Youth Mobility and its Role in Structural Transformation in Senegal

Abstract This chapter uses multiple data sources to illustrate the transitions made by youth over time either to the rural non-farm economy or to urban areas. Descriptives are given to the motivations and constraints youth face when engaging in the RNFE or in migrant labour. The findings suggest that there are limited rural employment opportunities for youth, leading to a slow pace of rural poverty reduction. Rural youth still work mainly in poor quality jobs in agriculture, although they increasingly try: (i) to diversify their and their family’s income by engaging in nonfarm employment, or (ii) to look for options outside rural areas by migration to urban areas or abroad. We review the main policies and programmes implemented in Senegal to examine potential for reform towards pro-transformative youth employment.