The Nexus of Structural Transformation, Employment and Education: Evidence from Mozambique and Tanzania

Africa’s recent economic performance has been quite impressive. However, strong economic growth has not always corresponded to sufficient poverty reduction, partly because it has failed to generate productive employment. This paper compares the experiences of two fast growing African countries and provides an in depth insight on the different growth paths being pursued. In particular, the study aims to examine the role of education in facilitating structural changes in Mozambique and Tanzania. Building from micro-level estimates, we find that major structural change in the employment and economic structure in Tanzania and Mozambique was only to a limited extent translated into higher productivity add and decent work creation.