Tadzong Mouafo Paul, Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa, Yacoubou Badaï, Manhouli Danmou Boris Noé
Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Dschang, Centre for Study and Research in Management and Economics (CERME), P.O. Box 110, Dschang, Cameroon.
Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Dschang, Dschang, P.O. Box 110, Dschang, Cameroon.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 18;10(14):e34803. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34803. eCollection 2024 Jul 30.
While national statistics report a seemingly low youth unemployment rate, a closer look reveals a dominance of underemployment, particularly within the informal sector, and there exists a critical gap regarding the effectiveness of government intervention design to address this challenge. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of the Tree Year Special Youth Plan (TYSYP) on enterprise viability and the improvement of youth employability in the rural sector of Cameroon. This highlights the urgency of addressing this issue in Africa, particularly considering the high rates of youth underemployment in rural areas. Analysing the effectiveness of Cameroon's TYSYP programme, this study offers valuable insights to inform policy decisions and contribute to achieving the SDGs for decent work, sustainable food production, and gender equality. In this study, we adopt a positivist stance using a hypothetico-deductive approach. The data used come from the database of the National Youth Observatory (NYO) and the Department of Youth Economic Empowerment (DYEE), which consists of 1108 young people financed and set up by the TYSYP. Preestimation tests (correlation tests) combined with ordinary least squares regression led to two major results. The TYSYP has a positive and significant effect on the viability and employability of rural youth businesses. The sensitivity analysis shows that government policy, represented here by the amount of the project, has a positive and significant influence on the viability of the projects. However, although this policy has a positive and significant impact on employment for men, it is not significant for women. This study contributes to policy discussions on youth empowerment, rural development, and agricultural investment in Cameroon by highlighting the importance of intensifying the program to provide more comprehensive support for young rural entrepreneurs, particularly by focusing on financing larger-scale processing projects. Additionally, targeted initiatives are needed to address gender barriers and encourage young women's participation in these activities. This combined approach has the potential to increase long-term investment in the agricultural sector and develop rural areas through infrastructure.
虽然国家统计数据显示青年失业率看似较低，但仔细观察就会发现就业不足现象十分普遍，尤其是在非正规部门，而且在政府干预设计解决这一挑战的有效性方面存在重大差距。本文的目的是研究《三年青年特别计划》（TYSYP）对喀麦隆农村地区企业生存能力和青年就业能力提升的影响。这凸显了在非洲解决这一问题的紧迫性，特别是考虑到农村地区青年就业不足率很高。通过分析喀麦隆TYSYP计划的有效性，本研究提供了有价值的见解，为政策决策提供参考，并有助于实现体面工作、可持续粮食生产和性别平等的可持续发展目标。在本研究中，我们采用实证主义立场，使用假设演绎法。所使用的数据来自国家青年观察站（NYO）和青年经济赋权部（DYEE）的数据库，该数据库由1108名由TYSYP资助并创业的年轻人组成。预估计检验（相关性检验）与普通最小二乘法回归得出了两个主要结果。TYSYP对农村青年企业的生存能力和就业能力有积极且显著的影响。敏感性分析表明，以项目金额为代表的政府政策对项目的生存能力有积极且显著的影响。然而，尽管这项政策对男性就业有积极且显著的影响，但对女性就业却不显著。本研究通过强调加强该计划以更全面地支持年轻农村企业家的重要性，特别是专注于为更大规模的加工项目提供资金，为喀麦隆关于青年赋权、农村发展和农业投资的政策讨论做出了贡献。此外，需要有针对性的举措来消除性别障碍，并鼓励年轻女性参与这些活动。这种综合方法有可能增加对农业部门的长期投资，并通过基础设施建设发展农村地区。
