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Distance Makes the Job Grow Harder

Explore the concept of spatial mismatch in Kenya, where low-income households struggle to access suitable job opportunities due to distance. Learn about the costs associated with longer commutes and the challenges of relocation. Discover policy responses to address these issues and ongoing research on the geography of student intake and outflow at vocational training colleges in Kenya.

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Distance Makes the Job Grow Harder

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  1. Distance Makes the Job Grow Harder Eric JohnsonSeptember 2017

  2. Outline Spatial Mismatch Kenya Research Additional Research

  3. Spatial Mismatch

  4. What is spatial mismatch? • The mismatch between where low-income households reside and suitable jobs are located. • Longer distances to jobs induce bigger costs to become employed. • High transportation costs to reach employment areas or employment agencies may exceed the benefits of searching for a job. • The costs of relocation near job opportunities may also prevent the unemployed from searching actively • Getting information on jobs can also be costly, and informational frictions are likely to increase with physical distance. • Policy responses to these issues have included housing voucher programs to help people move to areas with better opportunities, improving transportation systems, and encouraging firms to locate near deprived areas.

  5. Research in Kenya

  6. Kenya Data RTI funded study in three counties (Nairobi, Kwale, and Kericho) to understand the geography of student in take and outflow at 23 vocational training colleges. Interviews with VTCs to gain student data, and surveys of 3000 graduates by SMS and phone follow-up.

  7. Kenya Data RTI funded study in three counties (Nairobi, Kwale, and Kericho) to understand the geography of student in take and outflow at 23 vocational training colleges. Interviews with VTCs to gain student data, and surveys of 3000 graduates by SMS and phone follow-up. Data just in and being analyzed. I am focusing on 400 respondents to a phone survey (50% response rate). 165 of the 400 reported being employed, allowing for mapping of their in take, VTC location, their employer location, and their current residence location. Answering the question of how geographic dispersed or tightly coupled intake and outflow is and its relationship with employment rate.

  8. Student in take

  9. One School’s Map

  10. Student Outflow

  11. Student Outflow

  12. Reminder: YMCA’s intake

  13. One country, big differences

  14. Further Research

  15. Further Research Mapping full student in take and outflow, including new home of residence for both employed and unemployed. Regressing distance as a independent variable on employment and migration (displacement) as outcome variables. Working with VTCs to understand these maps and relationships and factor them into student support, employer relationships, training offerings etc.. Part of larger work we are doing on alumni tracking

  16. ericjohnson@rti.org

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