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on Africa |
| By: | Leander Heldring; James A. Robinson |
| Abstract: | In this paper we evaluate the impact of colonialism on development in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the world context, colonialism had very heterogeneous effects, operating through many mechanisms, sometimes encouraging development sometimes retarding it. In the African case, however, this heterogeneity is muted, making an assessment of the average effect more interesting. We emphasize that to draw conclusions it is necessary not just to know what actually happened to development during the colonial period, but also to take a view on what might have happened without colonialism and also to take into account the legacy of colonialism. We argue that in the light of plausible counter-factuals, colonialism probably had a uniformly negative effect on development in Africa. To develop this claim we distinguish between three sorts of colonies: (1) those which coincided with a pre-colonial centralized state, (2) those of white settlement, (3) the rest. Each have distinct performance within the colonial period, different counter-factuals and varied legacies. |
| JEL: | N37 N47 O55 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18566&r=afr |
| By: | Bräutigam, Deborah; Tang, Xiaoyang |
| Abstract: | The recent expansion of Chinese economic engagement in Africa is often poorly documented and not well understood. This paper is the second in an IFPRI-sponsored effort to better understand Chinese engagement in Africa’s agricultural sector. A clearer picture of Chinese activities in agriculture is important as a foundation for Africans and their development partners to more fruitfully engage with an increasingly important actor. Chinese engagement in agriculture and rural development in Tanzania is long-standing. Changes in this engagement reflect the changes in China’s engagement in Africa more generally. This overview paper explores China’s engagement in historical perspective, focusing on foreign aid, other official engagement, and investment by Chinese firms between 1964 and 2011. |
| Keywords: | agricultural sector, Agricultural development, Rural development, research and development, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Foreign aid, Foreign investment, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1214&r=afr |
| By: | Kolavalli, Shashidhara; Vigneri, Marcella; Maamah, Haruna; Poku, John |
| Abstract: | The cocoa sector in Ghana is one of few examples of an export commodity sector in an African country that has withstood the pressure to fully liberalize. Despite substantial government control over internal and external marketing via the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the current institutional arrangement is able to pass on a significant share of export prices to farmers, a key objective of the liberalization of commodity markets in Africa. As Ghana continues to capitalize on its recent discovery of off-shore oil reserves, the government and donors alike are concerned that the competitiveness of the cocoa sector may be threatened. The overall objective of this study is to examine the competitiveness of the cocoa sector by focusing on four aspects of the current set of institutions, including (1) the process of determining producer prices; (2) the outcomes of the introduction of private licensed buying companies; (3) COCOBOD’s role in maintain quality, and the costs and benefits of this process; and (4) trends in COCOBOD expenditure on the provision of various goods and services. The methodology adopted for this study is primarily that of an expenditure review. |
| Keywords: | Liberalization, Quality, Tree crops, Cocoa, agricultural services, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1213&r=afr |
| By: | Harris, Jody; Drimie, Scott |
| Abstract: | Due to the predominance of direct, specific interventions in nutrition for development, the health sector tends to own nutrition, with interventions customarily implemented through health programs. The premise that the agriculture sector should also be a vehicle for improved nutrition is intuitive, but this sector often delivers neither good nutrition nor food security to the most vulnerable in the population. The complex and multisectoral nature of malnutrition may explain why it has not been effectively addressed. Though we know many of the solutions, such as intersectoral action which is critical to addressing this complexity, to date there is no consensus on how intersectoral solutions are best implemented or institutionalized. This review brings together experiences from across Sub-Saharan Africa in order to draw out recommendations for improved intersectoral implementation going forward, and assesses how these findings apply specifically to the Zambian context. |
| Keywords: | Nutrition, malnutrition, health, agricultural sector, Private sector, Public sector, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1200&r=afr |
| By: | Kambale Mirembe, Omer |
| Abstract: | During the 1960s and 1970s, many African states chose a means of infrastructure development that was focused largely on the public sector. However, the debt crisis, the substandard performance of public enterprises and poor governance caused many of them to experience socio-economic failure. During the 1980s, proposed recovery solutions included a significant reduction in public expenditure, resulting in a reduction or even suspension of the production of certain public goods and services. |
| Keywords: | Congo; Infrastructure; Kivu; DRC |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2012010&r=afr |
| By: | Valérie Golaz; Laurent Nowik; Muriel Sajoux |
| Abstract: | L'Afrique n'échappera pas au vieillissement de sa population en raison de l'allongement de la durée de vie et de la baisse de la fécondité. S'appuyant sur des projections, Valérie Golaz, Laurent Nowik et Muriel Sajoux présentent les évolutions probables d'ici 2050 et expliquent les défis qu'elles posent pour un continent où les politiques sociales à destination des personnes âgées sont très peu développées. |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:wpaper:491&r=afr |
| By: | Myriam Ben Saad (USTV UFR SEG - Université Sud-Toulon-Var - UFR Sciences économiques et de gestion - Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Suite aux travaux des économistes Harrod et Domar, le concept d'aide publique au développement prend une nouvelle tournure vers les années 60, notion clé qui devient imminente dans les économies en développement et revient ainsi sur le devant de la scène, donnant sens et dynamisme aux principales finalités de l'aide dans le sommet du Millénaire. La présente étude se propose de mener une réflexion sur l'impact de l'aide publique au développement (APD) sur la croissance et sur la réduction de la pauvreté, en lien notamment avec les effets de l'APD sur la santé et l'éducation. En d'autres termes, sous quelles conditions l'APD a-t-elle un impact significatif sur le Pib/tête ? Nous focaliserons notre mémoire sur l'Afrique subsaharienne et plus particulièrement sur les effets de l'APD au Ghana, région faisant figure de pôle de dynamisme dans une sous-région vulnérable et instable. |
| Keywords: | aide publique au développement, OMD, croissance, pauvreté, éducation, santé |
| Date: | 2012–06–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:dumas-00762127&r=afr |
| By: | Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Johnson, Michael E.; Droppelmann, Klaus; Schiffer, Eva; Birner, Regina; Gaff, Peter |
| Abstract: | A major rationale for conducting policy research is the contribution the results can make to policy improvement efforts. Over the years, funders of international policy research have placed increasing emphasis on making sure that the research they fund influences policymaking, challenging research organizations to document the impact of their research. To improve the integration of research into policy, stakeholders need to understand the policy process itself. |
| Keywords: | Policy process, Public policy, fertilizer policy, Social network analysis, fertilizer subsidy, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1204&r=afr |
| By: | Ragasa, Catherine; Kinwa-Muzinga, Annie; Ulimwengu, John M. |
| Abstract: | Based on the 2011 Global Hunger Index, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the most severe level of hunger and malnutrition. There is growing recognition that development in the agriculture sector and increasing productivity will be critical to reverse this trend. A growing set of literature looks at gender disparity in access to critical inputs, knowledge and markets, which have been shown to contribute to low productivity and nutrition insecurity. This assessment contributes to the knowledge gap by compiling existing empirical evidence and investigating the gender gaps in access to resources and opportunities in the agriculture and food sector in the DRC. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Nutrition, food security, Agricultural productivity, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1201&r=afr |
| By: | Manos Antoninis |
| Abstract: | With more than ten million children out of school, Nigeria is the country furthest away from universal primary education. Low access to school is concentrated in the north of the country where a tradition of religious education has been seen as both a constraint and an opportunity. This paper uses recent survey data to explain household decisions related to secular and religious education. It demonstrates a shift in attitudes with unobserved household characteristics that favor religious education attendance being negatively correlated with secular school attendance after controlling for a rich set of background variables. The paper also provides quantitative evidence to support the argument that the poor quality of secular education acts as a disincentive to secular school attendance. This finding cast doubts at policy attempts to increase secular school enrolment through the integration of religious and secular school curricula. |
| Keywords: | Universal primary education, Islamic education, Nigeria, bivariate probit |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2012-17&r=afr |
| By: | Kumar, Neha; Quisumbing, Agnes R. |
| Abstract: | There is growing interest in the role of policy reforms to promote gender equality and empower women, two key objectives of development policy. From a policy perspective, it would be ideal for reforms undertaken in different policy areas to be consistent, so that they reinforce each other in improving gender equity. We use data from the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (ERHS) to show how two seemingly unrelated reforms—community-based land registration, undertaken since 2003, and changes in the Family Code implemented in 2000—may have created conditions for mutually reinforcing gender-sensitive reforms. Our analysis confirms previous studies’ findings of gender gaps in awareness and information about the land registration process. Male-headed households are, on average, more likely to have heard about the process, to have attended meetings (and a greater number of meetings), and to have received some written material with information about the process. Having female members in the Land Administration Committee (LAC) has a positive impact on attendance at meetings relating to land registration. In our analysis of the changes in the family law, we find that awareness about the land registration process is positively correlated with the shift in perceptions toward equal division of land and livestock upon divorce. The presence of female members in the LAC also has a positive effect on the shift in perceptions toward a more equal division of assets upon divorce. Taken together, these findings suggest that the land registration process and the reform of the Family Code may have mutually reinforcing effects on women’s rights and welfare. While this example is obviously rooted in the Ethiopian context, it raises the possibility that similar reform efforts may be complementary in other countries as well. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Reforms, land registration, Family code, Land policy, Land ownership, Land rights, Land tenure, Land titling, Women, Household survey, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1226&r=afr |
| By: | Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Dercon, Stefan |
| Abstract: | Recent research on the intertemporal dynamics of poverty using microeconomic data often hints at the existence of poverty traps, where some find themselves trapped at a low-level stable equilibrium while others enjoy a higher stable equilibrium. Without a sizable positive shock to well-being, those trapped at the low equilibrium will not automatically outgrow destitution, but merely fluctuate around that low-level equilibrium. Given the dramatic policy consequences implied by such a theory, knowledge about the location of the different equilibria would be extremely helpful. In this paper, we explore the possibilities of threshold-type models to identify those crucial parameters. We illustrate the method by searching for traps in the dynamics of livestock asset holdings in rural Ethiopia. We find evidence of distribution-dependent dynamics and multiple equilibria for tropical livestock units. |
| Keywords: | microeconomics, data, Livestock, Assets, livestock assets, multiple equilibria, Poverty traps, Market equilibrium, Rural areas, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1215&r=afr |
| By: | Pamphile Mezui-Mbeng; (CEREFIGE - Université Omar Bongo); ; |
| Abstract: | Cet article analyse les interactions potentielles entre les fluctuations cycliques du crédit et celles de l’activité des pays de la CEMAC. Les cycles sont estimés à l’aide d’un filtre passe-bande, puis caractérisés, sur la période 1960-2008, selon l’algorithme de Bry et Boshan. L’analyse des co-mouvements et de la concordance établit la procyclicité du crédit dans les pays de la CEMAC. Les tests économétriques de la cointégration et de la causalité précisent la nature des interactions entre les cycles au sein des pays. En effet, au Tchad le cycle du crédit cause celui de l’activité. Au Gabon et au Congo, un effet feedback est observé. Enfin, au Cameroun et en RCA, la causalité semble moins évidente. Finalement, les résultats révèlent des spécificités sur le comportement des banques vis-à-vis du financement de l’activité au sein de la CEMAC. |
| Keywords: | cycle du crédit, cycle des affaires, filtre passe-bande, co-mouvements, indice de concordance |
| JEL: | E30 E32 E44 E47 F47 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fie:wpaper:1201&r=afr |
| By: | Boukary OUEDRAOGO (CEDRES - Université de Ouaga II); Sylvie FERRARI (GREThA, CNRS, UMR5113) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to analyse closely the role and the incidence of forest income on reducing poverty and income inequalities among forest fringe households who are located in joint forest management (JFM) areas in Burkina Faso. Poverty indexes (Foster et al., 1984) and Gini coefficient are used to examine how forestry can reduce poverty and income inequalities in these JFM sites. Furthermore, a first attempt to analyse interactions between wealth and environmental resources is discussed through the ecological inequality concept. A specific environmental variable, \"rainfall\", is introduced into the analysis to simulate the relationship that may exist between forest households’ well-being and rainwater collected in these JFM sites. The study outcomes show a higher dependency of forest fringe households to forest resources and how forest incomes have a great contribution to poverty and income inequalities reduction among these households. Moreover, rainfall variability in these JFM villages affects significantly both forest income sources (positively) and these households’ poverty level (negatively). |
| Keywords: | joint forest management, poverty, income inequalities, ecological inequalities. |
| JEL: | Q56 D63 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2012-28&r=afr |