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This paper examines the weak form of market efficiency of five major stock markets; four African equity markets and one developed market. The weekly market index returns of the EGX 30, NSE 20, NSE All Share Index, FTSE-JSE All Share Index and the S&P 500 Index were analysed for the period 1998-2008. To determine if the stylized fact of stock returns in African markets violate the random walk hypothesis, numerous econometric and statistical techniques are employed. These methods include the autocorrelation test, the unit test, linear and non-linear models. The results indicate that the African markets do not behave in a manner consistent with the weak form of market efficiency. These results provide a contrast between the emerging African markets and the developed markets. It suggests that African emerging markets have higher average returns and volatility than developed markets. We argue that if the market could be made less volatile, it has the potential to attract more investment because of its attractive returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses two nationally representative datasets collected in 1992 and 2003 in Gambia to analyse small, non-farm enterprises. The results reveal evidence of significant credit constraint among these non-farm enterprises. Specifically, household wealth is a significant determinant not only of entry into the enterprise sector but also determines investment levels conditional upon entry. Furthermore, the marginal returns to investments in enterprises are very high and significantly exceed the prevailing lending rates of banks in the country. Besides being credit constrained, these enterprises are also affected by farm-related variables. Agricultural risk adversely affects enterprise investment. This latter result underscores the importance of livelihood diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]