Influence of Enterprise Strategy Typologies on Youth Livelihood Outcomes in Kenya

Youth unemployment and underemployment are grave social issues prevalent in developing countries. Ensuring that youth attain productive ends or sustainable livelihood outcomes is a major concern of many governments, organisations and institutions globally. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of enterprise strategy typologies on youth livelihood outcomes in Kamukunji Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya. Anchored on Department for International Development livelihoods framework and the General Systems Theory, the study applied a cross-sectional survey research design to gather data from 201 youth from registered youth groups. Analysis was conducted using descriptive frequencies and inferential statistics, namely Chi-square, Z statistic and Ordered Logistic Regression. Findings from inferential statistics established that regardless of the livelihood strategy typology youth adopted (business, wage employment, homemaking, arts & talents and agriculture-based), the livelihood outcomes did not differ significantly. As a group, livelihood strategy typology did not jointly determine youth livelihood outcomes. However, specific enterprise strategies whose parameters attained statistical significance were: wage employment (β = 0.74, p < 0.05) and arts/talent (β = 0.26, p < 0.05) which were important in predicting the level of YLO level. The study recommends that State and Non-State actors should implement elaborate and expansive business incubation and mentorship programs for youth. To improve livelihood outcomes for all youth, development agencies should ensure that youth-focused interventions target all typologies of enterprise strategies undertaken by the youth.

Employment Creation through Credit: A Glimpse from Credit Program for Ultra-poor Households in Bangladesh

This paper examined the impact on employment of a credit plus program designed for ultra-poor households in the Northwest region of Bangladesh. Both descriptive and econometric techniques were used, and four regression models were estimated for each of the dependent variables with linear and log-lin specifications: one is a simple model considering only time effect and program effect, and the others were the extended models which included various characteristics of the households and the regions. The descriptive analysis showed that most of the beneficiary households had shifted from single earning members to multiple earning members. Women had started to contribute to household earnings. The results showed that the participant ultra-poor households had gained around 21.1% additional employment days due to the program participation opportunities within 2008-2013, with an annual rate of 4.2% gain. The extra earning days included wage-employment days and self-employment days and the results showed that due to the program, the wage-employment days had increased by 2.6% annually and the self-employment days increased by 6.6% annually holding the effects of other explanatory variables constant. The working days of non-participants had increased but at a lower rate than that of the program participant households. The results confirmed that the credit program for ultra-poor households had a significantly positive effect on the creation of employment days and employment opportunities.

Long-Term Effects of the Targeting the Ultra Poor Program

This paper studies the long-run effects of a “ big-push” program providing a large asset transfer to the poorest Indian households. In a randomized controlled trial that follows these households over ten years, we find positive effects on consumption (0.6 SD), food security (0.1 SD), income (0.3 SD), and health (0.2 SD). These effects grow for the first seven years following the transfer and persist until year ten. One main channel for persistence is that treated households take better advantage of opportunities to diversify into more lucrative wage employment, especially through migration. (JEL I32, I38, J22, J31, O12, O18)

Sugar industrialization and distress selling of livestock among the Bodi pastoralists in Ethiopia’s lower Omo valley

This article, based on long-term fieldwork, argues that the Bodi, a small agro-pastoral community in Ethiopia’s lower Omo Valley, are experiencing distress selling of livestock and are undergoing collective impoverishment. These processes are a result of the rapid comprehensive transformations unfolding in the valley, which are themselves a product of the state’s aggressive resource extraction interests. These interests mainly relate to the building of the Gilgel Gibe III dam on the Omo River and the establishment of large-scale sugar estates. Increased insecurity in the valley followed these interventions. When combined, these changes resulted in the deterioration of the food security and livelihood situations of the Bodi, and the community attempted to cope by selling animals from their herds. Hence, the main reasons for market engagement relate to (1) coping with hunger, (2) coping with a high incidence of animal diseases and (3) coping with high rates of imprisonment of men. The Bodi also engage in three constrained livelihood alternatives: rain-fed farming, irrigated farming and wage employment. This article recommends that resolving the Bodi’s erosion of livelihoods necessitates addressing insecurity and the related socio-political outcomes, which lie at the heart of the Bodi’s dwindling livelihood situation and impoverishment.

Pengaruh belanja modal, investasi dan upah minimum terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi melalui kesempatan kerja di Kabupaten Batanghari

This study aims to: 1) determine and analyze the effect of capital expenditure, investment, and minimum wage on employment opportunities in Batanghari Regency and 2) determine and analyze the effect of capital expenditure, investment, and minimum wage on economic growth through employment opportunities in Batanghari Regency. Based on the results of multiple linear regression that partially investment variables have a significant effect on employment opportunities. In contrast, capital expenditures and minimum wages have no significant effect on employment opportunities in Batanghari Regency. Based on the results of multiple linear regression that partially, the minimum wage and employment opportunities have a substantial effect on economic growth, while capital expenditure and investment variables have no significant effect on economic growth in Batanghari Regency. Keywords: Capital expenditure, Investment, Minimum wage, Employment opportunity, Economic growth.

Study on Socioeconomic Impact of MGNREGA on Beneficiaries in Chikkaballapura District of Karnataka- India

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee act or (MGNREGA) was reported in India in September 2005 with a mandate to supply at least a hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to each rural home whose members above the age of eighteen years’ volunteer to do unskilled labour-intensive work. The main focus of the act is to assist the social protection for the people living in rural India by providing employment possibilities and therefore contributing towards the overall growth of the local people. The present study was attempted to figure out the effect of MGNREGA on the overall economic and social development of beneficiaries in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka. The study was carried out in the Chintamani blocks of the Mindigal panchayat area of the Chikkaballapura with beneficiaries as respondents. The results found the MGNREGA has extensively enhanced their social and economic safety.

Does Career Risk Deter Potential Entrepreneurs?

Do potential entrepreneurs remain in wage employment because of concerns that they will face worse job opportunities should their entrepreneurial ventures fail? Using a Canadian reform that extends job-protected leave to one year for women giving birth after a cutoff date, we study whether the option to return to a previous job increases entrepreneurship. A regression discontinuity design reveals that a longer job-protected leave increases entrepreneurship by 1.9 percentage points. These entrepreneurs start incorporated businesses that hire employees, in industries in which experimentation before entry has low costs and high benefits.

Labor Decision Analysis In West Sumatra

This study aims to analysis the determinants of labor employment decisions in West Sumatra.. The data used in this study is SAKERNAS data in 2018. The variables used in this study are workforce employment decisions, education level, gender, age, and residential area. This study uses multinomial logistic regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that: (1) Education has a significant effect on employment decisions for contract wages and wages without contracts compared to entrepreneurs in West Sumatra (2) Gender significantly influences employment decisions for contract wages and wages without contracts compared to entrepreneurs in West Sumatra (3) Age has a significant effect on contractual wage employment decisions compared to entrepneurship, while age variable has no significant effect on contractual wage employment decisions compared to entrepreneurship in West Sumatra (4) The area of residence has a significant effect on wage employment decisions with contracts compared to entrepreneurship, where as variables the area of residence does not significantly influence the decision of wage employment without a contract compared to entrepreneurship in West Sumatra.

MGNREGA: Ensures Guaranteed Wage Employment in Rural Area

The Mahatma Gandhi Nation Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is perhaps the world largest right to work model being implemented in India. The most distinctive feature of MGNREGA from the earlier rural public works programme is that it has provided a legal entitlement to work on demand. But unfortunately MGNREGA is not meeting demand for wage employment in rural areas it may be because poor transparency and accountability and lack of capacity on the part of Panchayats. Lack of awareness among villagers about the provisions of the Act and not using proper strategy for awareness building is another factor which is responsible for lacuna due to which proper implementation of MGNREGS is remain challenge in rural areas.There are still lots of problems in the implementation of MGNREGA. Still, it has not reached the poor and needy due to lack of interest of the implementing agencies especially local self governance in rural area. MGNERGS needs more creative innovative and time bound efforts from the local governance institutions to meet the demand for wage employment in rural area. Gram Sabha and Social audit can play crucial role to implement these scheme.The present paper is based of secondary source of literature, discusses about whether MGNREGA really meeting demands of wage employment at village level and suggests mechanism for effective implementation of MGNREGA.

Implementation and Performance of MGNREGA in Jammu and Kashmir A Decadal Study

Background: The MGNREGA was notified by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India in September, 2005. The Act provides legal guarantee of at least one hundred days of wage-employment to a rural household, whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work in a financial year. The Act encompasses all areas concerning registration, plan formulation, implementation, timely payment of wages, grievance redressal mechanism, right to information, rendering of accounts, periodical meetings for fulfilling statutory requirement of providing 100 days guaranteed employment to rural households who volunteer to do unskilled manual labour. Methods: The present research is based on the secondary sources of data and empirical analysis of the data is conducted by using some basic statistical tools like percentage and graphs analysis of various variables in the study.Result: Since the implementation of MGNREGA, the number of households issued job cards increased from 4.97 lakh in 2008-09 to 12.53 lakh in 2017-18, thus showing a significant increase. The number of households who demanded employment and the level of employment in the State has also shown an upward trend and the number of person days of employment generated has increased from 32.3 to 84.61 lakhs and the total person days of employment provided the share of SCs STs and others has also been increased from 1.7, 7.5 and 23.05 to 4.09, 17.27 and 63.25 lakhs respectively. Although the share of employment of SCs, STs and women in the total employment has shown an increasing trend through-out the reference period but there is a large number of SCs and STs who have not yet got registered under MGNREGA and the increase in women participation is still far below the 33% share as enshrined in the guidelines of the Act.