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on Africa |
| By: | AfDB |
| Date: | 2014–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:997&r=afr |
| By: | Essers, Dennis |
| Abstract: | This paper studies individual-level labour market transitions and their determinants in South Africa during the zenith and aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis using 2008-2010/11 panel data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) and matched cross-sections of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) over 2008Q1-2012Q4. We uncover considerable movement in South African labour markets over the crisis period. Chances of continued employment significantly vary along gender, age and education levels and between different sorts of occupations and sectors of employment. Although we do find time variation in the economic significance of some of these explanatory variables, it remains difficult to link this variation directly to the evolution of South Africa’s economy over the course of the crisis. |
| Keywords: | global financial crisis; labour markets; employment; survey data; South Africa |
| JEL: | G01 J64 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2013012&r=afr |
| By: | AfDB |
| Date: | 2014–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:999&r=afr |
| By: | Budlender, Debbie |
| Keywords: | private employment agency, labour legislation, role of ILO, ILO Convention, comment, South Africa R, agence pour l'emploi privée, législation du travail, rôle de l'OIT, convention de l'OIT, commentaire, Afrique du Sud R, agencia de empleo privada, legislación del trabajo, papel de la OIT, Convenio de la OIT, comentario, República de Sudáfrica |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:483836&r=afr |
| By: | Benjamin, Paul |
| Keywords: | private employment agency, temporary work agency, labour legislation, ILO Convention, comment, South Africa R, agence pour l'emploi privée, agence de travail temporaire, législation du travail, convention de l'OIT, commentaire, Afrique du Sud R, agencia de empleo privada, empresa de trabajo temporal, legislación del trabajo, Convenio de la OIT, comentario, República de Sudáfrica |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:484072&r=afr |
| By: | Adeniji, Sesan |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the upshot of external debt on economic growth in West African countries using panel data techniques of analysis for a period of 1971 -2012. The aftermath of the analysis shows a negative and significant relationship between external debt and economic growth in the economies of the countries under consideration. This is in no way different from what economic theories preached and the outcome of some previous research work on the issue. Therefore, we suggest that government should endeavor to put-in necessary measure to ensure judicious use of fund obtain from abroad for the purpose which they are acquired considering the highest priority of the project and also develop effective and efficient external debt management strategies that will favour timely repayment or liquidation of the debt to avoid debt overhanging. |
| Keywords: | Keywords: External Debt, Economic Growth and Panel data. |
| JEL: | C23 F34 F43 |
| Date: | 2013–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52555&r=afr |
| By: | Dandume, Muhammad Yusuf |
| Abstract: | Emerging consensuses among growth economists view good institutions as the key determinant of improving economic growth. This study examines weather institutions measures, such as more transparent, accountable government, rule of law, sound civil liberty and competitive political participation are precondition for implementing policies for achieving economic growth in Nigeria. In order to obtain the aforementioned objective, we employed ARDL approach to co-integration and Causality. The findings of this study indicate long run relationships between institutions and economic growth. However, on the direction of the relationship the findings suggest two –way causal relationship, which implies, economic growth and Institution causes each other. In other words despite, much rhetoric to the contrary good institutions in Nigeria requires resources, which implies that poor institutions are associated with having low income. The policy implication is that for Nigeria to achieved better institutions emphasis must be given to critical growth driven sectors. |
| Keywords: | Institutions, Growth, Sustainable Development, Nigerian Economy |
| JEL: | P30 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52356&r=afr |
| By: | Lena Giesbert; Susan Steiner |
| Abstract: | Abstract India has one of the highest underweight burdens in the world, with signs of rising obesity. Coexistence of underweight and overweight women is symptomatic of the double burden of malnutrition. The present study aims to throw new light on the double burden of malnuThe uptake of microinsurance in developing countries falls short of projections, which has recently made stakeholders focus on client value. However, empirical research on what constitutes client value in microinsurance has been limited. As a starting point for further investigations, we draw a first conceptual sketch of the dimensions of client value. Our analysis is based on qualitative data from focus group discussions among both existing and potential clients of a micro life insurance in southern Ghana. Using a multidimensional approach, we show that client value is based on the perceived quality, costs and consumption outcome, as well as the emotional and social value of micro life insurance. In their value judgments, focus group participants particularly emphasize the quality of customer service provision, the (expected) insurance benefits, and positive emotions associated with insurance coverage. The evaluation of the value of the microinsurance under study is mixed. We therefore also investigate why clients form the value perceptions they do. This investigation finds that large discrepancies between people’s expectations and experiences reduce the perceived value of the insurance product. It shows that contextual factors, such as clients’ knowledge about insurance, their interaction with peers, and the availability and effectiveness of alternative risk management options, largely shape whether they perceive high or low value in micro life insurance.trition among Indian women in the age group 22-49 years. The analysis is based on a nationally representative household survey, InAlthough growth has improved substantially in most African countries in recent years, poverty across the continent has fallen very little in the aggregate, even though there have been outstanding performances by some countries. Indeed, some African countries have slipped back, and exhibit higher poverty rates than in 1990. This paper seeks to understand the reasons for this variance between countries; the reasons why, certainly if one uses headcount poverty data, there are ‘two Africas’, one with powerful ability to reduce poverty and one without. We argue that some of the reasons for this difference are rooted in colonial times, and those countries which developed dynamic exports of smallholder cash crops, the ‘peasant export economies’, received a headstart in relation to mineral- and large farm-based economies, because of the more equitable income distribution which labour-intensive, smallholder-based economies generate. However, in the post-colonial period, many peasant export economies wasted this headstart, and some mine/plantation economies were able to transcend the limitation of not having received one. The key reasons for this evolution, we argue, lie in the motivation and ability of African elites to form pro-poor coalitions, which in some cases were then able to implement tax and expenditure policies with the ability to bring a pro-poor pattern of growth into being. This story is tested both econometrically and by means of four contrasted country case studies.dia Human Development Survey, 2005. The results indicate that the factors underlying this burden include socio-economic status (SES), location, marital status, age, education, physical activity, media exposure, and dietary composition and frequency of eating. We find that there is a socio-economic patterning of underweight and overweight women, with a large concentration of underweight women among those with a low SES and of overweight women among high SES. Given that the health implications of being underweight and overweight are grim, it is imperative that there is a simultaneous increase in the focus on the health needs of overweight and obese people and on the needs of the large number of severely undernourished people in society. For Indian women, the glaring health/nutrition disparities are matched only by the grimness of their existence and survival prospects. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:19214&r=afr |
| By: | Mikhail Miklyaev (Cambridge Resources International Inc., USA, Eastern Mediterranean University, Mersin 10, Turkey); Glenn Jenkins (Department of Economics, Queen's University, Canada, Eastern Mediterranean University, Mersin 10, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | The study evaluates economic and financial returns of the shift from indigenous type of breed to cross-breed dairy cattle for milk production. Ethiopia is characterised by the high cost of cross-breed heifers making the transition for the poor households almost impossible without a support from the government or international donors. The deterministic cost-benefit analysis revealed a very positive net present value of the activity. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the main risk factors affecting the households. In addition the design of the study allowed to use the sensitivity analysis to identify the economic feasibility of a wide range of the government or donors support interventions in the dairy value chain. These include the estimation of the economic benefits of the sexed semen provision, veterinary access, feed cost reduction and improved artificial insemination services. The additional analysis was performed to compare economic returns of the farms with and without fodder production. |
| Keywords: | Ethiopia, High-lands, cost-benefit analysis, investment appraisal, stakeholder analysis, distributive analysis, dairy farm establishment, productivity enhancement interventions, cross-breed cattle, indigenous cattle, herd projections, sexed semen, artificial insemination, low-cost feed concentrates, pro-poor interventions, chronic food insecurity, poverty reduction, sustainable development. |
| JEL: | D31 D61 D62 F35 Q01 Q12 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:dpaper:226&r=afr |
| By: | Tas, Emcet O.; Reimao, Maira Emy; Orlando, Maria Beatriz |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of gender and ethnicity on educational outcomes using cross-country evidence from Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. It uses the Minnesota Population Center's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series-International database, which includes individual-level data from large, harmonized, and representative samples of country censuses. Using an estimation method analogous to difference-in-differences, the paper finds that gender-based differences in literacy, primary school completion, and secondary school completion are larger for minority ethnic groups compared with others or, alternatively, ethnicity-based differences are larger for women compared with men. The findings suggest that the intersection of gender and ethnicity confers cumulative disadvantage for minority groups, especially in Latin America. The paper discusses the implications of these findings on the design of, targeting in, and resource allocation for development programs. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Education For All,Primary Education,Disability,Gender and Development |
| Date: | 2013–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6734&r=afr |
| By: | Kuikeu, Oscar |
| Abstract: | In cfa franc zone, the exchange rate was devalued, in January 1994, in order to deal with the major macroeconomic imbalances that have affected the members during the 1980 decade. Thus, the aim of this paper is to assess the degree of over/undervaluation (namely real exchange rate misalignment) of the currency in the cfa franc zone since the cfa franc devaluation of January 1994. |
| Keywords: | equilibrium real exchange rate, cfa franc zone, cointegration, panel |
| JEL: | C33 F31 |
| Date: | 2013–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52673&r=afr |
| By: | Muhammad, Yusuf |
| Abstract: | The paper examines empirically, the effects of corruption on inequality of income and economic growth. Firstly, the long run structural relationship is examined through the technique of Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL). Secondly, the causality relationship is measured empirical results suggest a long run relationship between corruption, inequality of income and economic growth in the Nigeria. Emphasizing on the channels of influence of growth, the finding, in the dynamic corruption equation indicates that the coefficient of the economic growth is significantly negative. This implies that despite much rhetoric to the contrary fighting corruption in Nigeria requires resources. More so, the finding suggests inequality of income directly impact on economic growth. This implies that economic growth rises with inequality of income. The policy implication is that Nigeria economic growth problems are structural as such fighting corruption require huge economic resources. |
| Keywords: | Co-integration, Inequality of income, per -capita income, Poverty |
| JEL: | O10 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52348&r=afr |
| By: | De Weerdt, Joachim; Beegle, Kathleen; Friedman,, Jed; Gibson, John |
| Abstract: | There is widespread interest in the number of hungry people in the world and trends in hunger. Current global counts rely on combining each country's total food balance with information on distribution patterns from household consumption expenditure surveys. Recent research has advocated for calculating hunger numbers directly from these same surveys. For either approach, embedded in this effort are a number of important details about how household surveys are designed and how these data are then used. Using a survey experiment in Tanzania, this study finds great fragility in hunger counts stemming from alternative survey designs. As a consequence, comparable and valid hunger numbers will be lacking until more effort is made to either harmonize survey designs or better understand the consequences of survey design variation. |
| Keywords: | Food&Beverage Industry,Food Security,Nutrition,Rural Poverty Reduction,Regional Economic Development |
| Date: | 2014–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6736&r=afr |
| By: | Houssa, Romain; Verpoorten, Marijke |
| Abstract: | The inability of Benin to comply with EU standards led to a ban on its shrimp exports. The ban had a negative impact on the exporting firms, the fishmongers and the artisanal fishermen, even several years after it was lifted. Exports did not revive because local and international institutions failed to resolve the sector’s increased perceived riskiness and its inadequate financial and technical resources. For the fishermen, the impact of the ban persisted because they were locked in the fishery sector, and the local shrimp demand could not fully compensate for the loss of the EU market. |
| Keywords: | EU food safety standards; Aid for Trade; export ban; shrimp; Benin |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2013011&r=afr |
| By: | Ingelaere, Bert |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is the document the research process underlying a study on the Rwandan transition. An extensive documentation of the research process is needed (although rarely systematically undertaken) in order to understand or assess rigor (scientific and empirical) and reflexive activities deployed in the achievement of the study results. The underlying source of inspiration to do so are questions of validity that guide social science research as such. As a consequence, trustworthiness and phronesis are central concerns due to the particular epistemological intake and research strategy adopted. The paper describes the fieldwork activities, choice and use of research techniques, the reflective process guiding design and analysis, and provides an overview of the data. The paper documents five main research principles underlying and guiding the study: immersion, iteration, multi-sitedness, mixing methods and diachrony. Two main research techniques are discussed in detail: systematic observation activities and a life history approach. A detailed overview of the nature of the available data as well as a reflection on issues of epistemology and ontology concludes. |
| Keywords: | Rwanda; research |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2013013&r=afr |
| By: | Ben Salha, Ousama; Sebri , Maamar |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the causality linkages between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and domestic investment in Tunisia between 1971 and 2010. Using the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration, long-run relationships between the variables are identified. The Granger causality analysis, on the other hand, indicates that there is bi-directional causality between renewable energy consumption and economic growth, which supports the feedback hypothesis in Tunisia. In addition, the quantity of CO2 emissions collapses as a reaction to an increase in renewable energy consumption. These findings remain robust even when controlling for the presence of structural break. We conclude that more efforts should be undertaken to further develop a suitable infrastructure to the renewable energy sector, given its enhancing-effects on economic growth and reducing-effects on CO2 emissions. |
| Keywords: | ARDL, Economic growth, Granger causality, Renewable energy consumption, Structural break, Tunisia. |
| JEL: | C3 Q4 |
| Date: | 2013–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52572&r=afr |
| By: | Alberto Behar |
| Abstract: | Nigerian data from the early 2000s indicates that formal sector earnings are about 70% higher than informal sector earnings but, for men, part of this is due to an educational composition effect. The returns to education are lower in the informal sector than in the formal sector, but mainly at the post-secondary stage because formal sector earnings are more convex in education. We find no evidence that other skill acquisition methods contribute to earnings, but apprenticeships are positively associated with selection into the informal sector while vocational training or other courses tend to be coupled with work in the formal sector. These results are subject to a number of interpretations, so it remains an open question whether a person with given observed or unobserved characteristics would earn more in the formal sector. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2013-21&r=afr |