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on Africa |
| By: | Eline D'Haene; Sam Desiere; Marijke D'Haese; Wim Verbeke; Koen Schoors (-) |
| Abstract: | The impact of religious behaviour on food systems in developing economies has been understated in scholarly studies. With its different Christian, Islamic, and traditional faiths, Ethiopia emerges as a natural experiment to investigate the impact of religious practices on demand. The inclusion of livestock products in Ethiopian diets is extremely low, even by African standards; a phenomenon often explained by supply and marketing problems combined with low income levels. We deviate from this dominant narrative and single out the impact of religion. We show how fasting practices of Orthodox Christians, the largest religious group, affect milk intake decisions and channels through which consumed milk is sourced. Employing countrywide data collected by the Living Standards Measurement Studies, we find, as expected, that the Orthodox fasting adversely affect milk consumption and decreases the share of milk sourced from own production in Orthodox families, an effect we quantify in this paper. Moreover, we observe spillover effects of Orthodox fasting on other religious groups in dominant Orthodox localities. Our findings improve the understanding of the broader societal implication of religiously inspired consumption rituals and underscore the challenges resulting from religion-induced demand cycles to design policies that aim at developing the livestock sector. |
| Date: | 2019–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:19/969&r=all |
| By: | Absher, Samuel; Grier, Kevin |
| Abstract: | We explore the effect of mobile phone and internet access on levels of collective violent action within the Libyan Revolution. Eastern Libya experienced a state-implemented blackout shortly after widespread riots and protests began. However, with luck, ingenuity, and foreign aid, Libyan rebels forged an independent mobile phone network. We exploit the exogeneity of the timing of the network’s reactivation and use a variation of difference-in-differences (DID) to measure the effect on the frequency of collective violent action. While the dominant view in the literature is that cell access increases violence by lowering the costs of organizing, we find that the reactivation of the mobile phone network reduced violent collective action by 21%. We find this negative effect for all conflicts and for conflicts that can be identified as initiated by non-state actors. We also study mobile phone’s effect on collective deadly action and fatalities using a different source for conflicts, finding similar negative effects. We propose mechanisms that may explain the aggregate negative effect: (1) substitution of physical protests to digital protests, (3) the reduction of dissatisfaction toward the state, and (3) the use of mobile phones to avoid conflict with state actors. |
| Keywords: | Mobile phones and violence, natural experiments, Libyan revolution |
| JEL: | F51 |
| Date: | 2019–03–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:92627&r=all |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice; Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich; Andrés, Antonio |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a framework (a) to examine whether or not the African business environment hinders or promotes the knowledge economy (KE), (b) to determine how the KE affects economic performance, and (c) how economic performance relates to the inequality-adjusted human socioeconomic development (IHDI) of 53 African countries during the 1996-2010 time period. We estimate the linkages with three related equations. The results support a strong correlation between the dynamics of starting and doing business and variations in KE. The results also show that there exists a weak link between KE and economic performance. Nonetheless, KE-influenced performance plays a more important role in socioeconomic development than some of the conventional control variables like foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign aid, and even private investment. |
| Keywords: | Business Dynamics; Knowledge Economy; Economic Performance, Instrumental Variables; Panel Data; Inclusive Growth and Development; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | L96 O10 O20 O30 O55 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:93236&r=all |
| By: | Kenny S, Victoria |
| Abstract: | Governments and Academics tend to focus on encouraging entrepreneurship due to its role in job creation, innovation, importance to large businesses and a dynamic economy. Female entrepreneurs have been identified by organization for economic cooperation and development as a major force for innovation, job creation and economic growth. The role of entrepreneurship as a bedrock to achieve sustainable growth and development in Nigeria is paramount, therefore, this paper critically examines the challenges of female entrepreneurship so as to proffer plausible solutions to further encourage female entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Job Creation and Economic Growth |
| JEL: | M0 |
| Date: | 2019–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:93166&r=all |