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on Africa |
| By: | Lourdes Diaz Olvera (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Didier Plat (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Pascal Pochet (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines access to the city as revealed by the daily travel behaviour of urban dwellers. It is based on secondary analyses of six household travel surveys carried out in cities in West and Central Africa between 1992 and 2003. Vehicle ownership rates are low in these cities and the cost of public transport is a major item of expenditure in household budgets, which limits its use. Walking is thereforethe main mode of transport for most urban dwellers. The paper highlights the difficulties and issues linked with trip-making to conduct the major types of out-of-home activities (work and education, household management, and sociability). Our analyses show that the shortcomings of the transport system restrict the ability of urban dwellers, particularly the poor, to travel outside their neighbourhood and play a part in maintaining social inequalities. |
| Keywords: | Daily mobility; Transportation mode; Trip purpose; Household travel survey; Access to the city; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00861105&r=afr |
| By: | Farrell, Greg |
| Abstract: | Countercyclical capital buffers are intended to protect the banking sector and the broader economy from episodes of excessive credit growth, which have been associated with financial sector procyclicality and the build-up of systemic risk. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has suggested in its guidance to national authorities that the credit-to-GDP gap be used as a guide to taking decisions regarding the countercyclical capital buffer. This paper provides a South African perspective on the implementation of this guidance. Credit-to-GDP gaps are estimated by applying a range of Hodrick-Prescott filters to real-time South African data, specifically constructed for this study, and these gaps are mapped to countercyclical buffers. The properties of these estimates are compared, and the calibration of the lower and upper thresholds of the buffer in the South African case is also investigated. The study confirms that the mechanical application of the credit-to-GDP guide is not advisable, and raises a number of issues that policymakers will have to consider when implementing the countercyclical buffer guidance. The analysis also suggests that the calibration of the lower and upper thresholds for the gaps may need to be adjusted in the South African case if the Basel Committee’s expectation that the buffers be employed only every 10-20 years is to be met. |
| Keywords: | Countercyclical capital buffers, financial stability, real- time data, credit-to-GDP gaps. |
| JEL: | E44 E61 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55368&r=afr |
| By: | Kabwe, Stephen; Grabowski, Philip P.; Haggblade, Steven; Tembo, Gelson |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:165885&r=afr |
| By: | Fischer, Anke; Hanley, Nicholas; Lowassa, Asanterabi; Milner-Gulland, EJ; Moro, Mirko; Naiman, Loiruck C |
| Abstract: | Illegal hunting for bushmeat is regarded as an important cause of biodiversity decline in Africa. We use a stated preferences method to obtain information on determinants of demand for bushmeat in villages around the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. We estimate the effects of changes in the own price of bushmeat and in the prices of two substitute protein sources - fish and chicken. Promoting the availability of protein substitutes at lower prices would be effective at reducing pressures on wildlife. Supply-side measures that raise the price of bushmeat would also be e ffective. |
| Keywords: | Tanzania; alternative protein sources; price elasticity of demand; open-ended choice experiments; stated preferences; illegal bushmeat; conservatio n |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stl:stledp:2014-07&r=afr |
| By: | Bresand, Albert (Groningen University) |
| Abstract: | Avoiding the ?resource curse? will be key to turning oil and gas discoveries into sustainable development for new African producers. The article focuses on international and national policy innovations that can cut the economic, institutional and cultural Gordian knot behind the curse. ?Oil funds? have a disappointing record; best practices on why and how to use them are ambiguous. By contrast, the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative has triggered learning processes of strengthening momentum. Leveraging transparency toward accountability through informed national policy debates is now the central policy challenge for new African producers. Meanwhile, Corporate Social Responsibility has evolved beyond health and safety to cover a firm?s environmental and social impact and can be mobilized in the form of developmentsupportive partnerships with investing companies. Much of past policy innovation has been defensive in nature, however. The post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the UN High Level Panel present governments, companies and stakeholders with a shared positive agenda to eradicate poverty and turn natural resources into sustainable development. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugsom:14012-gem&r=afr |
| By: | Hichaambwa, Munguzwe; Sitko, Nicholas; Chamberlin, Jordan |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:165883&r=afr |
| By: | Ngoma, Hambulo; Mulenga, Brian P.; Jayne, T.S. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:165886&r=afr |
| By: | Randazzo, Teresa (University of Kent); Piracha, Matloob (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of remittances on household expenditure behaviour in Senegal. We use propensity score matching and OLS methods to assess the average impact of remittances on several household budget shares. Our results show a productive use of international remittances in Senegal. However, the impact of remittances disappears when the marginal spending behaviour is considered, i.e., households do not show a different consumption pattern with respect to their remittance status. Therefore, in the decision on how to allocate expenditure, remittances are treated just as any other source of income. |
| Keywords: | remittances, household expenditure, Senegal |
| JEL: | F24 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8106&r=afr |
| By: | Michal Bauer; Nathan Fiala; Ian Levely |
| Abstract: | The stability of many post-conflict societies rests on the successful reintegration of former soldiers. We use an experimental approach to study reintegration in Northern Uganda and examine behavior of former soldiers together with the behavior of receiving communities towards this group. We focus on trust-based interactions and find that individual trustworthiness increases with the length of time a person was with the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group which forcibly recruited a large fraction of young people in the area. The effect is strongest among former soldiers who were abducted during childhood and is mute among those who soldiered during adulthood. These results are consistent with predictions of recent theories that highlight the importance of cooperation during war. Furthermore, members of receiving communities with an abductee son, who thus have better knowledge of former soldiers are aware of the behavioral difference. They believe former soldiers are more trustworthy than their peers and trust them more. Last, we find no evidence of preference-based discrimination, suggesting that anger is attenuated when communities do not attribute responsibility for committed violence to returning soldiers. |
| Keywords: | trust; cooperation; civil war; endogenous preferences; soldiers; reintegration; |
| JEL: | C93 D03 D74 O12 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp512&r=afr |
| By: | Luuk Rietveldt (Lecturer at Utrecht University); Robert Goedegebuure (Associate Professor at the Maastricht School of Management) |
| Abstract: | The role of network relationships has become topical in research on the internationalization process of firms. Research has focused on the internationalization process of firms in developed nations. This research adds to the literature by looking at the use of network relationships in Ethiopian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs2) exporting spices, meat and shoes. Propositions are formulated from findings in the literature. Using a multiple case study of three Ethiopian firms, the influence of different networks on the foreign market entry process (FME) was researched. The focus was on the effect of network relations on the foreign market choice (FMC) and market entry mode choice (MEMC). The outcomes show that network relations play an important role in the internationalization. Contrary to expectations, the internationalization of the Ethiopian case firms depended completely on foreign firms initiating contacts and therewith the entrance into foreign markets. The foreign firms also influenced market entry mode choices of the firms under study. None of the firms did market research or had a strategic plan to enter the market, reflecting a reactive approach to internationalization. The vertical network, based on strong formal relations with the foreign product buyers, played a significant role in the foreign market and market entry mode choice. An important finding from the research is the notion that horizontal networks, especially the intermediary role played by foreign country governments and foreign and Ethiopian export organizations, had a big influence in the early stages on the contact relations between the foreign buyer and the Ethiopian exporter. |
| Keywords: | Network relations, internationalization, sme's (small and medium sized enterprises), foreign market entry, foreign market choice |
| JEL: | F23 L14 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/08&r=afr |