James MaingiMwangi, Stanley Njuguna2024-05-312024-05-312023https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/28089A Research Project Submitted to the Department of Applied Economics in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Master of Economics and Finance Degree of Kenyatta University,November 2023.The majority of Kenya's trade depict deficits with trade balances being in favour of her trading partners. The country's exports are subject to both fluctuating global pricing, which results in negative trade balances. The gains of international and bilateral trade are immense to Kenya since its independence particularly with the western allies. To facilitate trading activities in Kenya, the integration of Kenya into blocs like East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and African Continental Free Trade Area have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the economy. These blocs significantly contribute to Kenya’s trade volumes. The core of Kenya's export sector is the agricultural sector. Almost a quarter of the country's productivity comes from agriculture and related industries where Kenya's two main exports are horticulture goods and tea. However, the country has persisted in posting high unemployment levels, particularly among the youth. The latest census data demonstrated that more than a third of Kenyan youth are unemployed while World Bank data indicates, in comparative terms, that Kenya youth joblessness is the highest in East African States. In fact, Kenya is one of the nations in the region with the biggest discrepancies between youth and adults in terms of employment rates. This study empirically analysed how Kenya's liberalization of international trade affects youth unemployment for the last three decades. The specific objectives of the study were to analyse the effect of imports and exports on youth unemployment in Kenya. Non-experimental research design was used and conclusions and recommendations were presented based on the study outcomes. The findings showed that exports had a negative and substantial effect on youth unemployment, while imports had a negative and insignificant effect on Kenya's youth unemployment. The findings further indicted that youth unemployment depicts a positive relationship with the level of gross domestic product (GDP) as well as the level of trade liberalization or openness to international trade and are all statistically significant. In order to reduce youth unemployment, policymakers should tap into the local talent through improvement of skilled labour among the youth through targeted trainings and focusing on technological transfer as opposed to outsourcing or opening up the job market to the outside world.enEffects of International TradeYouth UnemploymentKenyaThesis