IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 52 - Information and Communication Technologies and Rural Youth

IFAD Research Series 52 (2019)

30 Pages Posted: 28 Apr 2020 Last revised: 5 Jun 2020

See all articles by Jenny C. Aker

Jenny C. Aker

Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Center for Global Development; Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Date Written: December 12, 2019

Abstract

Despite the importance of rural youth for productivity, growth and development in lower- and middleincome countries, these populations have some of the highest rates of unemployment in the world. Rural youth face particular constraints in terms of labour market participation, including smaller social networks, low literacy rates, less work experience and limited access to capital (Robalino et al, 2013). Youth employment programmes have the potential to address these constraints, but they are often characterized by low enrolment, high dropout and uncertain returns. While the growth of digital technology offers new opportunities to address some of the issues associated with youth employment, research on their impacts is limited and results are mixed. We review existing research on the impact of digital initiatives on youth in the education, agriculture, financial and employment sectors, before proposing several ways forward for using digital technology to improve the impact of these programmes.

Keywords: rural youth, communication, information technologies, digital finance, employment

Suggested Citation

Aker, Jenny C., IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 52 - Information and Communication Technologies and Rural Youth (December 12, 2019). IFAD Research Series 52 (2019), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3523207 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3523207

Jenny C. Aker (Contact Author)

Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ( email )

Medford, MA 02155
United States

Center for Global Development ( email )

2055 L St. NW
5th floor
Washington, DC 20036
United States

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14850
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
80
Abstract Views
797
Rank
629,339
PlumX Metrics