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This paper examined the short‐ and long‐run impacts of gasoline price, macroeconomic factors and road length on road traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities in Nigeria. Annual data from 1995 to 2019 and autoregressive distributed lag approach were employed. Results suggest that gasoline price, per capita income, road length and population density significantly influence road safety outcomes. Gasoline price has a positive short‐run impact on crashes, injuries, and fatalities contrary to findings in developed countries. Road crashes tend to decrease when income increases in the short term. Population density leads to improvement in road safety outcomes while road length exacerbates it. Government's policy on gasoline price increase could worsen road safety outcomes unless it is accompanied by improvement in road infrastructure, safe public transport and economic growth, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of financial development on domestic investment in West African countries. The study uses data from 1985 to 2019 and employs the pooled mean group technique. The main finding of the study is that financial development has a positive effect on domestic investment in the long run but an insignificant effect in the short run. Furthermore, remittances, real GDP per capita and trade openness increase investment rate. The results of causality tests support the view that investment is a channel through which financial development stimulates economic growth. Therefore, it is reasonable for the selected countries to formulate policies that promote domestic credit to the private sector in order to ease liquidity constraints and increase investment and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of literature highlights the importance of export sophistication for economic development. Given the newness of the literature on export sophistication, its determinants are under‐exploited. As a pioneer study, this paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature by examining the effect of infrastructure development on export sophistication. Based on a panel of 45 African countries over the period 2003–2016, the results of the different estimations show that infrastructure, including transport, electricity, ICT and access to water and sanitation, improves export sophistication in Africa. Our results also show that the effect of infrastructure varies at different intervals of the export sophistication distribution. Therefore, improved infrastructure would allow African countries to not only improve their export structure but also achieve sustainable and durable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between tourism, financial development and economic growth in 31 African countries using the Dumitrescu–Hurlin Granger non‐causality test that accounts for heterogeneity and cross‐sectional dependence. It also employs the Granger causality test in the frequency domain that distinguishes between temporary and permanent causality for the country‐specific analysis. It shows a cointegration relationship between tourism, financial development and economic growth. It reveals a joint long‐run causality from tourism and financial development to economic growth, and a joint short‐run and long‐run causality from tourism and economic growth to financial development, albeit the joint causality from financial development and economic growth to tourism is tenuous. The individual causality shows a bidirectional causality between tourism and economic growth, between financial development and economic growth, and between tourism and financial development. The country‐specific analysis reveals that tourism is a significant predictor of financial development and economic growth at high frequency rather than at low frequency in most countries. Therefore, African countries should prioritize the policies and programs that can facilitate the development of the tourism and financial sectors in their quest to accelerate economic growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the importance of good institutions in harnessing the growth effects of the bulging economically active population in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper utilizes a panel dataset comprising 39 countries over the period 2002–13. Based on the system generalized method of moments estimator, this paper finds that an increase in the relative size of the working‐age population has no direct significant impact on growth, except through the presence of strong and high‐quality institutions. The paper also finds that control of corruption, rule of law and political stability are the specific aspects of institutions that matter the most in reaping the dividend. These results do not only highlight the primacy of strong institutions but also shed light on the key institutional pillars that need to be strengthened to rake in the positive effects of an increasing working age population on economic growth in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using panel data on 47 African countries from 1980–2013, this paper investigates the effects of aid on Africa's economic growth from the perspective of political stability. We find that international aid can promote economic growth in Africa, but the effectiveness of aid depends on countries’ political stability. Further, the intensity of aid affects its effectiveness. When the aid–GDP ratio is between 0 and 69 per cent, aid can promote economic growth in recipient countries, and when this ratio is 27 per cent, the marginal impact of aid on economic growth is maximized. The findings of this paper suggest that providers of aid should avoid providing a substantial amount of aid to countries at risk of political unrest, and they must determine the optimal scale of aid based on the economic development of recipient countries in order to enable aid to generate better results. Recipient countries should maintain social and political stability and ensure that they do not develop an excessive dependence on aid so that they can achieve the self‐sustainable development of their own economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents stylized facts on agro-manufacturing, especially the food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) manufacturing value added (MVA) in Africa and empirically analyzes its determinants using data for a panel of African countries over the period 1990-2011. We also estimate for the sample of sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa during the same period. The analysis is extended to food and beverages (FB) only MVA. The analyses point to large differences in sector shares both across countries at different levels of economic development. Using a two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression method, it finds that a large proportion of the cross-country variation in FBT MVA and FB MVA can be accounted for by country characteristics, policy and institutional variables. In particular, the paper finds that an inverted U-shaped relationship with real per capita GDP for FBT MVA and FB MVA, except in FB MVA in North Africa where the reverse is true. Key positive drivers of FBT MVA for the entire continent include government consumption expenditure, household consumption expenditure, social globalization, dependence on oil, minerals, natural gas, coal and forest resources, arable land, and renewable electricity output. Major negative drivers are trade openness and population size. The policy implications and lessons of these results for increasing FBT and FB MVA and feeding Africa are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the impact of financial development on economic growth in the Union Économique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) and non‐UEMOA countries. It also examines the finance‐growth nexus before and after the formation of UEMOA, as well as the indirect effect of economic union on economic growth through the financial sector. The study reveals a significant difference in the finance‐growth nexus between UEMOA and non‐UEMOA countries. Specifically, financial development has a robust positive impact on growth in UEMOA countries, while the impact is tenuous in non‐UEMOA countries. However, we find no remarkable difference in the finance‐growth nexus before and after the formation of UEMOA. We also reveal that economic union has no robust indirect effect on economic growth via the financial sector. The economic implication is that UEMOA could have economic benefits, but financial development is not a channel through which it influences growth. Therefore, it is necessary to reposition the union so that it can enhance the impact of finance on growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine and analyze the impact of financial development and foreign bank penetration on African economies. An empirical study for the period 1995–2015 is conducted using the system GMM estimator. Our empirical results indicate that foreign bank entry has a positive and significant impact on economic growth in the countries of North and Southern Africa, while in the other two regions considered in this study (West and Central Africa, East Africa) the impact is negative and rarely significant. In addition, our results show that the development of financial markets has a positive and significant effect on economic growth only in the Southern African region. The paper concludes that policymakers should focus on long‐term policies to strengthen the financial sector to truly meet the needs of African people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between commodity dependence and human development measured by the human development index (HDI). Commodity dependence negatively affects human development through several channels, including the negative secular terms of trade affecting commodity-dependent developing countries (CDDCs), slow economic growth, high macroeconomic instability, and political instability. The paper finds that although the effect of commodity dependence on human development is negative, on average, this relationship is complex. It changes with the level of dependence as well as the type of commodity a country depends on. This negative effect is strongest in countries where commodities account for more than 60 percent of total merchandise exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of financial innovations on the stability of money velocity. The paper contributes to the existing literature in three ways; first, we develop a simple analytical framework for money velocity taking into account the effect of financial innovations. Second, we test the model on Ugandan time series data using the ARDL bounds testing approach. Third, we check for the stability of the long-run money velocity function. Results show significant negative and positive effects of financial innovations on the money velocity in the short and long run, respectively. In addition, the long-run money velocity equation is stable despite the financial innovations that have evolved over time. Furthermore, other macroeconomic determinants of money velocity, including real income, the 91-day treasury bill rates, inflation expectations and the exchange rate exhibited a significant and positive long-run relationship with money velocity except for real income. These results suggest that financial innovations have not altered the long-run stability of money velocity in Uganda. Thus, given the importance of financial innovations in enhancing the access to financial services, we recommend that more technological advances and diversification of financial products should be enhanced so as to improve financial sector development and overall economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical assessment of the driving forces behind structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa, and to further access the role of structural reforms in accounting for cross-country differences in transformation. Evidence from this paper reveals that country specific fundamentals, institutions and policy reforms as well as governance and fiscal reforms are the key drivers of transformation in the region. A set of policy strategies is proposed to engender sustained transformation and development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial development is influenced by the dynamics of multiple factors which have remained insufficiently explored up to date. In view of this, an attempt is made in this paper to investigate the impact of internet adoption on financial development in sub‐Saharan Africa, using Nigeria and Kenya as case studies. The dynamic ordinary least squares and vector error correction mechanism methods were employed in the study which revealed that the internet, complemented by financial openness, exerted a significant positive impact on financial development in the period 2000–16. The null hypothesis which states that the internet does not encourage financial development is therefore rejected. It follows that the level of financial development in both countries, and indeed most countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, could be enhanced by adopting appropriate policies that encourage more inclusive use of the internet. The policy recommendations of this study therefore include (i) relaxing the stringent requirements for licensing internet operators in order to make more services available for financial transactions, (ii) integrating internet technology into the national infrastructure framework in order to sustain its application, (iii) fostering local skills and expertise that will be maintaining internet infrastructure and (iv) providing a legal framework that protects personal information and ensures responsible usage of internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the seminal paper by Rajan and Zingales in 2003, a plethora of studies have been motivated to establish whether the simultaneous opening of trade and capital borders leads to financial sector development. We test whether the simultaneous openness hypothesis is valid for Nigeria, with a focus on the banking sector and stock market. Using annual data from 1990 to 2015 and an instrumental variable regression estimation technique, we show that the simultaneous increase of trade and financial openness limits banking sector and stock market development. Thus, there is no empirical evidence to validate the simultaneous openness hypothesis in Nigeria. It also shows that trade openness is more beneficial for banking sector and stock market development in Nigeria than financial openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies on international trade highlight the role of innovation on international exchange but do not capture the effect of technological innovation when unobservable common factors (UCFs) are considered. This paper examines the long‐run relationship between technological innovation and international exchange using panel data for eight African countries over the period 1981–2013. The non‐stationarity and cointegration between technological innovation, international exchange, public investment, real gross domestic income and foreign direct investment were examined, controlling for cross‐sectional dependence and heterogeneity between countries. The results suggest that technological innovation in Africa remains low after controlling for UCFs, while public investment, real gross domestic product and foreign direct investment have significant impact on international exchange. Moreover, the results from the homogeneous and heterogeneous estimates, with and without UCFs, show that ignoring UCFs is likely to bias the coefficients. These findings reveal that African countries should invest more in public infrastructures and research and development to upgrade their capability To play an active role in the international market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial deepening is universally considered to be one of the vital means to trigger inclusive growth, in economies the world over, Tanzania being no exception. However, the lack of traditional collateral among the poor has made it virtually impossible for them to have access to financial services particularly in the formal financial institutions. It is in this context that the informal financial groups (IFGs) are so crucial in filling the financial inclusiveness gap among the poor in Tanzania. It is thus crucial that the efficacy of IFGs in improving the well‐being of the poor is assessed. It is in this context that the present study employs a quasi‐experiment mixed methodology to answer research questions. Findings have categorically shown that membership to IFGs has a positive and significant impact on various socio‐economic variables. Efforts to intensify education and training activities in IFGs, and their access to loans are some of the key recommendations that this paper suggests. It is hoped that the newly promulgated 2017 National Microfinance Policy shall be implemented to that effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the moderating effects of absorptive capacity on the role of technology transfer in explaining cross‐country differences in national efficiency. We used data from 18 sub‐Saharan Africa countries over the period 1970–2010 and adopted a stochastic frontier approach. The empirical results show that the coefficients of the interaction terms for measures of technology transfer (trade and machinery imports) and absorptive capacity (relative R&D) are negative and statistically significant. This suggests that absorptive capacity positively influences the degree to which technology transfer affects the efficiency of countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the long-run relationship between financial globalization and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa using panel unit root tests, panel cointegration tests and panel multivariate ECM. The study finds that the variables are stationary at first difference - I(1). Also, the results reveal that all the variables are cointegrated, that is, they are related in the long run. The results of the ECT test within the framework of panel multivariate ECM confirm the cointegration tests. The paper concludes that there is a long-run relationship between financial globalization and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper argues that sub-Saharan African economies will benefit from the era of financial globalization in the long run in as much as the governments promote and encourage sound macroeconomic policies and strong institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the asymmetric non-linear relationship between insurance and economic growth in Nigeria between 1976 and 2010. Prior studies have examined the direction of causality between insurance and economic growth with mixed conclusions in the insurance-growth literature. Moreover, the majority of these studies assumed symmetric causal relationships by concentrating mainly on testing the supply-leading and demand-following hypothesis. This paper, therefore, contributes to the literature by examining the asymmetric causality test between insurance and economic growth in Nigeria. After the cointegration, the asymmetry causality and the asymmetric impulse responses show a robust significant relationship between high gross domestic product (GDP) and low insurance in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper empirically analyzes the financial development (FD)-growth nexus, and the financial development-total factor productivity (TFP) link in sub-Saharan Africa. The study is based on a VAR approach: Johansen cointegration tests and error correction models. The sample includes 22 countries over the period from 1960 to 2002. Results suggest that FD and economic growth and, FD and TFP are cointegrated for many countries. Moreover, in many cases, the relationship between FD and growth is characterized by bidirectional causality in the Granger sense, whereas the relation between FD and TFP is characterized by a unidirectional causality running from FD to TFP. With few exceptions, it appears that financial development spurs economic growth in countries where that growth is supported by technological progress. The implication of the findings is that any reform that causes betterment in the financial sector will foster economic growth through a sharp increase in technological progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé: Alors qu'après une longue période de stagnation la croissance semble être revenue en Afrique, la question se pose de savoir si la nouvelle croissance africaine est durable. Cet article examine dans quelle mesure la croissance africaine est vulnérable aux chocs exogènes et quelles en sont les implications pour le financement internatìonal du développement. It montre en premier lieu la persistance de la vulnérabilité des économies africaines au regard de l'indice de vulnérabilitééconomique des Nations unies (EVI), utilisant une première série rétrospective de cet indice. En second lieu, s'appuyant sur divers travaux récents, il souligne l'importance de la vulnérabilité structurelle pour la croissance et le développement, particullèrement en Afrique. Enfin il examine le rôle du financement international pour réspondre à la vulnérabilité des économies africaines, suggérant de faire de la vulnérabilité structurelle un des critères d'allocation de l'aide de d'adapter les modailités de l'aide pour lui faire jouer de façon efficace un rôle d'assurance. While after a long stagnation growth seems to have come back in Africa, the issue remains to know whether the new African growth is sustainable. This paper examines to what extent African growth is vulnerable to exogeneous shocks and what are the implications for international developement finance. First it evidences the persistent vulnerability of African economies with regard to the U.N. Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI), using a first retrospective series of that index. Second, relying on several recent works, it unerlines that structural vulnerability matters, in particular in Africa. Finally it considers how international development finance can be used to face the vulnerability of African economies, suggesting to use structural vulnerability as one of the aid allocation criteria and to adopt modalities of aid so that it can effectively serve as an insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper studies the role played by the quality of property rights in the linkages of international capital flows into sub‐Saharan African (SSA) economies. Using panel data of 36 SSA countries over the period 1996–2015 and the ARDL procedure with the Pooled Mean Group regression method appropriate for non‐stationary panel data estimation, we account for the joint effects of property rights quality and openness to foreign capital flows on economic growth. We uncover the existence of a property rights quality threshold beyond which property rights either amplifies the spillovers effects or attenuates the negative effect of capital flows on economic growth. For instance, it takes a level of property rights of at least 60 to have a positive long‐term impact of capital flows on economic growth in natural resource‐poor African countries. The quality of property rights matters more to obtain spillover effects of capital flows on growth in natural resource‐poor countries than in their peer natural resource‐rich countries. Finally, with regard to the countries' income levels, capital flows have significant long‐term spillovers effects on economic growth in advanced African economies than in their low‐income peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines urban-rural welfare inequality in Tunisia. Founded on the recentred influence function and quantile regression based counterfactual decomposition, we dissect the gap between the two areas. Results of the present study suggest that the difference between rural poor households and urban poor households is due essentially to characteristic effects; while for wealthier households both characteristic and returns to these characteristic effects (for example, efficiency of educational system) are responsible for this gap. Additionally, the results demonstrate that this is an issue of value, and, more specifically, an economic development fairness conflict. It is suggested that policymakers should address a positive discrimination programme in favour of the marginalized region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the determinants of educational achievements using household data collected in 2009 and 2010 from six sub-Saharan African countries. The econometric strategy combines estimation of random effect Probit models and variance decompositions to assess the relative contributions of between-family and within-family inequalities in schooling. Whilst the selected countries are rather heterogeneous in terms of economic development and public education expenditures, very similar results are found in five out of the six sub-Saharan countries. More than two-thirds of differences in schooling are explained by educational differences between families and within-household inequalities are very difficult to explain by observed family characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unemployment is often cited as a measure of the low employment content of Ghana's strong growth performance over the past three decades. The paper presents evidence to suggest that employment growth in Ghana continues to trail economic growth due to high growth of low employment generating sectors against sluggish growth of high labour absorption sectors. A cross-sectional estimation of a probit regression model also indicates a strong effect of demand factors on unemployment, indicating a weak employment generating impact of economic growth. Empirical analysis also confirms higher vulnerability of youth and urban dwellers to unemployment with education and gender explaining unemployment in some instances. Reservation wage is also observed to have an increasing effect of unemployment. The paper recommends policies that promote investment in agriculture and manufacturing which is associated with higher employment elasticity of output. High incidence of unemployment among the youth and secondary school leavers in the most recent period requires targeted intervention including support for entrepreneurial training and start-up capital to attract young school leavers to become 'creators' rather than 'seekers' of jobs. A downward review of expectations on the part of jobseekers in terms of their reservation wage could help reduce unemployment in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of the institutional environment on the performance of 291 microfinance institutions in 34 sub-Saharan Africa countries during the period 2006 to 2014, by analysing the unbalanced panel data using fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques. The panel regression results demonstrate strong evidence that a strong institutional environment has a positive effect on the performance of microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically, the findings reveal a positive and significant relationship between business freedom and microfinance performance in sub-Saharan Africa. These vital findings not only provide useful information to policy makers and key microfinance industry players, but also highlight the impact that institutional qualities have on microfinance performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the link between foreign direct investment (FDI), democracy and economic growth on a panel of eight Southern African countries for 1980-2014 using the system generalized method-of-moment (GMM) estimator. We find that FDI has a direct positive effect on economic growth and that strong democratic institutions are a significant driver of economic growth in the sample countries. The impact of FDI on economic growth is dependent on the level of democracy in the host countries. This implies that countries with strong democratic institutions are better able to absorb the positive spillovers from FDI. In policy terms, Southern African countries should sustain the institutional reform policy agenda already in place in order to benefit more from the significant inflows of FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically studies the key drivers of gender equality in youth employment over the period, 1991 and 2011. Using the pooled OLS method with year, sub-regional, and oil fixed-effects, our results suggest that for Africa as a whole and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), quadratic levels of real per capita GDP, gender equality in primary education, trade openness, FDI inflows, political globalization, economic growth, urbanization, female population, and being a net oil-exporting country are significantly positively associated with gender equality in youth employment. The level of real GDP per capita, equality in secondary education, gross domestic investment, access to telephone, youth unemployment, and Muslim faith tend to lower it. Government consumption expenditure also lowers it in SSA. However, North Africa is different: the level of real GDP per capita, gender equality in secondary education, and government consumption expenditure tend to increase gender equality in youth employment, while being an oil-exporting country and youth unemployment tend to lower it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dynamic effects of external debt on economic growth in Nigeria from 1970 through 2013. We begin by constructing an external debt sustainability index using principal component analysis to capture the overall effects of external debt indicators on economic growth. The empirical analysis is based on the ARDL bound test. The results show a long-run cointegration relationship between the variables. While external debt exerts an adverse effect of −0.069 per cent on growth in the long run, the external debt sustainability index shows a positive effect of 0.072 per cent and 0.024 per cent on growth in the long and short run. The findings suggest the government should reduce its expenditure and mobilize revenue through domestic sources to invest in projects with a high rate of return to enable debt repayment and stimulate growth. To maintain debt ratios within a manageable threshold so as to avoid being debt trapped, foreign loans should only be contracted on concessional terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the hypothesis of a negative relation between openness and inflation in the context of African countries. A dynamic model of inflation in which openness enters alternately as an endogenous and exogenous variable is estimated with different panel data estimation procedures. The paper finds no robust evidence that openness served as a mechanism to restrain inflation in the region. On the contrary, the results suggest that increased openness, treated as an endogenous variable, is associated with higher inflation on holding constant such factors as food supply constraint and level of economic development which are found significant co-determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic crisis has had significant short-term effects in most countries around the world, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the economies are now expected to begin recovering, although the recovery is anticipated to be protracted, uneven across indicators and countries, and may be fragile. Despite the recovery, will the crisis have long-term consequences for human development and Millennium Development Goal (MDG) achievements in Africa? If so, what are the mechanisms through which such impacts could take place, and what is the role for policy? This paper seeks to address these questions by examining the evidence from similar episodes in the past, and by using a simple framework to assess the long-term impact on human development including trends towards the MDGs. Using growth projections to 2014 for the countries in the region, and a range of observed trends, it models possible impacts on the MDGs, and demonstrates how the crisis could lead to real slow-downs or reversals in the rate of progress. Based on these results the paper suggests that a series of active policy interventions are needed both to accelerate progress towards the MDGs and to build resilience for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, studies utilizing descriptive statistics have documented factors in the business environment, which hinder the performance of Ugandan micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Based on secondary data, this paper assesses the trend of critical factors since 1994 to 2010. The paper also utilizes the primary data from MSEs to examine the effects of these factors on the growth potential of MSEs, while controlling for the owner's and the firm's attributes. Results from the trend analysis reveal that the business environment has been deteriorating over time. Results from the regression analyses reveal that MSEs' growth potential is negatively associated with limited access to productive resources, high taxes and lack of market access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses panel data from two new data sets on educational attainment to investigate the effects of education on several development outcomes in African countries. I find that education has a positive and significant impact on these development outcomes. I also find that different levels of education affect development outcomes differently; for some development outcomes, primary and secondary education may be more important than tertiary education, while for some development outcomes, such as income growth rate, tertiary education may be more important. The results of this paper have implications for development policy in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that food security and human development are intricately linked, and that meaningful progress on the one cannot be sustained without concomitant progress on the other. The paper surveys recent research on various aspects of the linkages between food security and human development and highlights areas where further research would enrich our understanding of the complex interactions and synergies between the two. It concludes by calling for a more systematic investigation of the human development-food security nexus with a view to generating new and practical insights for improving food security and advancing human development in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last thirty years, remarkable achievements have been made in China's poverty reduction course. The dramatic fall in China's poor can be attributed mainly to a high rate of economic growth, government poverty reduction policies and targeted programmes and pro-poor macroeconomic and industrial policies. This paper focuses on China's poverty reduction policies and programmes and their impact on the poor regions and poor households. Lessons are drawn for poverty reduction and economic development in African countries. The paper also explores the potential for collaboration in poverty reduction between China and African countries and recommendations are made for the governments and donor agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's relationship with Africa has grown exponentially over the last decade with US$95 billion in bilateral trade in 2008 and US$5.4 billion of Chinese investment in Africa for the same year. The growth of Sino-African relations also has an impact on the role of traditional development partners in Africa in particular in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which has already led some traditional development partners to reduce their aid budgets and subsequently their Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to Africa. The objective of this paper is to analyse different development cooperation modalities in Africa of traditional development partners and China. This requires identifying trends in aid, debt relief, general budget support, trade, preferential trade access, and investment flows of both traditional development partners and China. The paper advocates that complementarities can be built between these development modalities on a national, regional and global level. This would enhance development effectiveness, increase efficiency and create win-win situations which would be beneficial to African countries, China and traditional development partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Africa's least developed countries (LDCs), escape from poverty and convergence to living standards of more advanced economies depends critically on structural transformation and the emergence of productive entrepreneurship that would accelerate growth and job creation. So far, however, subsistence agriculture has been the main source of employment in these countries, while a dynamic private sector in industry or high value-added services has remained elusive. Utilizing the flow approach to labor markets, this paper complements the empirical literature and numerous surveys on small and medium enterprise (SME) constraints and develops a theoretical framework that examines the main obstacles to entrepreneurship in Africa's LDCs. The paper posits that given the persistent frictions in product and labor markets as well as skill shortages that characterize these economies, development of productive entrepreneurship cannot be left to markets alone. The policy analysis suggests that the state has an important role to play. Well-targeted government interventions including training of potential entrepreneurs and workers can help to establish more modern and highly productive SME clusters that Africa's LDCs need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the dynamically evolving triangular relationships between institutions, growth and inequality in the process of economic development, in order to deepen the understanding of institutional conditions for pro-poor growth and shared growth. In this context, the paper discusses the institutional conditions found in sub-Saharan Africa, which may have produced the growth pattern that is unequal and against the poor. The analysis shows that sub-Saharan African countries require transforming institutions for embarking upon and sustaining a development path which would ensure shared growth in years to come. The paper first evaluates the growth-inequality-poverty nexus, as found in the recent literature, which increasingly challenges the trade-off between growth and equity, as postulated in the traditional theories. Various definitions of pro-poor growth are discussed and a sharper definition of the concept of ‘shared’ growth is provided. Definitions of institutions are then examined, as well as the triangular inter-relationships between institutions, inequality and poverty. The paper finally analyses specific institutional conditions found in sub-Saharan Africa that prevent economies from emerging out of low-equilibrium poverty traps that are characterized by low economic growth, unequal distribution of income and wealth as well as unequal access to resources and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses the Poverty Analysis Macroeconomic Simulator (PAMS), a World Bank framework and updates its interface with the Cameroon government macroeconomic framework to analyze the potential impact of the implementation of the HIPC initiative on poverty alleviation. According to the main findings, it is very likely that Cameroon would succeed in achieving the poverty Millennium Development Goal. However, this result would be feasible if and only if the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) is fully implemented. That is not very certain because of the failure already observed during the first year of PRSP implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trend, constraints, promotion, and prospects of investment – domestic investment, foreign direct investment, and private portfolio investment – in Africa. After identifying the importance of investment in Africa's economic development, it was shown that all forms of investment are low in Africa and hence inadequate for the attainment of the MDGs and poverty reduction in the continent. The constraining factors include: low resources mobilization; high degree of uncertainty; poor governance, corruption, and low human capital development; unfavorable regulatory environment and poor infrastructure, small individual country sizes; high dependence on primary commodities exports and increased competition; poor image abroad; shortage of foreign exchange and the burden of huge domestic and external debt; and undeveloped capital markets, their high volatility, and home bias by foreign investors. The paper recommends that successful promotion of both domestic, foreign direct and portfolio investment in Africa will require actions and measures at the national, regional, and international levels. It concludes that the prospects are bright. New and attractive investment opportunities are emerging in infrastructure, particularly as most African countries now encourage public/private partnerships for investments in this sector. In addition to privatization, renewed interest within Africa in undertaking regionally based projects and joint exploitation of natural resources is creating other investment opportunities. Apart from the fact that investment in Africa yields the highest returns, investment risk in the continent is declining. In addition, much progress has been made in recent years to improve the investment climate in Africa. All this is of course is not to deny that obstacles do remain hence economic reforms to enhance domestic investment would need to be complemented by measures to attract increased foreign capital. Critical in such endeavors must be efforts to improve governance in some countries as well as to eliminate socio-political violence in others and development of domestic capital markets, while government institutions must be modernized and upgraded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses a simple macroeconomic model to estimate the impact of debt relief and terms of trade shocks on growth and poverty in African countries. For the 18 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) that reached the enhanced HIPC decision point by end-December 2000, the basic quantitative findings are that HIPC debt relief has boosted economic growth in these countries by an average of 2.9 percent per annum and that the computed result of this increase in growth is a reduction in poverty by an average of 2.2 percent per annum. However, the paper shows that recent deteriorations in the terms of trade have counter-balanced these positive effects by lowering growth by an average of 2.0 percent per annum and by increasing poverty by an average of 1.3 percent per annum. Clearly, much of the positive impact emanating from the HIPC Initiative has been eroded due to recent deteriorations in the terms of trade. The paper also estimates the net effect on growth and poverty of the recently agreed 100 percent multilateral debt relief. This is predicted to boost economic growth by an average of 5 percent per annum and reduce poverty by about 5.3 percent per annum for the group of all African HIPCs. The paper concludes that 100 percent debt relief is crucial for Africa, but that more aid and policies need to be focused on a long-term development strategy that fosters the necessary structural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa performs poorly in the global economy. The continent lacks investments, jobs, real output, and basic social services. Aggravating the poor performance is poor management. This paper argues that the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development(NEPAD) to grapple with Africa's economic problems makes sense but only if necessary policies are properly implemented. It argues that Africa should pursue interest politics through NEPAD as an economic integration. On the issue of financing the budget, which has in the past been a major constraint to OAU-initiated projects, this paper strongly recommends that it should be made mandatory that all multinational companies operating in all NEPAD member countries pay a certain percentage of their earnings into the NEPAD budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the travails of the social sciences in Africa since the post-colonial era. It pinpoints the fact that the ability of the social sciences to be really meaningful to the delusive development quest by Africa has been undermined by a combination of structural and epistemological problems. These problems range from the dismal economic environment in the continent, the structural limitations imposed on research, poor conditions of service to laziness and epistemological inferiority among African social scientists. However, the paper posits that the current wind of change blowing across Africa, a re-examination of the epistemology of the field and a conscientious self-reappraisal will ultimately reposition the social sciences to play significant roles in the development of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past two decades have witnessed numerous attempts in developing countries at institutionalizing decentralization. Political leaders tended, before then, to believe that centralized planning was the key to economic growth and development. Ghana has not been excluded from this wave towards the transfer of power, competences, resources and functions from the centre to local levels of government. While Ghana has achieved significant political and administrative decentralization as well as decentralized planning, fiscal decentralization has been the unyielding component of the process. This paper examines the desirability, or otherwise, of fiscal decentralization in the context of funding arrangements. It uses the funding regime model as a basis for analysing how regulatory provisions, political and economic factors and practices, determine financial capacity of sub-national governments. Evidence in the paper leads to the conclusion that sub-national governments in Ghana do not support fiscal autonomy. They, instead, prefer being served and financed by the central government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uganda, in an attempt to accelerate growth and development, has been encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) through privatization programmes and generous incentive packages such as tax holidays and exemptions. However, the Ugandan experience shows that to attract FDI, macroeconomic and political stability and policy consistency are much more important than such incentive schemes. The paper discusses infrastructure and institutional bottlenecks that act as deterrents to FDI. The paper uses time series data to investigate the FDI-growth linkage. The empirical results indicate that FDI has a positive impact on GDP growth in Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow growth of Algeria is analyzed in this paper, by comparing the economic growth between Algeria and South Korea, over the period from 1970 to 2010. Both countries were nearly at the same development level at the beginning of the 1960s. Nevertheless, the South Korean economy was ranked 15th in the world in 2010, while Algeria remained underdeveloped. The results obtained show that human capital and physical capital cause the economic growth in the two countries under study. However, the elasticities of productivity with respect to human and physical capital are higher in South Korea. Human capital elasticity in South Korea is two and a half times higher, whereas the physical capital elasticity is twice as high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed drivers of foreign direct investments (FDI) to West Africa using a panel dataset from 1970 to 2010. OLS and GMM techniques are used for the estimations. The main results indicate that there is a U-shaped relationship between economic development and FDI inflows to West Africa. In summary: (i) The quadratic element of real per capita GDP, domestic investment, trade openness, first year lag of FDI, natural resources (oil and metals) endowment and exports, and monetary integration have positive and significant effect on FDI inflows to West Africa; and (ii) there is a negative relationship between FDI inflows to the sub-region and loan component of ODA, economic growth, level of economic development (real GDP per capita), life expectancy, and domestic credit to the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an extension of the debate on the nexus between the strength of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and prospects for knowledge economy. It assesses the relationships between software piracy and scientific publications in African countries for which data is available. The findings, which reveal a positive nexus, are broadly consistent with the school of thought postulating that the East Asian miracle has been largely due to weaker IPRs regimes at the early stages of development. As a policy implication, less stringent IPRs regimes on scientific-related software (at least in the short run) will substantially boost contributions to and dissemination of knowledge through scientific and technical publications in Africa. IPRs laws (treaties) on scientific-oriented software should be strengthened in tandem with progress in: (a) scientific and technical publications; and (b) knowledge spillovers essential for economic growth and development. More policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers ten guidelines for researchers to improve their analysis of regional integration and their approach to regional integration. By way of analysis, regional integration statistics are often misunderstood or poorly constructed. In one way or another this leads to an oversimplification of their meaning. With respect to the approach taken by policymakers to regional integration, the goals of Africa's regional integration have not been seriously interrogated; nor have the necessary national and regional preconditions for achieving even a minimal form of regional integration that is sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have presented the patterns of inequality, growth and income inequality in the MENA region. Using a cross-sectional time series data of MENA countries for the period 1985-2009, we have also investigated the effect of income inequality on key societal development, namely economic growth and poverty, in the region. Our empirical results show that income inequality reduces economic growth and increases poverty in the region. Other factors having significant negative effect on economic growth in the MENA region include previous growth rate, exchange rate, government consumption expenditure or government burden, initial per capita GDP, inflation and primary education. On the other hand, variables positively and significantly associated with MENA's economic growth are domestic investment rate, urbanization, infrastructure development, and mineral rent as a percentage of GDP. In addition, apart from income inequality, other factors increasing poverty in the region are foreign direct investment, population growth, inflation rate, and the attainment of only primary education. Poverty-reducing variables in the region include domestic investment, trade openness, exchange rate, income per capita, and oil rents as a percentage of GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]