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Unlike previous studies where models/methods used in determining the carbon emission are presented, in this paper, a detailed analysis of the causes, trends, and solutions to carbon emission in Africa is presented. Economic development plays a crucial role in the well-being of a country/continent, thereby, affecting energy consumption. The impact of economic development on Africa's carbon (CO 2) emissions trend is first investigated. After which, three neural network models are developed to predict the future trend of total CO2 emission in the continent. Then, the use of renewable energy (RE) sources for power generation is analyzed/proposed as a viable solution for CO2 emission reduction in Africa. Finally, the impact of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) integration and hydrogen production in maximizing RE production in Africa's largest economy is analyzed. Secondary data of the economic indicators for twenty-five different African countries have been used to justify the effect of economic development on their carbon emission. From the results of the analyses, gross national income and carbon emissions in all sectors were found to be significantly positively correlated. That is, as national wealth across Africa increases, carbon emissions in the continent increase. Also, the predicted total annual CO2 emission showed that most countries will witness an increase in total CO2 emission by 2022 in comparison to 2018. The proposed RE-based method for power generation showed that the CO2 emission from the power industry can be reduced to zero for an African country. Nevertheless, the use of BEVs and the production of hydrogen will be integral in achieving this. • Integration of EVs and hydrogen production to maximize RE integration. • The impact of GNI and other economic indicators on CO2 emission. • Development of three neural network models for CO2 emission prediction. • The sole use of RE for electricity generation in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1996 and 2014, 30 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries benefited from debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The architects of the HIPC initiative and MDRI posited that these programs would spur growth and investment. This paper exploits the variability of participation in the HIPC initiative and MDRI across time and country, in order to identity the effect of participation on growth and investment. I find that the decision point and post-completion point periods of the enhanced HIPC initiative are associated with a 1.762 percentage point and 3.139 percentage point increase in public investment, respectively. The impact is higher in countries with low access to international capital markets. The enhanced HIPC initiative increases private investment by 1.838 percentage points during the post-completion point period in countries with low access to international capital, for approximately two years, but has no effect on growth or foreign direct investment. I find no effect of the original HIPC initiative or MDRI on growth, private investment, public investment or foreign direct investment. I find no heterogeneous impact of the enhanced HIPC initiative on growth and foreign direct investment by level of indebtedness, access to international capital markets, or institutional quality. As the measures of institutional quality have barely changed between 1996 and 2014 in HIPC countries, the results of this paper suggest that without a strong improvement in institutional quality, debt relief is unlikely to boost investment and growth in Africa. Possible future debt relief in SSA countries should be associated with a component directly aimed at improving institutional quality. If an improvement of institutional quality is not feasible in the short run, debt relief in SSA countries should aim to support public investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines an evolutionary and an historical theoretical framework to identify and propose taxonomic principles that can be used to analyze whether or not a given regional economic integration (REI) arrangement is transformative and developmental. Using this framework, it looks into the relationship between industrialization and regional economic integration in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It also looks at how asymmetric economic integration with advanced economies has affected industrialization and symmetric economic integration in Africa. Based on historical evidence, the paper concludes that there is a positive, circular and cumulative relationship between industrialization and regional economic integration in SSA. It also concludes that the asymmetric economic integration of SSA economies with advanced ones has had negative, circular and cumulative impact on industrialization and (symmetric) economic integration in SSA. Therefore, it argues that, if industrialization and transformative REI is to take place in SSA, there is a need for making context-specific, dynamic and transformative industrial policies as center pieces of development strategies, for rethinking REI initiatives in such a way that they facilitate and amplify the effectiveness of these industrial policies and strategies, and for replacing the legacies of colonialism and neoliberal globalization with strategic integration of SSA economies vis . advanced economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigate the effects of refugees' camps on the occurrence of protests and conflicts in host localities employing a counterfactual approach were we compare geographical cells that host a camp (treated) with other cells that have a priori similar probability of hosting a camp and a similar socio-economic context. • We do not find that after the establishment of a camp the average occurrence of protests increases significantly. • Using a panel event study estimation, we find evidence of a significative increase in the number of protests in the 2-years after the establishment of the camp. • Over time the easing of tensions might be related to the increased socio-economic contacts as we find that the establishment of camps boosts the growth of host-localities. • The intensity and density of interactions are unlikely to generate strong social tensions as refugees contribute to the expansion of economic opportunities also in marginal and relatively underdeveloped contexts. In this paper we study the effects of the establishment of refugees' camps in Africa on the occurrence of protests and social conflicts by using geo-referenced panel data (2000–2014). We use 50x50 km cells as units of analysis and match data on the frequency of protests, armed conflicts and other organized violence events (based on GDELT and GED databases) with information on the location of camps contained in the UNHCR Camp Mapping Database. By using a counterfactual empirical strategy, we find that refugee camps significantly increase the occurrence of protests only in the initial period (2 years) while no statistically significant effect is detected in subsequent years. We interpret these findings as the asynchronous effect of two shocks associated with the presence of refugee camps: a sudden population shock which initially increases social tensions with the host-communities and a growth effect spurred by the increase in aggregate demand due to a public-spending shock and the progressive participation of refugees in the host socio-economic system. To support this hypothesis, we analyze the effect of hosting a camp on economic growth in the surrounding area (within 10 km from the camp). We find evidence that, on average, camps positively affect economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese firms operating in Africa are often accused of violating international labour standards and not adhering with national labour laws. Considering China’s tendency to maintain control over development projects throughout the entire implementation phase, using Chinese contractors for work performed in the recipient countries, the present paper investigates whether China impacts African labour practices in their capacity as a donor. Specifically, we use a new data material allowing for systematic quantitative analysis of Chinese development finance to investigate whether Chinese development projects affect trade union involvement. Matching geo-referenced data on the subnational allocation of Chinese development projects to Africa over the 2000–2012 period with 41,902 survey respondents across 18 African countries, our estimation strategy relies on comparing the trade union involvement of individuals who live near a site where a Chinese project is being implemented at the time of the interview to those of individuals living near a site where a Chinese project will appear in the future, but where implementation had yet to be initiated at the time of the survey. The results consistently indicate that Chinese development projects – unlike the projects of other major donors – discourage trade union involvement in the local area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the work of Al-Mulali and Ozturk (2015) [1] by re-investigating the Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for 15 MENA (Middle East and North African) countries using the Ecological Footprint (EF) as a proxy of environmental degradation over the period 1975–2007. Unlike the existing studies, we augment the basic EKC relationship by considering life expectancy at birth, fertility rate and political institutional index variables as new possible determinants of environmental degradation. The estimation of this relationship has been conducted for all MENA 15 countries, for oil-exporting and non-oil-exporting countries sub-samples. The results show that energy use worsens ecological footprint, whereas real GDP per capita exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with EF in oil-exporting countries and in the sample as a whole, i.e., the EKC hypothesis is validated. For the non-oil-exporting countries, the relationship between EF and economic growth is U-shaped. Moreover, our findings show that socio-demographic variables such as urbanization, life expectancy at birth and fertility rate improve the environment in the long term. We also found that the improvement of political institutions in those countries has not been accompanied by a reduction of environmental stress. The Granger causality results support evidence of the existence of an error correction mechanism between the EF, real GDP, energy use and the fertility rate. Specifically, in the short term, we found strong evidence for bidirectional causality among the ecological, real GDP and energy-use variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers the factors that drive a strong and competitive agri-business sector with particular attention to investment in research and development (R&D) for technological innovation as well as the broader drivers and risk factors of influence. It develops a case study and in particular contrasts the very successful value chain in Thailand with the weak one in Nigeria in order to highlight the implications for Nigerian government policy if it wishes to exploit the potential for a strong cassava agri-business sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a contribution to interweaving two lines of research that have progressed in separate ways: network analysis of international trade and the literature on African trade and development. Gathering empirical data on African countries has important limitations and so does the space occupied by African countries in the analysis of trade networks. Here, these limitations are dealt with by the definition of two independent bipartite networks: a destination share network and a commodity share network. These networks–together with their corresponding minimal spanning trees–allow to uncover some ordering emerging from African exports in the broader context of international trade. The emerging patterns help to understand important characteristics of African exports and its binding relations to other economic, geographic and organizational concerns as the recent literature on African trade, development and growth has shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the long-run and causal relationships among energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and economic growth for a sample of 12 selected Sub-Sahara African countries. It applies the bounds test to cointegration and Granger causality test to annual data covering the period 1971–2010. The empirical results are mixed across countries. In the long-run, energy consumption and economic growth are associated with increase in atmospheric pollution in most countries. Results from the Granger causality tests show evidence of economic growth causing CO2 emissions in the short-run in Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, implying that economic expansion cannot be achieved without affecting the environment. Evidence of reverse causality running from CO2 emissions to economic growth has been found for Gabon, Nigeria and Togo, indicating that environmental policies aiming at reducing air pollution may have adverse effects on economic growth. Moreover, bidirectional causality between economic growth and CO2 emissions has been found in the short-run for Nigeria and in the long-run for Congo and Gabon. In the long-run, energy consumption and economic growth cause CO2 emissions in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving economic development and environmental sustainability simultaneously is one of the most important development challenges for Africa today. The relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability is founded on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). This paper examines the validity of the hypothesis and the driving factors of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in five African countries using the STIRPAT empirical model, panel cointegration and fully modified ordinary least squares. Unlike previous studies, economic development is disaggregated into agriculture and industrial economic development. The results show that there is no evidence of the validity of the hypothesis in Africa, regardless of whether economic development is driven by agriculture or industrialisation. Energy structure and energy intensity are the two major driving forces of CO 2 emissions in Africa. Population growth and urbanisation have negative relationship with CO 2 emissions. From our results, the EKC is not a sound basis for environmental policy in Africa; rather, environmental policy in Africa, specifically for CO 2 emissions mitigation, should focus on encouraging energy efficiency, enhancing the use of clean energy, incorporating the impact of population growth and harnessing the positive impacts of urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization has long been seen by scholars and policymakers as a disruptive process that can contribute to social and political unrest, yet there is little cross-national quantitative empirical research on the topic. In this paper we provide a comprehensive analysis of the links between urban geography and the incidence of protests (i.e. demonstrations, riots and strikes) in African countries since 1990. In contrast to previous studies, we are careful to distinguish between urban population scale effects, urban population ratio effects, population rate-of-change effects and urban population distribution effects. We also provide an explicit test of the long-standing hypothesis that ‘over-urbanization’ increases the risk of civil unrest. Employing multilevel negative binomial models that control for key political and economic variables we find that urban population size and the number of large cities in a country are both positively and significantly associated protest incidence. By contrast, we find that a country's level of urbanization is negatively associated with protest incidence and reject the over-urbanization hypothesis: higher levels of urbanization are associated with less frequent protests at all income levels. We find no evidence that the pace of urban population growth or urban primacy significantly influence protest mobilization. In sum, our results provide a nuanced picture of the relationship between urban geography and protest incidence that challenges conventional wisdom and contemporary hyperbole about the dangers of ‘rapid urbanization’ in Africa in particular, and developing countries more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The decade of the 1990s saw a surge in the development of new policies and legislation that were meant to align them to the new political and economic dispensation in Africa. The overarching goal then was to loosen the states’ grip on power and resources from centrally controlled structures into decentralized systems with greater participation of the stakeholders. Although states have gone very far in this direction, such fundamental changes have largely remained beautiful blueprints generating mixed reactions on their effect on the ground. This paper examines the impact of policy changes on water rights in Malawi. It argues that, in Malawi, as elsewhere in Africa, policy reforms have not necessarily resulted in increasing access to water rights by the poor and other marginalized groups. Yet increasing the participation of and widening access to water rights by the poor was one of the strongest arguments in the drive for policy change. The study underscores the fact that if not clearly considered policy changes can have a significant impact on the lives of millions of people who depend on water and other environmental resources for the livelihoods. To explain the manner in which water rights are affected, the paper used the framework of legal pluralism which provides a useful way of understanding water resources governance where multiple uses and users co-exist. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studies the role of fiscal policy for stabilization in African countries. Two empirical regularities are documented for the group of African economies. First, fiscal policy generally has Keynesian effects. Second, fiscal policy instruments are often pro-cyclical (and practically never counter-cyclical). Taken together these two empirical regularities indicate a major policy failure as they imply that fiscal policy is a cause of volatility and not a tool for stabilization. The paper then discusses policy options to make fiscal policy more conducive to stabilization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In discussions of Africa in the global North, the term ‘development’ is one of the most often used—though its meaning can be remarkably difficult to pin down. The sustainability of development processes and outcomes is also of current concern in development discourse. If sustainable development can be described in terms of ongoing, enhanced human well-being as well as continued national economic growth, then it requires the full participation of the target community. Development that is ‘done to’ people has little chance of sustainability. The central argument of this paper is that sustainable development, defined as many experts are defining it today, is not possible without attention to questions of language choice and literacy ability. Indeed, experts have recognized that the learning contexts (both formal and nonformal) needed for sustained development in the two-thirds world are currently quite inadequate to the task. Given this fact, the crucial role of language and literacy in truly sustainable development deserves careful attention. In this paper the specific links between language, development and literacy are explored. Examples from across sub-Saharan Africa are then given regarding the impact that is possible when local-language literacy is made part of the broader development picture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In recent years diplomatic and economic relations between China and many African countries have deepened. This has been driven largely by China's remarkable economic growth, which has increased demand for energy and commodities, thus encouraging trade and investment with different African countries. Additionally, China is playing a key role in the emerging challenge to the unequal architecture of global trade and governance, for which it seeks political allies. For Africa, the impacts of these deepening relationships are mixed. Rising commodity prices, direct investment, aid, and cheap consumer goods can be beneficial; but China also threatens to undercut local manufacturing sectors and compete for export markets, notably in textiles. China also has a history of support for authoritarian and corrupt regimes, and its (stated) insistence on non-interference in sovereign affairs may undermine more progressive efforts towards accountability, transparency, conflict reduction, and environmental and social protection. This paper explores how UK broadsheet newspapers represent China's complex relations in Africa, and in doing so, how they reflect on the West's own role(s) in Africa. The paper concludes by debating the importance of these media images at a time when China's rise is being anxiously observed by western publics and policy communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The literature suggests that investment and economic growth respond very slowly to economic reform due to uncertainty about the permanence of reform. Despite clear theoretical underpinnings for the idea that policy reversal significantly impedes economic performance, there is limited empirical evidence on this topic. This paper derives empirical proxies for the probabilities of different types of policy reversal and investigates their impact on investment and growth in Sub-Saharan African countries. The results show that trade, fiscal, savings and financial policy reversals have been very damaging to investment and economic growth. The paper also finds that it is the prediction or expectation that reversal will occur that hurts performance. There is no evidence that exchange rate policy reversal has damaged performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article examines the concept ‘Integrated Water Resources Management’ (IWRM) and inquires as to its relevance for the Southern African region. The paper first acknowledges the contributions made to IWRM by three regional initiatives—WaterNet, the Water Research Fund for Southern Africa (WARFSA), and the Southern African chapter of the Global Water Partnership. Then, three important aspects of IWRM are highlighted: that IWRM requires institutional capacity to integrate, which often is a scarce resource; that IWRM is neither solution nor recipe, but rather a perspective or way of looking at problems with a view to solving them through transparent and inclusive decision-making processes; and that IWRM should explicitly deal with the fact that water tends to build asymmetrical relationships between people, communities and nations. An IWRM agenda is subsequently set out, focussing on five critical issues: the dilemma between economic development and sustainability; the unresolved issue of water as an economic good; the place and role of rainfed farmers in IWRM; the importance of training and teaching; and the need for building reflexive capacity in the new and existing water institutions. The paper concludes that IWRM is a relevant, yet elusive and fuzzy concept. Evidence from Southern Africa and around the world shows that IWRM inspires a new generation of water managers and researchers to act creatively; assists in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and instils mutual respect, understanding and co-operation among water professionals in Southern Africa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A major concern in the development of African economies is the impact of corruption on economic growth and while there is general agreement on its detrimental effects, there is considerable debate over its nature and importance. In particular there is little work on the interaction between corruption, government expenditures and how this influences economic growth in countries in the region. This paper takes an endogenous growth model, extends it to include different categories of government spending and then introduces the possibility of corruption, which is allowed to have different effects on each of the categories. The results confirm the negative effect of corruption and military spending, but also show that corruption interacts with military burden, through indirect and complementary effects, to further increase its negative effect. The policy implications are that the effects of corruption on economic growth are worse than was thought in countries which have high military burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After an impressive acceleration in growth and poverty reduction since the mid-1990s, many African countries continue to register robust growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Will this growth persist, given the tepid recovery in developed countries, numerous weather shocks, and civil conflicts in Africa? This paper “stress tests” African economies. The findings indicate that Africa's long-term growth is fairly impervious to a prolonged recession in high-income countries. Growth is, however, much more sensitive to a disruption of capital flows to the region, and to internal shocks, such as civil conflict and drought, even if the latter follow historical patterns. The broad policy implication is that with proper domestic production conditions African countries can sustain robust long-term growth. Because of the economic dominance of the agriculture sector and the share of food in household budgets, countries will need to increase the resilience of agriculture and protect it from unfavorable climate change impacts, such as drought. As in the past, civil conflicts and violence will pose by far the greatest threat to Africa's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth in African cities has attracted the attention of international property developers and architecture firms seeking new opportunities as demand has waned in the shrinking economies of the Global North. Their interest has produced new computer generated master plans for African cities depicting modern utopias which would not look out of place in Dubai or Shanghai. The incongruity of these plans for cities where 70% or more of urban residents live on the margins in unplanned settlements raises important questions about the processes shaping the future of African cities. Urban theories, in particular neoliberal ideologies of urban entrepreneurialism, offer compelling explanations for how these visions have come to be. What is less well understood is the local dynamics at play in the structuring of African cities and the role of local actors in the construction of these new master plans. This paper documents the attitudes of residents of Lusaka to market driven development in their city and new master plans for African cities. Making use of concepts of policy mobility – it explores the aspirations of those that live in the city and the extent to which these correspond to the promises of these grand new visions. The findings highlight ways in which these new visions of African cities are at odds with lives and concerns of residents in Lusaka from across the social spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the dynamic relationship between energy intensity and CO 2 emissions by incorporating economic growth in environment CO 2 emissions function using data of Sub Saharan African countries. For this purpose, we applied panel cointegration to examine the long run relationship between the series. We employed the VECM Granger causality to test the direction of causality amid the variables. At panel level, our results validate the existence of cointegration among the series. The long run panel results show that energy intensity has positive and statistically significant impact on CO 2 emissions. There is also positive and negative link of non-linear and linear terms of real GDP per capita with CO 2 emissions supporting the presence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The causality analysis reveals the bidirectional causality between economic growth and CO 2 emissions while energy intensity Granger causes economic growth and hence CO 2 emissions, while across the individual countries, the results differ. This paper opens up new insights for policy makers to design comprehensive economic, energy and environmental policy for sustainable long run economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For economic development to succeed in Africa in the next 50years, African agriculture will have to change beyond recognition. Production will have to have increased massively, but also labor productivity, requiring a vast reduction in the proportion of the population engaged in agriculture and a large move out of rural areas. The paper questions how this can be squared with a continuing commitment to smallholder agriculture as the main route for growth in African agriculture and for poverty reduction. We question the evidence base for an exclusive focus on smallholders, and argue for a much more open-minded approach to different modes of production. To allow alternative modes and scale of production to emerge, new institutional and policy frameworks are required. A rush to establish "mega-farms" with government discretionary allocation of vast tracts of land is unlikely to be the answer. Allowing a more dynamic agriculture to develop will require clear institutional frameworks, and not just a narrow focus on smallholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recent signs of increasing agricultural production in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa are by some commentators connected to local level differentiation. This paper discusses such interpretations using household level longitudinal data from smallholder households in eight African countries for the period during 2002–2008. The use of a mixed methods social science approach complements traditional economic approaches through adding a spatial perspective. Pro-poor agricultural growth so far is concentrated to particular villages, where it is highly inclusive. The policy challenge remains to devise strategies that can enhance growth also in marginal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: SNV 1 [1] Netherlands Development Organisation. is supporting the implementation of market-based domestic biogas programmes in different countries in Asia and Africa with a view to establish a commercially viable biogas sector. Till the end of 2009, some 300,000 fixed-dome biogas plants of sizes ranging from 4 m3 to 15 m3 have been installed. These plants produce about 600,000 m3 of biogas each day which supplements more than 3000 tonnes of fuel wood. Benefits of biogas plants have positive impacts on basic livelihood indicators as well as rural economic development. The key to success has been the multi-stakeholder sector development approach in optimising organisational and institutional capacities within national contexts. This paper highlights approaches, achievements, lessons learnt and other relevant aspects of domestic biogas programmes in developing countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Assorting on gender is casually observed in developing countries and is now systematically built into many group-oriented development interventions. In this paper we explore the mechanisms underlying the emergent gender assorting, using an experiment in which African villagers could form groups to share risk. We exogenously varied the extent to which grouping arrangements were enforced and, hence, the importance of trust and social enforcement as supports for group formation. Gender assorting was significant and considerable when grouping was perfectly enforced or depended on social enforcement. There was significantly less gender assorting when grouping depended on trust. Exploratory analysis suggests that this reduction in gender assorting may be owing to family ties and co-memberships in gender-mixed religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Productivity analyses focus on either efficiency or effectiveness. This paper provides a step-wise approach for evaluating utility performance. In a first step, utilities’ technical efficiency is estimated. In a second step, we examine utilities’ effectiveness in meeting existing customer demands for drinking water services within their licensed jurisdiction. The difference between inefficiency and ineffectiveness is decomposed in a third step. A final step explores country-specific (e.g., income per capita), sector specific (e.g., regulation) and utility-specific (e.g., density economies) inefficiency and ineffectiveness determinants. The four steps are applied to the African drinking water utilities. The results indicate that the utilities face technical inefficiency rather than ineffectiveness challenges. This is consistent across the various African regions. Economic development is positively and significantly associated with increased technical efficiency and effectiveness levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Widespread rural poverty in Africa and the success of Asia’s Green Revolution suggest that agriculture is a key sector for African development. However, in response to recent skepticism, this paper examines whether the conventional wisdom about agriculture’s contribution to the development process can still be applied to Africa today. We first outline the debate between the proponents of agriculture and its skeptics before presenting a series of case studies reflecting the heterogeneity of initial conditions facing low-income African countries. Drawing on economy-wide modeling, these case studies contrast the effectiveness of alternative growth strategies in reducing poverty. The findings indicate that while Africa does face many new challenges unlike those faced by Asian countries, there is little evidence to suggest that these countries can bypass a broad-based agricultural revolution to successfully launch their economic transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper investigates the effect of foreign presence at the sector and firm levels on the productivity of manufacturing firms in Ghana. We examine both labor and total factor productivity (TFP) and control for a number of observed factors as well as unobserved heterogeneity. We find robust evidence that the presence of foreign firms in a sector has a negative effect on domestically owned, but a positive effect on most foreign-owned firms. Unlike in recent work on China, it does not appear that the negative level effect is compensated for by a positive growth effect, at least not in any reasonable time period. We find no evidence of any wage effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper examines the effects of financial and trade liberalization on growth volatility of real output and consumption in Africa. Our results suggest trade liberalization is associated with greater output and consumption growth volatility while financial liberalization increases the efficacy of consumption smoothing and stabilizes income and consumption growth. In addition, we find financial market depth and institutional quality operate jointly with trade and financial openness to reduce volatility in output and consumption growth. There is also evidence that good institutions which foster low inflation levels and volatility promote consumption and output growth stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: We examine the impact of telecommunications liberalization in Africa on sectoral performance and economic growth. Besides unilateral measures, we account for WTO commitments fostering the credibility of reforms. Regulatory quality plays a major role in bringing down prices and improving access to telecommunications services in Africa. Competition, notably in the mobile segment, also improves sector performance. Increasing access to mobile networks by 1% translates into a 0.5% increase in real GDP per capita. In Africa, multilateral commitments do not reflect recent reforms. However, globally, adherence to the GATS Reference Paper is associated with lower prices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper attempts to examine the dynamic causal relationship between financial development, economic growth and poverty reduction in South Africa—using a trivariate causality model. The study attempts to answer one critical question. Which sector leads in the process of poverty reduction in South Africa—the financial sector or real sector? Using cointegration and error-correction models, the empirical results of the study show that both financial development and economic growth Granger—cause poverty reduction in South Africa. The study also finds that economic growth Granger-causes financial development and, therefore, leads in the process of poverty reduction in South Africa. This applies irrespective of whether the causality test is conducted in the short-run or in the long-run. The study, therefore, recommends that policies geared towards increasing economic growth should be intensified in South Africa in order to make the economy more monetised, and to reduce the high level of poverty currently prevailing in the country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Those involved in the millennium development goal (MDG) campaign routinely state “Africa will miss all the MDGs.” This paper argues that a series of arbitrary choices made in defining “success” or “failure” as achieving numerical targets for the MDGs made attainment of the MDGs less likely in Africa than in other regions even when its progress was in line with or above historical or contemporary experience of other regions. The statement that “Africa will miss all the MDGs” thus has the unfortunate effect of making African successes look like failures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the economics of Africa's emerging air cargo supply chains, taking floriculture as a case study. Floriculture is an important employer, and earner of foreign exchange for several regions of central/southern and eastern Africa including more recently Ethiopia. Air transportation often plays a critical role when the supply-chain involves high-value, non-durable, relatively light-weight, and compact consignments such as flowers, and geographically when regions are difficult to access by other trunk modes. The success of air cargo chains, however, depend as much on the quality of surface modes serving various "last mile" access and egress functions, as well as efficient nodal interchange points and the availability of suitable airport and airline capacity. The last, because of the important role of belly-hold space, includes consideration of passenger as well as cargo specific services. To meet the needs of Africa's floriculture sector, a variety of supply-chain models have emerged that embrace air and surface links, as well as storage at various points in the chain. The paper considers the nature of these chains, the reason d'être for their structures , and their limitations. • Provides details of Africa's air transportation-based, floricultural cold-supply chains. • Examines the economic forces influencing the nature of the chains. • Explores the challenges of surface access to trunk air-cargo services. • Compares the features of largely market driven and more centrally controlled chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]