Socioeconomic background, human capital and youth employment: the case of a medium-sized Cameroonian city (Bafia)

Previous studies suggest that in addition to human capital, other factors not directly related to individual productivity play an important role in labor market integration. Our aim is to assess the impact of these factors, especially those concerning family background. To this end, we use a biographical database on individual trajectories. Analyses show that young people with privileged backgrounds are more likely to swiftly enter the wage sector than their peers from disadvantaged backgrounds. This result is found even when young people have the same level of education, suggesting considerable inequalities in the labor market, which need to be corrected