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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 uses 5-year non-overlapping panel data for the period 1970-2013 to study the effect that remittances have on financial development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper further examines whether and how democratic institutions mediate the effect that remittances have on financial development. The panel estimates yield that remittances are significantly positively associated with financial development. The baseline estimates indicate that a 10 percent increase in remittances increases domestic private credit by 0.43 percent and the cumulative effect is around 1.84 percent. Democratic institutions do not significantly mediate the effect that remittances have on financial development in SSA. These results inform debates over remittances' role as an important source of development finance in SSA and suggest that policymakers can exploit the advantages of remittances by pursuing measures to ease the flows of remittances to the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the determinants of bribery in sub-Saharan Africa by using probit models and data from the World Bank's Enterprise Survey of 10,457 firms in 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 2009 to 2013. By doing so we find that securing a government contract is the most significant motivation for bribery and that overall, the propensity to bribe depends on the size of the firm as well as the predictability of the regulatory environment. Our findings have similarities and differences compared to Asian firms. The paper also highlights that the incidence and the determinants of bribery vary across the four sub-regions. On the basis of this evidence we suggest that when it comes to anti-corruption strategies, one size does not fit all and that country-specific and region-specific strategies should be adopted to address context-specific needs and conditions. [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]

This paper analyses the Tiebout hypothesis in Angola's provinces from 2004 to 2013, using a spatial panel data model. The Tiebout hypothesis, which states that a country's internal migration is dictated by regional public policy, is tested. Angola's internal inter-provincial migration is related to gross domestic product per capita, local public expenditure, unemployment, poverty, population density, the number of public employees in the region, and a NGO for civic education. The results reveal that spatial autocorrelation is a reality in the Angolan context, validating the adoption of a spatial model, and that regional migration is explained by the covariates. The general conclusion is that the Tiebout hypothesis is accepted in the Angolan regions, and that the most important cause of migration is regional poverty. Policy implications are derived and it is concluded that an efficient anti-poverty policy is needed in the Angolan context at regional level in order to decrease internal migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the potential impacts of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area's (AfCFTA) tariff modalities on tax revenues, industrial production, trade flows, welfare and consumption for seven central African countries. Drawing on data from member states and the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database, two methodologies are applied in the study. Computable general equilibrium (CGE) and partial equilibrium (PE) are used to evaluate the long‐ and short‐term effects respectively. The results show that the reduction in tariff barriers provided by the AfCFTA will lead to a decrease in tariff revenue in some Central African countries in the short term. However, in the long term, these losses remain largely offset by the socio‐economic benefit issues generated by the implementation of the agreement, particularly in terms of economic growth and the well‐being of the region's population. To cub these revenue deficits, this paper encourages Central African countries to ratify and implement the AfCFTA. Also, they should diligently adopt all necessary reforms that could help reap the potential long‐term gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the short‐ and long‐run effects of external debt and foreign direct investment (FDI) on domestic investment in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1990 to 2017. We employ the pooled mean group ARDL technique and panel Granger causality test to attain the objectives of the study. The result indicates that FDI exerts a positive and statistically significant effect on domestic investment in the short run whereas external debt has an insignificant negative effect. In the long run, the result shows that external debt and FDI have a crowding out effect on domestic investment in SSA. Equally, a circular unidirectional link is found among the variables from domestic investment to FDI, FDI to external debt, and from external debt to domestic investment. We recommend that SSA countries should channel external debt to productive sectors like road infrastructures and energy, control corruption and improve the business environment to attract both domestic and foreign investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we estimate the efficiency of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana, and investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency of local public goods and services delivery by MMDAs. Using data from composite budgets of all 216 MMDAs, we employ both non‐parametric and parametric frontier methods to carry out the study. The results with regard to our two indicators of fiscal decentralization indicate that fiscal autonomy proxied by MMDAs' internally generated funds as a share of their total revenue has a positive influence on the efficiency of MMDAs whilst vertical imbalance—a high share of central government grants in MMDAs' total expenditure—does not improve the delivery of local goods and services by MMDAs in Ghana. The findings indicate a clear signal to policy managers to prioritize support to MMDAs in the mobilization of internally generated revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between market power and cost efficiency for a sample of 63 banks in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) from seven countries over the period of 2004–2016. Our empirical methodology relies on a panel data analysis. Our results show that an increase in market power reduces banking efficiency in the WAEMU countries, and therefore suggest that competition in the banking sector improves cost efficiency. These findings are consistent with the quiet life hypothesis. However, our nonlinear investigation indicates that beyond a specific threshold of competition, this latter deteriorates the cost efficiency of banks, thus confirming the efficient structure hypothesis. These results indicate the efficiency improvement of the banking system in the WAEMU countries by the control of operating costs. Moreover, the central bank and the banking regulators must increase their supervision over the most competitive banks of the WAEMU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of capital structure on profitability of commercial banks in Ghana. The study used a sample of 21 commercial banks over the period 2000–2014 using panel corrected standard errors and two‐stage least‐squares estimation approaches. The results show that bank capital structure measured as capital‐to‐asset ratio is a robust and positive driver of bank performance (profitability) measures (return on assets and net interest margin). Additionally, the results further indicate that share of customer demand deposit positively affects bank profitability. The positive relationship between the capital‐to‐asset ratio and performance provides support for the bank capitalization policy implemented by the Bank of Ghana. Also, the findings provide evidence in support of the recent upsurge in bank short‐term deposit mobilization strategies and promotions by commercial banks in the country to enhance their deposit base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A panel dataset of 28 African countries spanning the period 2004–2014 is used to empirically analyze the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and financial development on new business density, a critical measure of entrepreneurship. Panel fixed effects and dynamic panel regressions were estimated while controlling for other important factors that influence entrepreneurship. The paper finds that FDI enhances entrepreneurship in African countries with more developed financial institutions and markets. These countries have greater absorptive capacity needed to benefit from potential FDI spillovers. In addition, the results also show that improving all the different dimensions of financial development (depth, access, and efficiency) is important for stimulating new entrepreneurial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past decade, the amount of migrant remittances received by developing countries has increased rapidly. Several studies have analysed the impacts on growth, investment, education, and health. However, the effect on food security has not received much attention. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the linkage between food security and international remittances using panel data during the period of 1990–2013 in African countries. The study employs an econometric model to test the impact of remittances on food security through four channels: availability, access, utilization and stability. Results show a positive link for access, stability and utilization dimensions but a negative link for availability. Relationship between received remittances and the enhancement of food security seems to be mixed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the first‐ever analysis of South African and Eurozone road fuel markets for the possibility that firms may be manipulating the tax system to conceal rent‐seeking behavior using the nonlinear ARDL model recently advanced by Shin et al. ( ). The paper also examines these markets for asymmetric price adjustment following changes in crude oil costs in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis. Monthly data for gasoline, automotive diesel and costs of imported crude oil from November 2004 to August 2016 were used. The results indicate that while the Eurozone road fuel markets are fraught with the problems of long‐run rent‐seeking, rockets and feathers effect, and the possibility that firms may be exploiting the tax system to conceal rent‐seeking behaviors, the South African markets are free from these problems. Even though South Africa and the Eurozone countries have high oil import dependency ratios, this paper shows that government regulatory activities somewhat account for the difference in market outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper attempts to estimate comparable efficiency scores for 40 African countries over the period 1975–2014, adopting the metafrontier framework which allows the decomposition of the overall technical efficiency into technology gap ratio and standard technical efficiency (Huang et al., ). We tested whether colonial legacy, proxied by country's first official language, based on stochastic frontiers were preferred to the pooled stochastic frontier. Consequently, we split countries into the three following groups: French‐speaking countries, English‐speaking countries, and other African countries. Efficiency measures results showed that there is, on average, more efficiency matters than technology gap issues. In addition, the extent of those challenges varies from one group of countries to another. It is found that the efficiency issue is more pronounced among English‐speaking countries, while the main challenge for French‐speaking countries is related to technology gap. Results also show that the appropriate trade, monetary, and financial sector‐oriented policies may help countries to close their technology gap. [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]

Countries are showing interest in accumulating foreign reserves to ensure macroeconomic stability. There has been some debate whether to beef up the level of nations' foreign reserves or make it lower, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. Whereas some argue that the foreign reserve determines the country's rating in the global market, others hold opposing views. In this light, this paper examined the interactive influence of foreign reserve (FRS) on some macroeconomic variables such as: economic size (GDP); trade; level of capital inflows (KFL); exchange rate (EXR); and inflation. Analyzing secondary data from CBN statistical bulletins (1970–2007), the econometric results obtained from cointegration test, vector error correction (VEC) within the framework of autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) revealed the following: (1) existence of a long-run relationship between the variables and two cointegrating equations; (2) possibility of convergence of the variables from the short run to the long run with slow speed of adjustment. It is thus the conclusion of this paper that accumulation of large foreign reserves is not very productive in Nigeria due to its inability to induce some of the macroeconomic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the incidence of malaria in rural Nigeria and its implication for the country's efforts to meet the targets of various domestic and global development policy blueprints. In recent years, there has been remarkable increase in human and financial commitments to global malaria control, partly due to the need to meet specific and relevant development targets set in the millennium development goals (MDGs). However, these efforts have not translated into a significant decrease in the incidence of the disease and its impact in Nigeria. Using the cost of illness method to analyse the impact of malaria on various attempts at national development, the paper found that substantial resources and domestic output is lost annually to malaria attack in Oyo State. This has serious implications for the achievement of the principles of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) and the MDG target. It is implied from the results that effective control of malaria is capable of reducing household poverty, inequality, while improving various determinants of welfare and national development. [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]

Food security is about ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. In a number of African countries chronic malnutrition and transitory food insecurity are pervasive. Like most African countries, Eritrea is also a victim of the problem of food insecurity. Based on this historical and recurrent food insecurity in Eritrea, an attempt is made in this paper to assess the possible causes of food insecurity in the country. Furthermore, the paper captures the available food security policy proposals of Eritrea and eventually draws conclusions and extends possible recommendations and policy remedies suited to the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the nature of interdependence between international stock markets is vital for portfolio diversification, risk management and market regulation. This paper examines the nature of interdependence among West African stock markets using correlation analysis, the Granger causality test and a multivariate BEKK‐GARCH (1,1) model. The results show evidence of a weak relationship among West African stock markets. The results also show absence of causal dependence between the Côte d'Ivoire BRVM (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières), and the Ghana stock market, but evince feedback relationship between the Côte d'Ivoire BRVM and the Nigeria stock market as well as between the Ghana and Nigeria stock markets. The results further reveal no evidence of volatility spillover between the Côte d'Ivoire BRVM and the Ghana stock market, but show evidence of unidirectional volatility spillover from the Nigeria stock market to the Côte d'Ivoire BRVM as well as bidirectional volatility spillover between the Nigerian and Ghanaian stock markets. Overall, the findings reveal existence of weak interdependence among West African stock markets, and that West African financial markets are interdependent through the Nigerian market. These findings are relevant to stock market stabilisation and investment policy in West Africa. [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 investigates the oil resource abundance and environmental quality nexus in Algeria, with emphasis on the role of oil export receipts and domestic oil consumption, and whether financial development is a policy option for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the economy. Using time series data from 1971 to 2016, the Bayer–Hanck test for cointegration confirms the presence of a long‐run equilibrium relationship among the variables. Further analyses based on the auto‐regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, fully modified least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), canonical cointegration regression (CCR) and Granger causality based on the vector error correction model (VECM) confirm the oil resource abundance curse in Algeria via the impact of domestic oil consumption on environmental quality. The estimates also show that financial development reduces CO2 emissions and has both short‐run and long‐run causal impact on economic growth. Thus, deepening financial sector development can be instrumental for achieving a low‐carbon and sustainable economy in Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite important efforts to put in place alternative energy technologies such as biogas to fight against indoor air pollution, only very few households have succeeded in the transition towards these sources of energy in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to explore the socioeconomic constraints related to the adoption of biogas as a major source of cooking fuel in rural households in Lesotho. Using the Demographic and Health Survey of 2014 and a logistic regression model, this study revealed that several socioeconomic factors influence the decision of households to adopt biogas significantly. Among the variables included in the model, the level of education of the household head, wealth and the size of the household have a significant effect on the decision to adopt biogas. Indeed, an additional school level increases the adoption of biogas by 1.2 percentage points. An additional person in the household reduces the chance of switching to biogas by 1 percentage point and the richest households are 50% more likely to switch to biogas than the poorest households. Moreover, there are differences in adoption according to the agro‐ecological zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends and contributes to the literature on the drivers of income inequality in West Africa. Principally, it empirically assesses the impact of key domestic and external drivers of income inequality with a view to drawing key lessons for West African countries. Using the dynamic system GMM estimation procedure, the authors analyze an unbalanced pooled time series data set of income distribution in 17 West African countries from 1970 to 2011. Our inequality measures, the market (gross) and net income inequality coefficients, are from a global inequality dataset, which ensures data comparability both through time and across countries. Our novel finding shows strong support for a dynamic, non-monotonic, inverted U-shaped, effect of inequality in the model (as expressed by the lagged values of income inequality). We find evidence of existence of the Kuznets curve in the sub-region, which proposed that inequality may rise with the initial increase in per capita income but will decline subsequently. A non-monotonic, Kuznets-type effect is found for political globalization. Our results also show that access to secondary education (skill premium) social globalization, age dependency (for net income inequality) and democracy strongly and significantly equalize income in West Africa. The authors find that population density, natural resources dependence, domestic investment rate, government consumption expenditure, trade openness, inward foreign direct investment, international remittances, and civil conflicts appear to be income disequalizing in the sub-region. The policy lessons and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the factors that drive foreign direct investments (FDI) by looking at regional heterogeneity among the five African regions. For the first time, FDI drivers are analyzed for each of the five regions of Africa contrary to previous studies which focused on Africa as a whole. The paper used a panel dataset from 1970 to 2010 of 53 African countries divided into: Central, East, North, Southern, and West Africa. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques are used for the estimations. The main results indicate that: (i) agglomeration has a strong positive relationship with FDI inflows in all the regions except Central Africa. However, in West Africa, the second lag of FDI is significantly negative; (ii) there is a negative relationship between FDI inflows and GDP per capita in all the five regions, but a U-shaped relationship is observed in Central, North, and West Africa. But GDP growth rate has a strongly positive relationship with FDI inflows in Central Africa but negatively significant in West Africa; (iii) FDI follows domestic investment in East, Southern, and West Africa; (iv) democracy is a major factor in attracting FDI to Southern Africa, being upward concave; (v) infrastructure development has a positive impact on FDI inflows in East and North Africa; (vi) trade openness has a positive relationship with FDI inflows in all the five regions except in East Africa; (vii) inflation deters FDI inflows to East Africa; (viii) the level of urbanization has a strong positive relationship with FDI inflows only in West Africa; (ix) net foreign aid has a negative relationship with FDI inflows to East, North, and Southern Africa; (x) higher life expectancy deters FDI inflows to Central Africa but promotes the same to East and North Africa; (xi) metal production and exportation attract significant FDI to Central Africa while oil production and exportation attract higher FDI to West Africa; (xii) monetary union attracts greater FDI to Central and West Africa; and (xiii) political instability is a strong hindrance to FDI inflows to West Africa. [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]

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The paper assesses whether the exchange rate is affected by monetary policy and whether these effects are permanent or transitory. In addition, the paper takes the position that once the exchange rate regime has been chosen it determines the flexibility of monetary policy. The real exchange rate is decomposed into cyclical and permanent components. Causality tests are performed between several measures of monetary shocks (consistent with other empirical works) and the cyclical component of the real exchange rate. The results show that excess money supply predict each other with the cyclical movements of the real exchange rate. In the second stage a model of nominal exchange rate is estimated. Since we find cointegration, the model is estimated with first-difference of the variables, the cyclical component of the real exchange rate and the cointegrating vectors. The results show that the nominal exchange rate over the period is determined by real income growth, the rate of inflation, money supply growth, the cycles in the real exchange rate movements, the cointegrating vectors and shocks. The first cointegrating vector is normalized with money supply and the second with nominal exchange rate; they show a differential in adjustment speeds reflecting the fact that the nominal exchange rate movements responds quickly to one type of disequilibrium and slowly to the other. For the first vector the adjustment speed is consistent with an exchange rate policy that accommodates monetary disequilibrium in order to protect reserves or with a market determined exchange rate responding to excess money supply. This vector portrays the underlying monetary responses during different exchange rate regimes. In addition the results from causality tests between the official exchange rate and the parallel rate show that even though the parallel market was illegal, the central bank in determining the crawl (during the crawling rate regime) took into account the value of the cur... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in Africa, based on the framework of social determinants of health. Applying Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) and quantile regressions to panel data and country‐specific socioeconomic background data from 53 African countries, the study finds that enhancing capacity for early testing helps for timeous uncovering of cases, early isolation and contact tracing for effective control of the spread. Other factors such as managing of international movements through reduction of international exposure and ensuring better sanitation and hygiene were found to be relevant in diminishing COVID‐19 spread, whereas alcohol consumption and population density heighten the spread. The work also highlights that stringent measures will be counter‐productive unless they are coupled with measures to create and preserve livelihoods, together with humanitarian relief assistance to the poorest segments of the population. The results are robust to alternative techniques. As policy recommendations, we implore African governments to the promotion of sustainable livelihoods and social safety nets as measures to accompany stringent lockdowns; and good sanitation programmes to become a lifestyle of citizens. Careful attention should be paid to the socioeconomic trade‐off in respect of international travel restrictions given the high dependence of most African economies on tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the causal relationship between irresponsible behavior and corruption in Tunisia in the time of COVID‐19. In our modeling approach, the abuse of power is used as a proxy for corruption, while lockdown breaches are used as a proxy for irresponsible behavior. Based on the vector error‐correction model, the Granger causality test is performed to identify the direction of the causal relationship. An empirical study involving the use of real data from the National Anticorruption Authority is conducted. The results reveal the existence of a unidirectional Granger causal relationship running from lockdown breaches to the abuse of power. These findings imply that the irresponsible behavior of Tunisians may constitute in itself a factor that can exacerbate their exposure to corruption in periods of crisis, especially in the absence of well‐established corporate social responsibility. The implications of our findings for public policy are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that assesses the impacts of the Covid‐19 pandemic on different economic sectors in Cameroon. A special feature of the CGE model used in this study is that it accounts for the importance of the informal sector in Cameroon. Indeed, more than 80% of the employed work in the informal sector, which is characterized by the precariousness and instability of income and employment over time and space. Simulation results suggest that economic sectors such as construction, education, hotels and restaurants and commerce should receive special attention, as they have experienced the most severe employments losses. This calls for a differentiated support from the government to protect employment in these industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impacts of the Covid‐19 pandemic on employment in Cameroon. Using data collected from a rapid survey led by the National Institute of Statistics, on a sample of 1,310 respondents from April to May 2020. These data show that a large proportion of workers suffered a wage cut (60.93%) and temporary job suspension (31.6%), and the smallest proportion suffered job loss (7.47%). The results of the logistic regression show that lower frequency of outgoings to work, difficulties in accessing transport services and the loss of customer confidence have a strong negative impact on both wage cuts and temporary suspensions of work. The closure (total or partial) of activities has increasingly enhanced job loss. Further, the log of odds show that workers in private firms are more affected than their peers in public firms, and the middle‐aged are the most affected group. So, it is recommended to revamp the old methods of activity into digital innovation that enables less physical touch and find an appropriate way to support those who have lost their jobs during this Covid‐19 pandemic, particularly in the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nonlinear impact of real GDP per capita on financial development in a panel of 125 countries. It also determines the moderating effect of inflation on the impact of GDP on financial development. It employs the dynamic panel system generalized method of moments (GMM) and the dynamic common correlated effects (CCE) to do both panel and country‐specific analysis, as well as control for cross‐sectional dependence, heterogeneity and endogeneity. This study shows that GDP has a positive impact on financial development in the entire panel. However, when we split the panel into different income groups, we find a positive impact in the high‐ and middle‐income groups while the impact is insignificant in the low income group. Although we find no evidence of a nonlinear impact of GDP on financial development in the panel, the country‐specific analysis reveals a significant nonlinear relationship between GDP and financial development in 73 countries. We also show that inflation adversely moderates the positive impact of GDP on financial development in middle‐income countries. This study implies that the relationship between GDP and financial development depends on the levels of GDP and inflation rate. We recommend some policy options based on the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV/AIDS and child malnutrition are pervasive in eastern and southern Africa. This paper employs cross‐country panel data on 20 countries from 1991 to 2017 to explore the macro‐level relationship between HIV/AIDS and child malnutrition. Using instrumental variables (IV) regression, we find that HIV/AIDS is a robust predictor of long‐term and chronic malnutrition. Conditional on various controls, the results demonstrate a positive empirical association between HIV/AIDS and stunting. Moreover, increased access to improved water, female education, and food availability are critical for reducing stunting. These findings underscore the need for an integrated national policy on nutrition and HIV/AIDS and intersectoral collaboration between government agencies responsible for managing nutrition and HIV/AIDS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between foreign aid (AID), foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investment (DI) and its effects on economic growth in 41 African countries. Annual panel data from 1990 to 2016 are examined using fixed‐effects (FE) and system‐GMM estimators. We test the existence of nonlinearities and complementarities in the relationship between AID–FDI, AID–DI, FDI–DI, and AID–FDI–DI. Empirical results confirm the existence of a nonlinear relationship between AID, FDI, DI, and economic growth. Besides, the results show that AID and FDI have a significant positive complementing effect on economic growth. It is shown also that FDI complements DI, while the coupled effect of AID and DI remains weak in catalyzing growth. Moreover, the results indicate that the complementarity between AID–FDI–DI positively influence economic growth, revealing that AID and FDI work as a complement factor to DI and enhance its effectiveness in promoting economic growth. These insights have important policy implications. Policy‐makers in African countries are well advised to implement concrete policy measures suitable for building on the growth momentum created by foreign capital inflows, like FDI, AID as well as remittance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of board gender diversity on banks' performance and risk for the case of a developing African country. Our sample includes a unique data set of Tunisian banks during the period 2005–2018. We use the two‐way cluster regression proposed by Petersen. This approach corrects for the unobserved firm effect (time‐series dependence) and time effect (cross‐sectional dependence). It gives robust standard errors adjusted for heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and cross‐sectional correlation. Our results support a positive relationship between gender diversity and banks' performance measured by ROA and ROE, while women board members are associated with more default risk measured by Z‐score. Our results remain robust to various measures of gender diversity, banks' performance and risk. The findings contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence from Tunisia, an African emerging economy, where the examination of the role of board gender diversity on bank governance is unexplored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper empirically investigates the effects of governance (GGov), official development assistance (ODA), sustainability [adjusted net savings (ANS)], and macroeconomic variables on the quality of life [human development index (HDI)] for selected sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries using the most recent data from 2000 to 2017. The study employed different panel techniques. The findings provide insightful and interesting empirical results that resonate with the magnitude of a significant of the role of GGov on ANS and HDI. Our study shows that GGov is important to improve HDI. Additionally, ANS has important implications on the well‐being of human existence in SSA. In addition to these, this study found that macroeconomic variables such as trade openness and economic growth, wealth, and opportunity creation factors like urbanization and electrification rate are essential. Furthermore, empirical results revealed that ODA has a negative and significant association with HDI, which is in line with some of the existing literature. Our findings have several implications for organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and African Development Bank. This study serves as a policy instrument and guides in coordinating SSA on promoting HDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at assessing the performance of intra-COMESA trade integration on the basis of success of ASEAN integration, using an out-of-sample approach. The analysis employed a gravity approach to estimate the coefficients of the ASEAN model which are used as a benchmark to project the potential trade for eight COMESA members. The success of COMESA is estimated by the ratio of potential to actual trade. The results pointed out that all countries of the selected sample are far from their potential trade level, implying unfavorable performance of the regional trade integration among COMESA members. The results also indicate that the gap between potential and actual trade has decreased in the last decade, suggesting a convergence toward the potential trade level over time. Finally, the paper ends with some policy recommendations regarding promoting regional cooperation among COMESA members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the impact of different forms of capital inflows, including foreign direct investment, foreign aid, portfolio investment, and remittances, on exports diversification in sub‐Saharan Africa during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era. We employ the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator to deal with the endogeneity issue. Using a sample of 35 countries over the period 2000–15, it shows that the impact of capital inflows on exports diversification depends on the type of capital. We find evidence that foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and remittances have positive effects on exports diversification, while portfolio inflows negatively affect exports diversification. Moreover, we find that the impact of capital inflows on exports diversification differs across the region of destination of the exported products. This study underscores the important role of international cooperation and capital inflows in sub‐Saharan Africa, and lends support to policies aiming to attract foreign capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of infrastructural development and natural resources on FDI inflows in Ghana. We examine the empirical relations using the Prais-Winsten regression estimation procedure which is meant to overcome autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity in the error terms in the model, often for regressions applied to series. The data was obtained from World Development Indicators (WDI) spanning from 1975 to 2014. Our findings suggest that infrastructural development and natural resources are drivers of FDI inflows in Ghana. The other variables that significantly influence FDI inflows in Ghana include the lending interest rate, market size and GDP growth rate. The policy implications of this study is that, while Ghana seeks to expand its infrastructure and natural resources to enhance FDI inflows and economic growth, this must be done in tandem with creating an enabling environment to ensure macroeconomic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interactive effect of financial development and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on domestic investment in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). A panel data of 16 SSA countries sampled from 1980 to 2014 are employed. Using the fixed effect, pooled OLS and the FMOLS techniques, our empirical results show that financial development complements FDI inflows to augment domestic investment in SSA. Among other things, the direct effect of FDI inflows, financial sector development, real GDP growth, domestic savings and trade openness are investment promoting while lending rate and inflation inhibit domestic investment in the region. As a policy implication, deepening the financial sector demands considerable attention since it serves as an important channel through which FDI influences domestic investment. While developing the financial sector, it is equally essential that policymakers give enough attention to key macroeconomic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the status and determinants of gender disparities in financial inclusion using a sample of 4,466 individuals from the Finscope survey in Tanzania. The results provide evidence to support gender disparities in financial inclusion, mostly pronounced in formal savings (21.3%), formal accounts (10.6%) and mobile money accounts (9.4%). This is reflected in 17.1% less likelihood of female ownership of a formal savings account but a 2% higher likelihood to access formal credit. Finally, the paper documents evidence that gender disparities in financial inclusion are explained by lower levels of education, income and over‐dependence of women on men. The findings support gender mainstreaming in other sectors to increase employment and education for women to close the gender gap in financial access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's trade with South Africa has become more important in recent years, and a SACU-China free trade agreement has been proposed to further strengthen this trade relationship. This paper examines the relevance of this proposed trade policy for further enhancing bilateral trade flows and development in SACU. The paper finds that tariff liberalization alone is inadequate for successful trade integration, as it benefits mostly South Africa only and harms some of SACU's internal and external trade and its welfare through trade diversion. Measures to improve trade complementarity, reduce barriers to intra-industry trade, and implement parallel MFN trade liberalization should also be undertaken by SACU in order to achieve successful trade integration with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the characteristics of the recent African economic growth. The data reveal that during the period 1995-2005, Africa caught up with East Asia in terms of economic growth and investment. However, East Asia has improved its advantage on Africa in terms of GDP per capita and growth fundamentals. African economic growth rate was 2.2 percentage points higher during the period 1995-2005 compared to the period 1975-94. However, between the two periods, only primary education, exports and urbanization have significantly increased in Africa. The other growth determinants have either slightly deteriorated or remained stagnant. The results of growth regressions over the period 1995-2005 indicate that investment, private sector access to credit, government effectiveness, exports and the share of agriculture value added in GDP are significantly linked with economic growth. Thus, compared to the statistical analysis, growth regressions suggest that most of the variables which have significantly contributed to growth recovery are not those variables which have positively evolved in Africa. The good news is that African economies have grown recently without changing many growth fundamentals. The bad news is that the recent African growth recovery may not be sustainable if efforts are not focused on right growth fundamentals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fostering jobs, entrepreneurship and capacity development for African youths is an important development agenda. L'ACCÈS DES JEUNES AU MARCHÉ DU TRAVAIL AU TOGO ET AU BÉNIN: UNE ÉVIDENCE PARAMÉTRIQUE ET SEM... Similar to other African countries, youth unemployment in Togo and Benin is higher than adults'. EFFICACITÉ DU DISPOSITIF D'ACCOMPAGNEMENT À L'INSERTION PROFESSIONNELLE DES JEUNES AU SÉNÉGAL In many African countries, high youth unemployment has pushed policymakers to establish different support programs to help young graduates transition smoothly from the education system to the labor market. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on development of rural women's traditional enterprises in the Niger Delta region. A total of 2,400 women were sampled across the region. Results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that the GMoU model of the CSR has recorded significant success in supporting farming and fishing transformation generally, but has also undermined those initiatives that focused on empowering rural women in traditional enterprises, due to the cultural and traditional context in the region. This causes both direct harm to women and their children, and wider costs to African economies. It implies that if the GMoU interventions are not targeted to raise women's economic status and to deter aggression, invariably they may contribute towards reducing the participation of women in economic, political and social development and, by extension, dampen efforts in deterring poverty and achieving the sustainable development goals in sub‐Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in the socio‐economic advancement of developing countries. In the last decade, FDI inflows from China into Côte dʼIvoire have grown rapidly. Using quarterly time series data from 2003Q1 to 2017Q4, this study probes if China FDI has any significant welfare impact on the citizens of Côte dʼIvoire vis‐à‐vis if a causal relationship exists. The policy outcome is to stimulate further discourse that will reduce poverty and enhance the living standard of the population. The study uses vector autoregressive (VAR) and the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) modification of the non‐Granger causality test to determine if a causal relationship exists and the direction of causality. The empirical analysis provides evidence of a unidirectional causality from China FDI to social welfare (proxied by the human development index [HDI]) but no indication of causality between China FDI to economic welfare (proxied by real gross domestic product per capita [GDPPC]). This study, which is borne out of empirical curiosity, fills a lacuna in the FDI literature. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is a novel contribution that examines the FDI‐welfare nexus between China and a developing economy like Côte dʼIvoire. Thus, policies that will further stimulate FDI inflows from China must be carefully crafted to attract funding to the most productive sectors of the economy in order to improve both social and economic welfare. By extension, the policies may be adapted by developing economies with similar characteristics to Côte dʼIvoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between capital flight, diamond exports and political governance crisis in the Central African Republic. To achieve this, use is made of multiple correspondence analysis to construct a political governance crisis index, and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model and Bound test for co‐integration are employed to establish short‐run and long‐run relationships. The short‐run results show political governance crisis and diamond exports have a significant and negative effect on capital flight. The interaction term between diamonds exports and political governance crisis is found to be positively related to capital flight in the short run. The long‐run equilibrium shows a significant and negative relationship between political governance crisis, diamond exports, and gross domestic product growth even though the interaction between political governance crisis and diamond exports show a positive and significant relationship. The total natural resource rent is found to be positively related to capital flight but not statistically significant. It is then recommended that a combination of stable political governance associated with reducing corruption in public affairs and promoting transparency in the management of the diamond sector be strengthened to effectively reduce the flight of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]