Briefing Paper

Youth Unemployment and Political Stability in Côte D’ivoire

The objective of this study is to analyze the nexus between youth unemployment and political instability in Côte d’Ivoire. To achieve this objective, we used a regional approach to conduct analysis on the relationship between political instability and youth unemployment in Côte d’Ivoire and we developed a method for calculating the political instability indicator. Analytical, descriptive, and econometric methods were used to analyze data from surveys conducted in relation to households’ living standards levels as well as surveys on employment. The results indicate that, by considering persons aged from 15 to 24 years as young people only, one might underestimate youth unemployment and the impact of policies aimed at combating youth unemployment. The statistics also revealed a very high level of youth unemployment. The econometric estimation results equally showed a positive and significant relationship between youth unemployment and political instability.