Analysis of youth unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: determinants and possible ways forward

This paper investigates the causes of youth unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during the period 1991-2012. The study used panel data method for a sample of 30 SSA countries; and it focused on the impact of economic, demographic and institutional factors as well as natural resources. We examine the determinants of youth unemployment for both the aggregate and gendered levels. The empirical results show that GDP growth, trade openness, foreign direct investment, education and corruption have negative and significant effect on total, male and female youth unemployment. The results also show that for both the aggregate and gendered levels of youth unemployment in SSA, the impact of natural resources is found to be positive and significant; implying that abundance of natural resources increases youth unemployment in SSA. Moreover, the results reveal some gender variations in the response of youth unemployment to education and foreign direct investment. Finally, the paper ends with some recommendations regarding the improvement of youth employment in SSA.