Discussion Paper No. 103 of 2009 on Youth Unemployment in Kenya: Its Nature and Covariates

Abstract

Unemployment among the youth is one of the major policy concerns of the Government of Kenya, because it imposes costs on individual youth, their families and the economy. Aware of this policy concern, this study uses a probit model to examine factors that determine unemployment among the youth in Kenya using data from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) of 2005/06. In particular, it focuses on the impact of individual and household characteristics of the youth on their labour market success. Individual characteristics of the youth are represented by education, age, gender, location, physical health and marital status, while household characteristics include household size and income...