectAVAILABILITY OF CREDIT
dc.subjectBANK ACCOUNT
dc.subjectBENEFICIARIES
dc.subjectBENEFICIARY
dc.subjectBONDS
dc.subjectBOUNDED RATIONALITY
dc.subjectBUDGETING
dc.subjectCAPITAL INVESTMENT
dc.subjectCAPITAL INVESTMENTS
dc.subjectCAPITAL STOCK
dc.subjectCASH BALANCE
dc.subjectCASH TRANSFER
dc.subjectCOGNITIVE ABILITY
dc.subjectCOMMITMENT DEVICE
dc.subjectCONSUMPTION LEVELS
dc.subjectCONTROL GROUPS
dc.subjectCREDIT CONSTRAINTS
dc.subjectDECISION MAKING
dc.subjectDEMOCRACY
dc.subjectDEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subjectDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
dc.subjectDEVELOPMENT BANK
dc.subjectDEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS
dc.subjectDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
dc.subjectDISBURSEMENT
dc.subjectDISCOUNT RATE
dc.subjectDURABLE
dc.subjectDURABLE ASSETS
dc.subjectECONOMIC DECISIONS
dc.subjectECONOMIC OUTCOMES
dc.subjectECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectECONOMIC RESEARCH
dc.subjectECONOMIC THEORY
dc.subjectECONOMICS
dc.subjectECONOMICS LITERATURE
dc.subjectEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
dc.subjectEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectEMPLOYMENT GROWTH
dc.subjectENTREPRENEURSHIP
dc.subjectEXCESS DEMAND
dc.subjectEXCHANGE RATES
dc.subjectEXPECTED RETURNS
dc.subjectEXTERNALITIES
dc.subjectFEMALE EMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectFINANCES
dc.subjectFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectFIXED COSTS
dc.subjectFORMAL SCHOOLING
dc.subjectFUTURE RESEARCH
dc.subjectGENDER
dc.subjectGROUP DYNAMICS
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD WEALTH
dc.subjectHUMAN CAPITAL
dc.subjectHUMAN DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectINCOME
dc.subjectINDIFFERENCE CURVES
dc.subjectINDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES
dc.subjectINFLATION
dc.subjectINNOVATIONS
dc.subjectINSTRUMENT
dc.subjectINSURANCE
dc.subjectINSURANCE MARKETS
dc.subjectINTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
dc.subjectINTERVENTIONS
dc.subjectINTRINSIC VALUE
dc.subjectINVESTMENT CHOICE
dc.subjectINVESTMENT DECISIONS
dc.subjectLABOR FORCE
dc.subjectLABOR HOURS
dc.subjectLABOR MARKET
dc.subjectLABOR UTILIZATION
dc.subjectLABORERS
dc.subjectLEADERSHIP
dc.subjectLEARNING
dc.subjectLEVEL OF RISK
dc.subjectLIQUID WEALTH
dc.subjectLITERACY
dc.subjectLITERACY TRAINING
dc.subjectLOAN
dc.subjectLOAN TERMS
dc.subjectLOCAL GOVERNMENT
dc.subjectMARKET FAILURE
dc.subjectMARKET INTEREST RATE
dc.subjectMARKET RATE OF RETURN
dc.subjectMENTAL HEALTH
dc.subjectMICROCREDIT
dc.subjectMICROENTERPRISES
dc.subjectMICROFINANCE
dc.subjectMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS
dc.subjectMOBILE PHONES
dc.subjectMONEYLENDER
dc.subjectMONEYLENDERS
dc.subjectMUTUAL INSURANCE
dc.subjectNATIONAL INCOME
dc.subjectNORMAL GOOD
dc.subjectOPPORTUNITY COST
dc.subjectPEER PRESSURE
dc.subjectPOLITICAL CONTROL
dc.subjectPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION
dc.subjectPOLITICAL SCIENTISTS
dc.subjectPRIMARY SCHOOL
dc.subjectPRIME LENDING RATE
dc.subjectPRIVATE LENDERS
dc.subjectPRODUCTION FUNCTION
dc.subjectPRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectPSYCHOLOGY
dc.subjectPUBLIC INVESTMENTS
dc.subjectPUBLIC PARTICIPATION
dc.subjectPUBLIC SPENDING
dc.subjectRATES OF RETURN
dc.subjectREAL INTEREST
dc.subjectREAL INTEREST RATE
dc.subjectRECALL
dc.subjectRENTS
dc.subjectRETURN
dc.subjectRISK AVERSE
dc.subjectRISK AVERSE INDIVIDUALS
dc.subjectRISK AVERSION
dc.subjectRISK NEUTRAL
dc.subjectSCHOOLS
dc.subjectSHORT-TERM BORROWING
dc.subjectSKILLS TRAINING
dc.subjectSMALL LENDERS
dc.subjectSMALL LOANS
dc.subjectSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
dc.subjectSOCIAL CAPITAL
dc.subjectSOCIAL COHESION
dc.subjectSOCIAL GROUPS
dc.subjectSOCIOLOGISTS
dc.subjectSTOCKS
dc.subjectTERRORISM
dc.subjectTHINKING
dc.subjectTRADING
dc.subjectTRAINING PROGRAMS
dc.subjectTRANCHE
dc.subjectUNEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectUTILITY FUNCTION
dc.subjectVOCATIONAL SKILLS
dc.subjectVOCATIONAL TRAINING
dc.subjectWAGES
dc.subjectWORKING CAPITAL
dc.subjectWORKING MEMORY
dc.subjectYOUNG PEOPLE
dc.subjectYOUTH
dc.titleEmployment Generation in Rural Africaen
dc.title.subtitleMid-Term Results from an Experimental Evaluation of the Youth Opportunities Program in Northern Ugandaen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleEmployment Generation in Rural Africa
okr.date.disclosure2012-02-10
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-05T12:21:49.463910Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/944601468192251018/Employment-generation-in-rural-Africa-mid-term-results-from-an-experimental-evaluation-of-the-Youth-Opportunities-Program-in-Northern-Uganda
okr.guid944601468192251018
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000333037_20120210005321
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum15789718
okr.identifier.report66523
okr.importedtrue
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/944601468192251018/pdf/665230revised0box365787B00PUBLIC001120.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica
okr.region.countryUganda
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Labor Policies
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Employment and Unemployment
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Conditional Cash Transfers
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Vocational & Technical Education
okr.unitSocial Protection Team (HDNSP)
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationb4555361-7e37-58c4-a8b7-fa1807da46a2
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryb4555361-7e37-58c4-a8b7-fa1807da46a2
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