|
on Africa |
| By: | Jomo Kwame Sundaram; Oliver Schwank; Rudiger von Arnim |
| Abstract: | This paper critically reviews the impact of globalization on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since the early 1980s. The large gains expected from opening up to international economic forces have, to date, been limited, and there have been significant adverse consequences. Foreign direct investment in SSA has been largely confined to resource—especially mineral—extraction, even as continuing capital flight has reduced financial resources available for productive investments. Premature trade liberalization has further undermined prospects for the economic development of SSA as productive capacities in many sectors are not sufficiently competitive to take advantage of any improvements in market access. |
| Keywords: | Africa, Agriculture, Aid, Bretton Woods institutions, Development, FDI, Finance, Industry, Structural Adjustment, Trade |
| JEL: | O1 O2 O55 |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:wpaper:102&r=afr |
| By: | Maria S. Floro; Hitomi Komatsu |
| Abstract: | The utilization of time use data for exploring employment issues has received little attention in economic analysis. Using data from the 2000 South African national time use survey we argue that a gender-aware understanding of how men and women organize their daily life can help identify labor market and subsistence work that are missed in labor force surveys, thus complementing the information they provide. Further, information on the time spent in jobrelated search and household work provide insights on the interconnectedness of gender inequalities in the labor market and within the household. Our analysis of the time use patterns of 10,465 working age women and men, shows that a non-trivial proportion of men and women classified as either "not in the labor force" or "unemployed" actually engaged in subsistence, temporary and casual forms of employment. Secondly, we find that regardless of their labor force status, women's and men's hours of unpaid work donot vary greatly. These affect not only employment options of women but also their ability to look for work. Thirdly, time use data helps identify the salient characteristics of these individuals and the type of occupations they are engaged in. |
| Keywords: | time allocation, gender, labor force participation, South Africa JEL Codes: E24, J22 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amu:wpaper:2011-02&r=afr |
| By: | Aterido, Reyes; Beck, Thorsten; Iacovone, Leonardo |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses whether there is a gender gap in the use of financial services by businesses and individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors do not find evidence of gender discrimination or lower inherent demand for financial services by enterprises with female ownership participation or by female individuals when key characteristics of the enterprises or individuals are taken into account. In the case of enterprises, they explain this finding with selection bias -- females are less likely to run sole proprietorships than men, and firms with female ownership participation are smaller, but more likely to innovate. In the case of individuals, the lower use of formal financial services by women can be explained by gender gaps in other dimensions related to the use of financial services, such as their lower level of income and education, and by their household and employment status. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Housing&Human Habitats,Gender and Law |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5571&r=afr |
| By: | Robinson, Jonathan; Yeh, Ethan |
| Abstract: | Why do women engage in transactional sex? While much of the explanation is that sex-for-money pays more than other jobs, this paper uses a unique panel dataset constructed from 192 self-reported diaries of sex workers in Western Kenya to show that women who supply transactional sex develop relationships with regular clients, and that these clients send transfers in response to negative income shocks. Regular clients are the primary source of inter-person insurance that women receive, and women report in a separate survey that client transfers are an important reason that they participate in the market. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Gender and Law,Adolescent Health,Gender and Health,Population&Development |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5582&r=afr |
| By: | Melesse, Wondemhunegn Ezezew |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Ethiopia’s exchange rate policies have been a bone of contention for concerned economic analysts and commentators alike. This study takes a new look at the record to explore the impact of exchange rate liberalization reforms on export growth in Ethiopia. I employ generalized method of moments estimators (GMM) techniques on time series data for the period 1981- 2009. The study does not support the widely held view that exchange rate reforms induce export growth. But world income was found to positively impact Ethiopia’s export receipts over time. |
| Keywords: | KEYWORDS: Real Exchange Rate; Devaluation; Export Performance. |
| JEL: | F0 |
| Date: | 2011–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:29161&r=afr |
| By: | Aureo de Paula (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania); Gil Shapira (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania); Petra E. Todd (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how beliefs about own HIV status affect decisions to engage in risky sexual behavior (as measured by extramarital affairs) and analyzes the potential for interventions that influence beliefs, such as HIV testing and informational campaigns, to reduce transmission rates. The empirical analysis is based on a panel survey of married males for years 2006 and 2008 from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP). In the data, beliefs about HIV status vary significantly geographically and over time, in part because of newly available testing opportunities and because of cultural differences. We estimate the effect of beliefs on risky behavior using Arellano and Carrasco’s (2003) semiparametric panel data estimator, which accommodates unobserved heterogeneity and belief endogeneity. Results show that changes in the belief of being HIV positive induce changes in risky behavior. Downward revisions in beliefs increase risky behavior and upward revisions decrease it. We modify Arellano and Carrasco’s (2003) estimator to allow for underreporting of extramarital affairs and find the estimates to be robust. Using the estimates and a prototypical epidemiological model of disease transmission, we show that better informing people about their HIV status on net reduces the population HIV transmission rate. |
| Keywords: | Malawi,HIV,beliefs |
| JEL: | I12 |
| Date: | 2010–07–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:11-005&r=afr |
| By: | Julia Vaillant (Université Paris Dauphine, LEDa UMR 225 DIAL, IRD) |
| Abstract: | (english) Most longitudinal surveys recontact households only if they are still living in the same dwelling, producing very high attrition rates, especially in developing countries where rural-urban migration is prevalent. In this paper, we discuss the implications of the various follow-up rules used in longitudinal surveys in the light of an original tracking survey from Madagascar. This survey attempted in 2005 to search and interview all individuals who were living in the village of Bepako in 1995, the baseline year of a yearly survey, the Rural Observatories. The tracking survey yielded an individual recontact rate of 78.8%, more than halving attrition compared to a standard dwelling-based follow-up rule. The tracking reveals a very high rate of out-migration (38.8%) and household break-ups, as three quarters of recontacted households had divided between 1995 and 2005. The average income growth of the sample over the period increases by 28 percentage points when follow-up is extended to those who moved out of their household or village, suggesting that dwelling-based panels give a partial view of the welfare dynamics of the baseline sample. A higher baseline income per capita is associated with a higher probability of staying in Bepako and of being found in the tracking if one moved out. The hardest people to find are the poorest and most isolated. Special attention should be paid to collecting data that enable the identification and follow-up of individuals without which attrition is likely to remain a source of bias even after a tracking procedure is carried out. _________________________________ (français) La plupart des enquêtes en panel ne recontactent les ménages enquêtés que s'ils vivent toujours dans le même logement, ce qui créé des taux d'attrition très élevés, en particulier dans les pays en développement où la migration vers les villes est importante. Dans cet article, nous discutons les implications des différentes règles de suivi utilisées dans les enquêtes longitudinales à la lumière d'une enquête tracking originale réalisées à Madagascar. Cet enquête a tenté, en 2005, de chercher et enquêter tous les individus originaires de Bepako, où une enquête annuelle est réalisée depuis 1995 (Observatoires Ruraux). Ce dispositif a permis de recontacter 78.8% des individus, réduisant ainsi de plus de moitié l'attrition par rapport à un suivi des individus basé sur le logement. Le tracking révèle un taux de migration très élevé (38.8%) et d'importantes recompositions et divisions de ménages, puisque les trois quarts des ménages recontactés s'étaient divisés entre 1995 et 2005. La croissance du revenu moyenne dans l'échantillon sur la période augmente de 28 points de pourcentage lorsque le suivi est étendu à ceux ayant changé de ménage ou de lieu de résidence, suggérant que les panels basés sur le lieu de résidence génèrent une vue partielle de la dynamique des revenus de l'échantillon initial. Un revenu par tête initial plus élevé est associé à une probabilité plus forte de rester à Bepako ou d'être retrouvé lors du tracking. Les personnes les plus difficiles à retrouver sont les plus pauvres et isolées. Une attention particulière doit être portée à la collecte d'information permettant d'identifier et de réenquêter les individus, sans laquelle il est probable que l'attrition restera une source de biais, même après avoir réalisé une enquête tracking. |
| Keywords: | Panel data, tracking surveys, attrition, mobility. |
| JEL: | C81 I32 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt201013&r=afr |
| By: | Gbakou, Monnet Benoit Patrick (University of Hohenheim); Sousa-Poza, Alfonso (University of Hohenheim) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to estimate the price and income elasticities of the demand for essential commodities in Cote d'Ivoire. Using data from the 2002 Cote d'Ivoire Living Standard Survey and a theoretical framework developed by Crawford et al. (2003), we analyse price effects on the demand for groups of commodities by exploiting a relationship between unit values and commodity quantities and deriving Engel curves. Our findings reveal that the own-price elasticity of meat and dairy products is considerably stronger for rich households (those in the 90th percentile of total expenditure) than for poor households (those in the 10th percentile of total expenditure). Although all the modelled groups of commodities are normal goods, the paper shows that starch is more of a necessity for poor households than for rich ones, whereas meat and dairy products are more of a luxury good for poor households than for rich households. |
| Keywords: | consumer demand, unit values, developing country |
| JEL: | D11 D12 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5551&r=afr |