Employment-output elasticities determinants: is there difference between Francophone and Anglophone countries from AMEE ?

Abstract

Employment to production intensity or elasticity is used as indicator for employment. The aim of this paper is to provide new estimates of this indicator by rolling regression and assess the effect of structural policies, macroeocnomic policies, and demographic factors on it. Using an unbalanced panel of 44 countries (20 Francophone and 24 Anglophone countries taken from AMEE (Africa and Middel East Erea) over the period 2000–2017, there is an important difference between Francophone and Anglophone countries. The results suggest that structural policies (Lmp and Pmp) aimed at increasing labor and product market flexibility have a significant and positive impact on employment elasticities for Francophone countries. While for Anglophone countries, macroeconomic policies aimed at promoting Foreign direct investment (FDI) and increasing government size have a significant and positive impact on employment elasticities. In addition for all countries, the results also suggest that in order to maximize the positive impact on the responsiveness of employment to economic activity, structural factors have to be complemented with macroeconomic policies aimed at increasing stability