Cristina Clerici, a PhD Candidate in Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics, visited the NCID to give a seminar as part of the Job Market entitled "Information, expectations and preferences: occupational choices of young adults in Uganda".

She focuses on answering the question: What drives young adults’ occupational choices in Africa? A survey of 1,003 young men and women in urban Uganda highlights the role of information, expectations and preferences in career choice.

First, it shows that respondents are misinformed about the population's income and are overly optimistic about their own prospects.

Second, preferences are isolated by estimating a random utility model and find that financial returns and family approval are important determinants of career choice.

Finally, it shows that expectations and preferences are translated into a gendered occupational classification, one of the main factors in the gender pay gap.