Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation,
Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies

No 494: Does innovation stimulate employment in Africa? New firm-level evidence from the Worldbank Enterprise Survey

Mezid N. Keraga () and Andreas Stephan ()
Additional contact information
Mezid N. Keraga: Addis Ababa University
Andreas Stephan: Linnaeus University

Abstract: This paper provides novel evidence on the question of whether innovation expands or reduces employment using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (ES) for six African economies. The results of the difference-in-differences estimations combined with propensity score matching confirm that both product and process innovations significantly expand job opportunities in Africa. In addition, the findings show significant intra-industry innovation spillover effects on employment. In sum, this study supports the view that innovation enhances employment in the analyzed African economies.

Keywords: Innovation; Employment; Sub-Saharan; Spillover effects; DID; Matching approach

JEL-codes: J20; O30

Language: English

26 pages, November 30, 2023

Full text files

cesiswp494.pdf PDF-file Full text

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Vardan Hovsepyan ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0494This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:14:27.