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on Africa |
| By: | Kose, Ayhan; Prasad, Eswar; Rogoff, Kenneth; Wei, Shang-Jin |
| Abstract: | This Paper provides a comprehensive assessment of empirical evidence about the impact of financial globalization on growth and volatility in developing countries. The results suggest that it is difficult to establish a robust causal relationship between financial integration and economic growth. Furthermore, there is little evidence that developing countries have been consistently successful in using financial integration to stabilize fluctuations in consumption growth. However, we do find that financial globalization can be beneficial under the right circumstances. Empirically, good institutions and quality of governance are crucial in helping developing countries derive the benefits of globalization. Similarly, macroeconomic stability appears to be an important prerequisite for ensuring that financial globalization is beneficial for developing countries. Finally, countries that employ relatively flexible exchange rate regimes and succeed in maintaining fiscal discipline are more likely to enjoy the potential growth and stabilization benefits of financial globalization. |
| Keywords: | globalization; growth; international financial linkages; macroeconomic volatility |
| JEL: | F15 F36 F41 F43 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4772&r=afr |
| By: | Heidhues, Franz; Atsain, Achi; Nyangito, Hezron; Padilla, Martine; Ghersi, Gérard; Le Vallée, Jean-Charles |
| Abstract: | "Momentum is building in and around Africa today for policy action to decisively confront hunger and malnutrition. If we are to succeed, it is vital that food and nutrition security strategies be both sound and able to be implemented. Ultimately, strategies deficient in either of these two areas will be ineffectual. Lessons from past strategies provide a valuable resource in the design of future strategies, yet there is a dearth of programmatic information and rigorous evaluations of the approaches used in the past. With this in mind, the authors of this 2020 discussion paper review the multitude of approaches and strategies for achieving food and nutrition security in Africa within the context of development over the past four decades. They assess the extent to which these plans have been implemented and identify the key constraints and limitations, along with the priority investments needed for more effective design and implementation in the future." from Foreword by Joachim von Braun, Director General, IFPRI |
| Keywords: | Food policy ,Hunger ,Malnutrition Africa ,Food security Africa ,Development policies ,Assessment ,Investments , |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:2020dp:38&r=afr |
| By: | Engel, Stefanie; Iskandarani, Maria; Useche, Maria del Pilar |
| Abstract: | "We examine access to, use of, and participation in decisions on improved water supply in the Volta basin of Ghana, one of the first countries to introduce a community-based approach to rural water supply on a large scale. While 71 percent of the households interviewed have access to improved water, 43 percent of these continue to use unsafe sources as their main domestic water source. Our results indicate that quality perceptions and opportunity costs play an important role in households' choice of water source. The effect of prices and income levels on this choice differs according to the pricing system used. Given that supply characteristics such as the location and pricing system affect household decisions to use the improved source, households may try to influence these characteristics in their favor during the community decision-making process for the improved source. However, less than 40 percent of the households interviewed participated in decisions on location or technology. We argue that the decision whether to participate depends on three main factors: (i) the household's bargaining power, (ii) the potential benefits from influencing outcomes, and (iii) the cost of participation, (mainly opportunity cost of time). Our results indicate that bargaining power matters more than potential benefits. Moreover, we find an extremes effect: the poorest, uneducated and the richest, highly educated segments of the community are more likely to participate in decision-making for improved domestic water supply than the middle class. We conclude with policy implications and needs for further research." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Water resource allocation ,Community participation ,Community-based resource management ,Q25 - Water ,P13 - Cooperative Enterprises , |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:eptddp:129&r=afr |
| By: | Kwesiga, Freddie; Franzel, Steven; Mafongoya, Paramu; Ajayi, Olu; Phiri, Donald; Katanga, Roza; Kuntashula, Elias; Place, Frank; Chirwa, Teddy |
| Abstract: | "The decline in soil fertility in smallholder systems is a major factor inhibiting equitable development in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Some areas fallow in order to strength soil fertility for later planting, but as populations increase, demand follows and continuous cropping becomes the norm and there is a reduction in yields. This case study summarizes the development of improved tree fallows by researchers and farmers in eastern Zambia to help solve the problem of poor soil fertility. Many farmers are finding that by using improved fallows, they can substitute relatively small amounts of land and labor for cash, which they would need to buy mineral fertilizer. The study has three phases: the historical background (phase 1); an assessment of problems, description of the technology, and how it was developed (phase 2); and how the improved fallows practices were disseminated and spread (phase 3). This paper will describe each phase, the goals, and results." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Crop yields ,Q23 - Forestry ,Q24 - Land , |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:eptddp:130&r=afr |
| By: | Ngigi, Margaret |
| Abstract: | "Agriculture plays a crucial role in the economy of sub-Saharan Africa. A feature of particular significance about the region is that the majority of households are heavily dependent on agriculture as their major source of livelihood. Smallholder agriculture is the principal producer of staple foods and cash crops, accounting for very large shares of national production and marketed output. For the respective countries, therefore, the performance of smallholder agriculture has crucial implications for the overall economic development process including the alleviation of rural poverty. The demands created by steadily increasing populations, and the pressing need to increase agricultural productivity means that these countries must continuously adopt methods to intensify agricultural production." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Poverty alleviation ,Population growth ,Agricultural productivity ,Small farmers ,Rural poor ,livestock ,Dairy products industry , |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:eptddp:131&r=afr |
| By: | Yamauchi, Futoshi |
| Abstract: | "This paper uses recently available South African school census data from 1996 and 2000 to assess variations in educational quality across former population groups of public schools and dynamic changes in post-apartheid South Africa. The author argues that unless the government actively strengthens its support to former Black schools in allocating both budget and personnel, a vicious cycle of poverty and low-quality education will persist. The worry is that children who do not receive a sufficiently high quality of education are less likely to engage in regular employment and are more likely to suffer from low wages, potentially contributing to the long-term poverty trap." from Text |
| Keywords: | quality of education ,race ,apartheid , |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:fcndbr:182&r=afr |
| By: | Benson, Todd; Machinjili, Charles; Kachikopa, Lawrence |
| Abstract: | "This paper presents the poverty analysis of the 1997 98 Malawi Integrated Household Survey. The analysis developed basic needs poverty lines, using consumption-based measures of welfare to classify households and individuals as poor and nonpoor. Because consumption data were not of uniform quality across sample households, the analysis made adjustments to derive a more accurate assessment of the incidence of poverty across the country. The analysis provides poverty and inequality estimates for Malawi's population. About 65 percent were unable to meet their basic needs, and poverty was deep and pervasive. The distribution of household welfare was loosely examined within the context of the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy to guide government action in helping poor households improve their own well-being." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Poverty ,poverty analysis , |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:fcndbr:183&r=afr |
| By: | Fafchamps, Marcel; Quisumbing, Agnes R. |
| Abstract: | "This paper contributes to the economic analysis of marriage and the family by examining and analyzing the relative importance of potential determinants of assets brought to marriages in rural Ethiopia. One potential determinant is assortative matching, whereby the rich marry the rich and the poor marry the poor, generating a positive correlation between assets brought to marriage by both spouses. Another determinant explored is compensating parental transfers at marriage, whereby parents reduce assets transferred to their marrying children if their spouses bring more. The third determinant analyzed is parents' strategic behavior to improve the marriage-market ranking of their children by transferring more assets to them at the time of marriage." from Text |
| Keywords: | Intrahousehold allocation ,Intergenerational transfers ,Marriage market ,Inheritance , |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:fcndbr:185&r=afr |
| By: | Handa, Sudhanshu; Simler, Kenneth R.; Harrower, Sarah |
| Abstract: | "For the well-being of today's families and for future generations, how important is investment in education and other forms of human capital? This report analyzes the potential for investments in education by individual households, by government, and by donor agencies to reduce poverty in postwar Mozambique. It provides an assessment of the existing stock of human capital and examines the association between human capital and both monetary and nonmonetary dimensions of household welfare. It also explores the factors that influence the decision to send children to school, and how long children remain in school.The authors focus on human capital because of its importance in increasing labor productivity in poor countries, its contribution to poverty reduction as both a substitute for and complement to physical capital, and the role of education in determining poverty levels. Although the analysis was originally commissioned by the Government of Mozambique, in many respects the methods and findings are also applicable in other low-income countries." from Text |
| Keywords: | Human capital ,households ,Education ,School children , |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resrep:134&r=afr |
| By: | Erich Gundlach; Susanne Hartmann |
| Abstract: | We consider whether Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are mainly poor because they are governed worse than other countries, as suggested by recent studies on the supremacy of institutions. Our empirical results show that the supremacy of institutions does not hold. SSA countries appear to face very specific development problems. Given their geographic and economic constraints, we conclude that SSA countries are on average not governed worse than other comparable countries. Our finding supports the basic argument of a recent UN report (UN Millennium Project 2005). However, we find that the UN report is based on empirical evidence that appears to imply the supremacy of institutions. |
| Keywords: | Development, institutions, disease ecology, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | O1 O4 |
| Date: | 2005–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1241&r=afr |
| By: | Silvia Marchesi; Laura Sabani |
| Abstract: | The IMF is entrusted with the twofold task of enforcing conditionality and deciding whether or not to continue financial assistance. In this paper we examine the implications on IMF lending behaviour of the existence of uncertainty about its ability to monitor governments’ actions and to enforce conditionality. It is shown that the existence of an even small degree of uncertainty about the IMF ability as a monitor generates incentives for the IMF to take actions to protect its reputation as a good monitor. In turn, this desire for reputation distorts IMF incentive to interrupt financial assistance, i.e. programmes will be interrupted less often than it would be socially desirable. We have empirically investigated whether IMF disbursements are affected by the IMF own share of debt, which is taken as an indicator of the length of the relationship between a country and the IMF. The longer their relationship, the stronger IMF reputation will be affected in case it ultimately decides to interrupt the lending. Our results show that a higher IMF debt share does increase IMF disbursements. |
| Keywords: | IMF programmes, conditionality, incomplete information, reputation, dynamic panel |
| JEL: | C23 D82 F34 N2 |
| Date: | 2005–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:447&r=afr |
| By: | Ricardo Martin (World Bank); Alex Segura-Ubiergo (International Monetary Fund) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of IMF-supported programs on health and education spending in a large time-series cross-section sample of countries. Using an ARIMA model to model time dynamics and instrumental variables to correct for the well-known endogeneity of IMF-supported programs, the paper finds, contrary to the conventional wisdom, that health and education do not decline in the presence of an IMF-supported program. However, this does not necessarily mean that the poor are protected from the costs of economic adjustment. |
| Keywords: | social spending, IMF-supported programs, health, education |
| JEL: | D6 D7 H |
| Date: | 2005–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:0504011&r=afr |
| By: | Tilman Brück (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses post-war coping strategies by farm households in developing countries. The analysis is based on a portfolio model of activity choices in war-affected rural Sub-Saharan Africa. A case study using farm household survey data estimates the determinants of agricultural coping strategies in post-war Mozambique. Post-war coping strategies are expected to differ from pre- and mid-crisis coping strategies. War-affected households are forced to adopt very risky coping strategies that re-enforce their vulnerability. Households choose between market and non-market forms of exchange and even exit markets entirely. Post-war reconstruction policy should focus on re-capitalizing households and providing public goods. |
| Date: | 2004–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:02&r=afr |
| By: | Tilman Brück (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effects of activity choices on farm household income and consumption in a war-affected developing country. The study uses household survey data from Mozambique and controls for the endogeneity of activity choices with instrumental variables. War-time activity choices (such as subsistence farming) are shown to enhance welfare in the post-war period. Market and social exchange induce limited welfare gains. Cotton adoption reduces household welfare, which contradicts previous studies not controlling for endogenous activity choices. The study thus demonstrates how standard predictions of economics may become invalid in post-war economies. Furthermore, the paper identifies pro-poor reconstruction policies. |
| Keywords: | poverty, farm households, activity choices, rural development, war, reconstruction |
| JEL: | O12 I32 C31 |
| Date: | 2004–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:04&r=afr |