Introduction The problem of high youth unemployment
Further, problems arise from terms such as
in Niger, as across sub-Saharan Africa
‘migrant’ and ‘entrepreneur’ – aggregate
(SSA),
development
categories which obscure the range of
literature of the early 2000s as one of
migrant experiences and the range of
tackling the youth bulge by reaping the
‘self-employed’ jobs, some of which may
potential from a demographic dividend
even involve earnings less than those
through youth inclusion in labour markets,
from farm labour (ILO, 2015; Ayele et al.,
rather than risking a further rise in youth
2017). In extremely marginalised com-
gangs and political unrest (World Bank,
munities,
2007; AHDR, 2016). In a post-structural
struggle to scale up production or services
adjustment Niger, policy and international
offered as the demand does not exist to
non-governmental organisation (I-NGO)
absorb increased production, so they
programmes
on
remain small – a problem that is exacer-
employment creation through market-
bated when the newly trained compete
based entrepreneurship. This contrasts
with each other, driving down prices for
with
labour
their products/services (Bateman et al.,
substantial
2011). Moreover, in an era of low state
national and local ‘developmental state’
intervention, the entrepreneurialism of
reforms (e.g. Wade, 2018) devoted, for
youth
instance, to youth absorption in farming,
among
manufacturing (accounting only for 6% of
problem of inclusion (Herrera, 2017), which
GDP in 2016) and public sector jobs and
may be a barrier for the poor youth given
improving
their weak networks and capabilities (i.e.
was
framed
have
attempts
absorption
to
focused
stimulate
through
youth
in
more
capacities
through
education and vocational training.
newly
formed
assumes young
greater people
businesses
self-reliance to
solve
the
level of education, vocational skills, access to capital, assets).
Recently, the entrepreneurship approach to youth inclusion in employment in Africa
‘Young people’ may be considered as the
has been criticised, with some suggesting
demographic representation of an age
that the study of youth inclusion is
group, broadly referring in our study to
disadvantaged by framing the problem
individuals aged 18–35 years. 1 Youth is a
as unemployment or lack of economic
concept deployed in this analysis to
agency, when instead most youth are in
capture young people’s socioeconomic
work but underemployed and working in a
and political positioning in this unique
challenging and precarious labour market
historical conjuncture, where political,
(Dolan and Rajak, 2016; Ayele et al., 2017).
economic, climatic and demographic
While these definitions tend to vary, we focus on
minors. This 18+ categorisation is used in various other
1
individuals aged 18 and over, which avoids interviewing individuals that in some categorisations are classified as
analyses (e.g. OECD, 2019).
8
