THE WORKING BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG-PEOPLE IN RURAL COTE-DIVOIRE

One of the major features of structural adjustment is an attempt to reallocate labor-and hence output-through changes in relative prices. This article assesses how price changes affect the working patterns of young people in rural Cote d'Ivoire. The analysis is based on a model of the labor supply of rural households and on the construction of composite price indexes. The data come from the Cote d'Ivoire Living Standards Survey for 1985 and 1986. The panel aspect of the data allows the work choice made in one year to depend on the individual's choice in the previous year. Results indicate that the Price of agricultural output generally is a positive incentive on the decision to participate in the labor force. However, this result depends heavily on the employment and education of the individual in the previous period. Those not already working are less likely to respond to favorable movements in the prices of cash crops by entering the work force.