Urban Labor Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa

“Urban employment will play a key role in the years to come in a region where demographic growth and accelerating urbanization threaten to interrupt the reduction in poverty that is underway. This book provides an in-depth examination of the functioning of urban labor markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, looking in particular at the crucial question of informality. Relying on detailed microeconomic data from several French-speaking urban centers, it makes an innovative and fundamental contribution to the understanding of development in Africa.”

François Bourguignon, Director, Paris School of Economics  

“This volume is a valuable resource for information on labor markets in the cities of Francophone Sub-Saharan. Researchers interested in this part of the world will find much to learn about these ten countries.”

Gary Fields, John P. Windmuller Professor of International and Comparative Labor, Professor of Economics, Cornell University  

“The ‘1-2-3 surveys’ are a remarkable source of information on urban labor markets in Africa. Focusing on major cities in Francophone Africa, they provide, for the first time, systematic and rigorous data to address issues such as informality and regulation, and more generally, employment policies for a rapidly urbanizing Africa. This excellent volume brings together a range of studies that illuminate the reality of labor markets in urban Africa and that begin exploration of policy options for employment-focused poverty reduction. It will be of interest to scholars and policy makers alike”.

Ravi Kanbur, T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, Cornel University