Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Economics

Journal Title

Journal of African Economies

Pub Date

11-2013

Volume

22

Issue

5

First Page

651

Abstract

A growing share of manufacturing in GDP and in employment is a common feature observed in successful developing countries. Manufacturing, however, has not been a major source of employment in Ethiopia and in other Sub-Saharan African countries. This paper relies on a unique census-based panel data covering the period 1996–2007 to analyse the micro-dynamics of aggregate employment changes. The analysis shows that the weak employment performance of Ethiopian manufacturing is not due to limited job creation but a consequence of simultaneous offsetting processes of job creation and destruction. We find strong evidence of intra-industry job mobility and attribute a substantial proportion of job creation and destruction to firm entry and exit. However, jobs created by small firms tend to be transitory and there has been a re-allocation of jobs from small to larger firms during periods of faster aggregate net employment growth. Overall, the evidence suggests that employment growth and job re-allocation are not necessarily restrained by labour laws and regulations.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejt006

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