WAGES AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN AN URBAN AFRICAN LABOR-MARKET

This paper argues that urban labour markets in Africa exhibit a wage c urve similar to those found in the United States, Britain, Canada and other Developed Countries. Drawing on data from Cote d'Ivoire, it find s that urban wages are depressed by higher levels of unemployment. Thi s result is robust to changes in model specification and level of aggr egation. It is consistent with the model of wage determination develop ed by Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984) and Blanchflower and Oswald (1995), but not with claims that urban wages are invariant to unemployment.