Social Insurance Reform and Labor Market Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia

Non-cognitive skills, defined as individual differences that are independent of cognitive ability, are used within economics and policy to understand and improve labor market outcomes and reduce anti-social behavior. These measures are now being used in sub-Saharan Africa to capture “softer” outcomes of interventions with young people in particular. Having first defined non-cognitive skills and described how they are measured, this chapter then presents critiques relating to their relative insensitivity to culture and class. This argument as to the context specificity of non-cognitive skills is supported with qualitative and quantitative data generated with young entrepreneurs from Uganda and South Africa.

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Labor Market Consequences of State Health Insurance Regulation

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/001979390205600108 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 136-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Robert Kaestner ◽

Kosali Ilayperuma Simon

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Health Insurance ◽

Private Insurance ◽

Insurance Coverage ◽

Labor Market Outcomes ◽

Market Outcomes ◽

Insurance Benefits ◽

Insurance Reform ◽

Health Insurance Reform ◽

Group Health Insurance

This study, based mainly on the 1989–98 March Current Population surveys, finds that state-mandated health insurance benefits and small-group health insurance reform had no statistically significant effects on labor market outcomes such as the quantity of work, wages, and whether an employee worked for a small or large firm. The number and type of state-mandated health insurance benefits were unrelated to weeks of work, wages, and the prevalence of private insurance coverage, but positively associated with weekly work hours. Extensive small-group health insurance reform was associated with a slight decline in the prevalence of private insurance coverage in small firms, and this reform affected both full- and part-time employees. Less extensive reforms were not generally related to the prevalence of private insurance coverage. Overall, the authors do not find strong evidence that insurance regulations affected labor market outcomes, although they appear to cause a small decrease in private coverage.

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Fertility Issues and Policy in Developing Countries

The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190628963.013.6 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 120-148

Author(s):

Claus C. Pörtner

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Bargaining Power ◽

Labor Market Outcomes ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Replacement Level ◽

Market Outcomes ◽

Population Policies ◽

Sex Preferences ◽

Sub Saharan

Fertility in most developing countries has declined substantially and is in many places now close to replacement level. Despite the large reductions, there are still important outstanding questions when it comes to fertility in developing countries. This chapter examines four of those questions. First, why has Sub-Saharan Africa not seen reductions in fertility as large as other developing countries? Second, what factors determine the timing of fertility, especially for first births, and how is timing related to schooling and labor market outcomes? Third, what is the role of bargaining power when determining fertility? Finally, how do sex preferences affect fertility outcomes? In addition, I discuss the literature on the effectiveness of population policies on both fertility and outcomes such as health and schooling.

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