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.