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The search for good jobs: evidence from a six-year field experiment in Uganda

Author

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  • Bandiera, Oriana
  • Bassi, Vittorio
  • Burgess, Robin
  • Rasul, Imran
  • Sulaiman, Munshi
  • Vitali, Anna

Abstract

There are 420 million young people in Africa today, and only one in three has a regular salaried job. We study how two common labor market interventions—vocational training and matching—affect the job search behavior of young workers. We do so by means of a field experiment tracking young job seekers for 6 years in Uganda’s main cities. Vocational training amplifies the job seekers’ initial optimism, leading them to search more intensively and toward high-quality firms. Adding matching has the opposite effect, plausibly because of low callback rates. These differences affect labor market outcomes in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Bandiera, Oriana & Bassi, Vittorio & Burgess, Robin & Rasul, Imran & Sulaiman, Munshi & Vitali, Anna, 2025. "The search for good jobs: evidence from a six-year field experiment in Uganda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120080, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:120080
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    Cited by:

    1. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Arulampalam, Wiji & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Rathelot, Roland, 2024. "Can information about jobs improve the effectiveness of vocational training? Experimental evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Kiss, Andrea & Garlick, Robert & Orkin, Kate & Hensel, Lukas, 2023. "Jobseekers' Beliefs about Comparative Advantage and (Mis)Directed Search," IZA Discussion Papers 16522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kelley, Erin M. & Ksoll, Christopher & Magruder, Jeremy, 2024. "How do digital platforms affect employment and job search? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Bernd Beber & Tabea Lakemann & Regina Schnars & Jann Lay, 2025. "Employment Effects of Skills Trainings in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of Recent Randomized Controlled Trials," De Economist, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 87-120, March.
    5. Frohnweiler, Sarah & Adongo, Charles A. & Beber, Bernd & Lakemann, Tabea & Priebe, Jan & Lay, Jann, 2024. "Effects of skills training on employment and livelihood outcomes: A randomized controlled trial with young women in Ghana," Ruhr Economic Papers 1095, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Federica Meluzzi, 2024. "The College Melting Pot: Peers, Culture and Women's Job Search," Papers 2409.20225, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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