The promise and peril of youth entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa
International Journal of Manpower
ISSN: 0143-7720
Article publication date: 20 July 2021
Issue publication date: 6 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurship is promoted as a solution to high rates of youth unemployment around the world and especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This paper investigates the potential for youth entrepreneurship to alleviate unemployment, focusing on Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine who entrepreneurs are (in comparison to the unemployed), using multinomial logit models. The authors compare entrepreneurs' and wage workers' working conditions and earnings. They exploit panel data to assess earnings and occupational dynamics. They specifically use the Labor Market Panel Surveys of 2012 (Egypt), 2016 (Jordan), and 2014 (Tunisia), along with previous waves.
Findings
The authors find that entrepreneurs are the opposite of the unemployed in MENA. The unemployed are disproportionately young, educated and women. Entrepreneurs are older, less educated and primarily men. Entrepreneurship does not generally lead to higher earnings and does have fewer benefits.
Originality/value
Promoting youth entrepreneurship is not only unlikely to be successful in reducing youth unemployment in MENA, but also, if successful, may even be harmful to youth.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: Research supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation on “Youth and Vulnerability in the Middle East” to the Economic Research Forum.
Citation
Krafft, C. and Rizk, R. (2021), "The promise and peril of youth entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 42 No. 8, pp. 1500-1526. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-05-2020-0200
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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