Globalization, national politics and youth unemployment in Uganda

Abstract

Globalization and national politics constitute two dynamics that have been cited in the phenomenon of youth unemployment. The purpose of this chapter is to a certain extent to examine the validity of this claim by analyzing the influence of globalization and national politics on youth unemployment in Uganda. Globalisation is investigated in terms of its known processes and how they are likely to affect youth unemployment, while national politics is investigated by assessing political representation structure, participation, resource allocation and policy choices in governance based on the strength of political institutions and that of civil society in Uganda. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to establish the effect of the independent variables on the dimensions of youth unemployment in Uganda. Based on a randomly selected sample of 384 youth from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), an urban area and Kiboga district, a rural based location in central Uganda, data were analyzed using descriptive, data transformation and multivariate regression methods of analysis aided by SPSS. Results established that globalization in general and its processes have negative and significant effects on different forms of youth unemployment. However, the effect of privatisation is positive, with national politics having a significant correlation with policy choices adopted for youth unemployment. These results suggest the need for profound public sector reforms that make Uganda more globally competitive while at the same time progressively creating youth employment.