Economists Dani Rodrik and Rohan Sandhu recently published their latest paper on strategies for increasing the labour-absorbing capacities of the services sector in developing economies, where large numbers of young people are entering the workforce every year. As their abstract says: “Manufacturing generates very little employment in the developing world. Urban jobs are predominantly informal, unproductive, and in services. It seems unlikely that manufacturing will be able to absorb the new increments to the labor force or create more productive jobs for those that are already stuck in petty services. Raising productivity in services has been traditionally difficult, but is now necessary to achieve long-term growth in the standard of living. We discuss and provide evidence for four broad strategies: (a) incentivizing large, productive firms to expand their employment; (b) enhancing productive capabilities of smaller firms through the provision of public inputs; (c) providing workers or firms technologies that explicitly complement low-skill labor; (d) vocational training with “wrap-around” services to enhance job seekers’ employability, job retention, and eventual promotion.” To access the paper, click HERE