Youth and Jobs in Rural Africa

Many people believe that Africa will struggle to create jobs for its rapidly-growing population, and that rural youth will eventually migrate to cities or other countries. This book uses survey data to create a nuanced understanding of the constraints and opportunities facing rural youth in Africa.

Dr. Valerie Mueller is an Assistant Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University, and a Nonresident Fellow at IFPRI. She was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC, where she maintains an affiliation. Valerie is an agricultural economist and is widely published in leading academic journals. Her research focuses on the drivers and consequences of internal migration in developing countries, paying special attention to the role of climate change, and on using field experiments to identify mechanisms to improve rural service delivery in Africa.
Dr. James Thurlow is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to this, he was a Research Fellow at the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research in Helsinki, Finland. James is an applied development economist whose research focuses on the interactions between policies, growth, employment and poverty. James has published widely in areas related to international development, but with a major focus on the factors affecting rural development in Africa and Asia. He has worked throughout these two regions, often advising governments on the design of national policies and development strategies.