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on Africa |
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Issue of 2007‒06‒11
ten papers chosen by Suzanne McCoskey Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | The number of migrants from conflict regions in Africa has been increasing dramatically. The European Union shares dual responsibility for the continuing migration pressure: First, because they fostered over decades corrupt and autocratic regimes with dire disregard to principles of ‘good governance’. The aftermath of these regimes is still to be felt today, and constitutes one of the underlying factors for politically motivated migration. Secondly, the EU contributed to Africa’s economic misery, due to the damaging effects of European selfish external trade policy. Nevertheless, the prevailing perspective of the EU and of its member countries concerning African immigration remains to be focused on security, the foreclosure of its external borders and prevention. Current EU programs and concepts to combat African migration are questionable. Even development orientated approaches are bound to fail, if not backed by sustainable immigration policies. |
| Keywords: | migration; West Africa; Europe; remittances; brain-drain; foreign trade policy; security; circular migration |
| JEL: | O52 O15 N44 F22 N37 F42 O55 R23 F53 N17 F35 O2 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:3360&r=afr |
| By: | Reza Daniels (School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: This paper conducts a review of the literature on skills shortages in South Africa. It is demonstrated that different Government departments have different views concerning the definition of skills shortages. This is largely due to the omission in any official government literature of tying the concept of “skills shortages” to productivity. There is also a complex and frequently overlapping institutional architecture that undermines the effective administration of skills development. An important example of this is that the link between providing skills training and accrediting individuals with a qualification that acknowledges this training is very poorly administered, highlighting poor coordination between the Department of Labour and Department of Education. Among Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), there is also under-performance on their mandate to provide skills training for the unemployed – an activity that is flagged in this review simply because of the strong public good nature to this activity and the fact that only SETAs are institutionally empowered to effect this change. A variety of policy recommendations are made with respect to both closed- and open-economy solutions to skills shortages. A key point is that immigration legislation must be relaxed in order to help solve the pervasive skills constraints in South Africa. |
| Keywords: | South Africa: skills, training, education, SETAs |
| JEL: | A1 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctw:wpaper:9697&r=afr |
| By: | Raleigh, Clionadh; Hegre, Havard |
| Abstract: | Why do larger countries have more armed conflict? This paper surveys three sets of hypotheses forwarded in the conflict literature regarding the relationship between the size and location of population groups: Hypotheses based on pure population mass, on distances, on population concentrations, and some residual state-level characteristics. The hypotheses are tested on a new dataset-ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset)-which disaggregates internal conflicts into individual events. The analysis covers 14 countries in Central Africa. The conflict event data are juxtaposed with geographically disaggregated data on populations, distance to capitals, borders, and road networks. The paper develops a statistical method to analyze this type of data. The analysis confirms several of the hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Social Conflict and Violence,Demographics,Country Population Profiles,Health Indicators |
| Date: | 2007–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4243&r=afr |
| By: | Jean Bourdon (IREDU - Institut de recherche sur l'éducation : Sociologie et Economie de l'Education - [CNRS : FRE5211] - [Université de Bourgogne]); Markus Frölich (SIAW-HSG - [University of St. Gallen]); Katharina Michaelowa (Institut für Politikwissenschaft - [University of Zurich]) |
| Abstract: | Primary school enrolment rates are very low in francophone Africa. In order to enhance education supply, many<br />countries have launched large teacher recruitment programmes in recent years, whereby teachers are no longer engaged on civil servant positions, but on the basis of (fixed-term) contracts typically implying considerably lower salaries and a sharply reduced duration of professional training. While this policy has led to a boost of primary enrolment, there is a concern about a loss in the quality of education. In this paper we analyse the impact on educational quality, by estimating nonparametrically the quantile treatment effects for Niger, Togo and Mali, based on very informative data, comparable across these countries. We find that contract teachers do relatively better for low ability children in low grades than for high ability children in higher grades. When positive treatment effects were found, they tended to be more positive at the low to medium quantiles; when negative effects were found they tended to be more pronounced at the high ability quantiles. Hence, overall it seems that contract teachers do a relatively better job for teaching students with learning difficulties than for teaching the ‘more advanced' children. This implies that contract teachers tend to reduce inequalities in student outcomes. At the same time, we also observe clear differences between the countries. We find that, overall, effects are positive in Mali, somewhat mixed in Togo (with positive effects in 2nd and negative effects in 5th grade) and negative in Niger. This ordering is consistent with theoretical expectations derived from a closer examination of the different ways of implementation of the contract teacher programme in the three countries. In Mali and, to some extent, in Togo, the contract teacher system works more through the local communities. This may have led to closer monitoring and more effective hiring of contract teachers. In Niger, the system was changed in a centralized way with all contract teachers being public employees, so that there is no reason to expect much impact on local monitoring. In addition, the extremely fast hiring of huge numbers of contract teachers may also have contributed to relatively poor performance in Niger. These results are expected to be relevant for other sub-Saharan African countries, too, as well as for the design of new contract teacher programmes in the future. |
| Keywords: | Subsaharan Africa ; Primary school ; Enrolment ; Teachers ; Recruitment programme ; Civil servants ; Teacher training ; Quality of education ; Mali ; Togo ; Niger |
| Date: | 2007–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00150147_v1&r=afr |
| By: | Markus Froelich; Jean Bourdon; Katharina Michaelowa |
| Abstract: | Primary school enrolment rates are very low in francophone Africa. In order to enhance education supply, many countries have launched large teacher recruitment programmes in recent years, whereby teachers are no longer engaged on civil servant positions, but on the basis of (fixed-term) contracts typically implying considerably lower salaries and a sharply reduced duration of professional training. While this policy has led to a boost of primary enrolment, there is a concern about a loss in the quality of education. In this paper we analyse the impact on educational quality, by estimating nonparametrically the quantile treatment effects for Niger, Togo and Mali, based on very informative data, comparable across these countries. We find that contract teachers do relatively better for low ability children in low grades than for high ability children in higher grades. When positive treatment effects were found, they tended to be more positive at the low to medium quantiles; when negative effects were found they tended to be more pronounced at the high ability quantiles. Hence, overall it seems that contract teachers do a relatively better job for teaching students with learning difficulties than for teaching the ‘more advanced’ children. This implies that contract teachers tend to reduce inequalities in student outcomes. At the same time, we also observe clear differences between the countries. We find that, overall, effects are positive in Mali, somewhat mixed in Togo (with positive effects in 2nd and negative effects in 5th grade) and negative in Niger. This ordering is consistent with theoretical expectations derived from a closer examination of the different ways of implementation of the contract teacher programme in the three countries. In Mali and, to some extent, in Togo, the contract teacher system works more through the local communities. This may have led to closer monitoring and more effective hiring of contract teachers. In Niger, the system was changed in a centralized way with all contract teachers being public employees, so that there is no reason to expect much impact on local monitoring. In addition, the extremely fast hiring of huge numbers of contract teachers may also have contributed to relatively poor performance in Niger. These results are expected to be relevant for other sub-Saharan African countries, too, as well as for the design of new contract teacher programmes in the future. |
| JEL: | O15 I C14 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:dp2007:2007-20&r=afr |
| By: | Jean-Pierre Lachaud (CED, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV) |
| Abstract: | L’étude considère que l’identification de la distribution et de la dynamique spatiale des activités et des opportunités économiques, en relation avec l’accès au marché du travail, est fondamentale pour la politique économique, et examine les déterminants de l’évolution de la pauvreté provinciale à Madagascar, au cours de la période 2001-2005. Premièrement, les équations du ratio de bien-être des ménages mettent en évidence le rôle du capital humain – malgré la baisse de sa rentabilité –, la contrainte plus sévère des facteurs démographiques dans les villes, et l’effet de la participation aux marchés du travail. A cet égard, dans les provinces rurales du centre et du sud-est/ouest, la croissance du taux d’emploi a été compensée par une dégradation du mode de participation au marché du travail, alors que l’inverse a prévalu dans le milieu rural du nord-ouest/est et nord – une situation aussi fonction du processus migratoire et des transferts. Dans les villes, les ajustements en termes d’offre de travail, de chômage et de qualité des emplois, surtout dans la province d’Antananarivo, ont contribué à réduire le niveau de vie des ménages. Deuxièmement, la décomposition des effets des dotations et des rendements des facteurs montre qu’en milieu rural, où les dépenses par tête ont augmenté de 6,8 pour cent, la variation des rendements du travail est le déterminant majeur de la contribution de l’emploi, l’accroissement des rendements des agriculteurs ayant joué un rôle de premier plan. Cette dynamique a permis de contrebalancer la baisse du rendement du capital humain du chef de ménage, l’effet de la démographie des ménages étant marginal. Toutefois, dans la province rurale d’Antananarivo, où le ratio de bien-être a décliné, la contribution négative de l’emploi et de l’instruction n’a pas été contrebalancée par l’effet positif de la démographie. Dans les villes, le déclin de -16,9 pour cent des dépenses par tête s’explique principalement par la contribution des dotations, bien que, pour les rendements, des compensations inter-composantes complexifient l’appréhension de leur rôle. Ainsi, dans toutes les provinces, les dotations relatives à l’instruction, ont non seulement baissé, mais aussi équivalent le plus souvent à la moitié des dotations totales. Quant à la variation négative des dotations liées à l’emploi – hormis à Toliara –, elle résulte d’une baisse de la proportion d’employés rémunérés par ménage, de l’élévation du sous-emploi, et de la dynamique défavorable de certains statuts du travail des membres des ménages, en particulier, le poids croissant du chômage à Antananarivo et à Mahajanga. Enfin, malgré le contraste provincial du rôle des rendements des facteurs, la contribution positive de l’emploi au ratio de bien-être dans les deux provinces du sud-est/ouest (Fianarantsoa et Toliara) et celles du nord-ouest (Mahajanga et Toamasina) est principalement annihilée par la baisse du rendement du capital humain. The study considers that the identification of the distribution and the spatial dynamics of the activities and economic opportunities, in relation to the access to the labour market, is fundamental for the economic policy, and examines the determinants of the evolution of the provincial poverty in Madagascar, during the period 2001-2005. Firstly, the equations of the household’s welfare ratio highlight the role of the human capital – in spite of the fall of its return –, the more intense constraint of the demographic factors in the cities, and the effect of the participation in the labour markets. In this respect, in the rural provinces of the centre and the south-east/west, the growth of the rate of employment was compensated by a growing vulnerability in the labour market, whereas the reverse prevailed in the rural areas of north-west/east and north – a situation also related to the migratory process and remittances. In the cities, the adjustments in terms of labour supply, underemployment and quality of jobs, especially in the province of Antananarivo, contributed to reduce the standard of living of the households. Secondly, the decomposition of the effects of the endowments and the returns of the factors shows that in rural areas, where the expenditure per capita increased by 6.8 percent, the variation of the labour returns is the major determinant of the contribution of employment, the increase of the farmers’ earnings having played a significant role. This dynamics resulted in counterbalancing the fall of the return of the human capital of the household head, the effect of the demography of the households being marginal. However, in the rural province of Antananarivo, where the welfare ratio declined, the negative contribution of employment and education was not counterbalanced by the positive effect of demography. In the cities, the decline of -16.9 percent of the expenditure per capita is explained mainly by the contribution of the endowments, although, for the returns, inter-components compensation’s complex the apprehension of their role. Thus, in all the provinces, the endowments relating to the instruction, not only dropped, but are also equivalent to half of the total endowments. As for the negative variation of the endowments related to employment – except in Toliara –, it results from a fall of the proportion of employees remunerated per household, the rise in underemployment, and the unfavorable dynamics of some labour statutes, in particular, the growing weight of unemployment in Antananarivo and Mahajanga. Lastly, in spite of the provincial contrast of the role of the returns of the factors, the positive contribution of employment to the welfare ratio in the two provinces of the south-east/west (Fianarantsoa and Toliara) and those of the north-west (Mahajanga and Toamasina) are mainly neutralized by the fall of the return of the human capital.(Full text in french) |
| JEL: | I32 J21 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mon:ceddtr:136&r=afr |
| By: | Fulgence Joseph Mishili; Joan Fulton; Mustafa Jamal; J. Lowenberg-DeBoer (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Purdue University, USA); Musa Shehu (Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Nigeria); Saket Kushwaha (Agricultural Economics and Extension Programme, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Nigeria); Kofi Marfo (Crops Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana); Alpha Chergna (Institute for Rural Economics, Mali) |
| Abstract: | The production and trade of cowpea (Vigna Uniculata), called “blackeyed peas” in the US, are a growing business for farmers and merchants serving the rapidly expanding urban areas of West and Central Africa. Cowpea fits the needs of the urban poor. It is an inexpensive source of protein that does not require refrigeration. A better understanding of consumer preferences for cowpea is essential to market development. The main objective of the study was to determine the cowpea grain quality characteristics that command a price premium or provoke a discount in Ghanaian, Malian and Nigerian markets. Specifically, the study looked at the impact of the grain size, texture, color, eye color, and bruchid-damaged grains on cowpea market prices. The data for the study were collected from six markets in Ghana; four markets were in the capital city of Accra and two markets in Kumasi. In Mali, two markets were surveyed, Marché de Sabalibougou and Marché Medine. In Nigeria three markets were surveyed, Iddo in Lagos; Monday, in Maiduguri; and Dawanau in Kano. Hedonic pricing methods provide a statistical estimate of premiums and discounts. The results of the study indicated that cowpea consumers in Ghana, Mali and Nigeria are willing to pay a premium for large cowpea grains. Cowpea consumers discount grains with storage damage from the very first bruchid hole. The impact of price on other cowpea quality characteristics such as skin color and texture, and eye color varies locally. Implications for development of the cowpea value chain include: 1) breeders and cowpea production researchers should identify cost-effective ways to increase cowpea grain size because larger grain size is almost universally preferred, and 2) entomologists and storage experts should develop and transfer improved storage technologies to reduce damage discounts, and 3) serving local markets requires a portfolio of grain skin color, eye color and skin texture combinations. |
| Keywords: | Cowpeas market chains, consumer preference, hedonic price analysis |
| JEL: | D12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pae:wpaper:06-17&r=afr |
| By: | Trygve Ottersen; Deogratius Mbilinyi; Ottar Mæstad; Ole Frithjof Norheim |
| Abstract: | Maximising health as the guiding principle for resource allocation in health has been challenged by concerns about the distribution of health outcomes. There are few empirical studies which consider these potentially divergent objectives in settings of extreme resource scarcity. The aim of this study is to fill some of this knowledge gap by exploring distributional preferences among health planners in Tanzania. Methodology: A deliberative group method was employed. Participants were health planners at district and regional level, selected by strategic sampling. The health planners alternated between group discussion and individual tasks. Respondents ranked health programmes with different target groups, and selected and ranked the reasons they thought should be given most importance in priority setting. Findings: A majority consistently assigned higher rankings to programmes where the initial life expectancy of the target group was lower. A high proportion of respondents considered "affect those with least life expectancy" to be the most important reason in priority setting. Conclusion: Distribution of health outcomes, in terms of life-years, matters. Specifically, the lower the initial life expectancy of the target group, the more important the programme is considered. Such preferences are compatible, within the sphere of health, with what ethicists call "prioritarianism". |
| Keywords: | Tanzania Priority setting Equity Stated preferences Group deliberation |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chm:wpaper:wp2006-18&r=afr |
| By: | Mohamed Ali Marouani (DIAL, Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne/IEDES.) |
| Abstract: | (english) The end of the Multifiber Agreement in January 2005 had a negative impact on the Tunisian apparel industry, but the effects were weaker than expected. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model, the article provides a prospective assessment of the impact on Tunisia of the phase out of the MFA and of the agreement which manages the rate of growth of Chinese clothing exports to Europe until the end of 2007. The main findings are an increase in unemployment and wage inequality, but no significant effects on the main macroeconomic variables if the exchange rate management takes into account this shock. _________________________________ (français) Le démantèlement de l’Accord Multifibres en janvier 2005 a eu un impact négatif sur l’industrie d’habillement tunisienne, mais les effets ont été plus limités que prévu. A l’aide d’un modèle d’équilibre général dynamique l’article propose une évaluation prospective de l’impact sur la Tunisie du démantèlement de l’AMF et de l’accord d’auto-limitation des exportations de vêtements qui prend fin en 2007. La principale conclusion consiste en un accroissement du chômage et des inégalités de salaires. Cependant, en présence d’une gestion adéquate du taux de change par la Banque centrale, les principales autres variables macro-économiques sont peu affectées par le choc. |
| Keywords: | CGE models, employment, textiles, apparel, trade, Tunisia, modèle EGC, emploi, textile, habillement, commerce, Tunisie. |
| JEL: | D58 D91 D92 F16 J41 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt200705&r=afr |
| By: | Christophe Nordman (DIAL, IRD, Paris); François-Charles Wolff (LEN, Université de Nantes, CNAV, INED) |
| Abstract: | (english) According to the glass ceiling hypothesis evidenced in developed countries, there exist larger gender pay gaps at the upper tail of the wage distribution. In this paper, we investigate the relevance of a glass ceiling effect in Morocco using a matched worker-firm data set of more than 8000 employees and 850 employers. We estimate linear and quantile earnings regressions which account for firm heterogeneity and perform a quantile decomposition. We also focus on the within-firm gender earnings gap using information on the firms’ characteristics. Our results show that the gender earnings gap is higher at the top of the distribution than at the bottom in Morocco. The gender gap widens in the upper tail of the earnings distribution when controlling for firm specific components. The glass ceiling effect is also reinforced over time in Morocco as high wage male workers benefit from higher earnings growth than women. _________________________________ (français) Selon l’hypothèse du plafond de verre mise en évidence dans les pays développés, il existe un écart salarial selon le genre plus important en haut de la distribution des salaires. Dans cet article, nous examinons la pertinence de l’existence d’un plafond de verre dans le cas marocain à partir de données appariées employeurs-employés regroupant plus de 8 000 travailleurs répartis dans 850 entreprises manufacturières. Nous estimons des équations de gains linéaires et par quantiles conditionnels prenant en compte l’hétérogénéité des entreprises et nous proposons une décomposition des gains par quantiles. Nous examinons également les déterminants de l’écart de revenus selon le genre intraentreprise en utilisant l’information sur les caractéristiques des établissements. Nos résultats montrent que l’écart de revenus selon le sexe est plus élevé en haut de la distribution des gains qu’en bas de celle-ci. L’écart de gains se creuse en haut de la distribution lorsque sont contrôlées les caractéristiques spécifiques des entreprises. L’effet de plafond de verre pourrait également se renforcer au cours du temps dans ces entreprises marocaines dans la mesure où les hommes à hauts salaires bénéficient d’une croissance des gains plus élevée que leurs homologues féminins. |
| Keywords: | Gender wage gap, glass ceiling, quantile regressions, matched worker-firm data, Écart de revenus selon le genre, plafond de verre, régressions de quantile, données appariées employeurs-employés, Maroc. |
| JEL: | J24 J31 O12 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt200704&r=afr |