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on Africa |
| By: | Melia, Elvis |
| Abstract: | This study asks what impact the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have on job creation and catchup development in Sub-Saharan Africa over the coming decade. Can light manufacturing export sectors still serve African development the way they served East Asian development in the past? If factory floor automation reduces the need for low-cost labour in global value chains, can IT-enabled services exports become an alternative driver of African catch-up development? I present case study evidence from Kenya to show that online freelancing has become an interesting sector, both in terms of its growth trajectory, and in terms of worker upward mobility in the global knowledge economy. As life everywhere moves further into the digital realm, and global internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world grows, more and more young Africans who stream onto the labour market may find work in the world of global online freelancing. I discuss the building blocks needed to make online work a sustainable vehicle for African catch-up development in the years ahead. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:diedps:32020&r=all |
| By: | Reda Cherif; Sandesh Dhungana; Xiangming Fang; Jesus R Gonzalez-Garcia; Yuanchen Yang; Mustafa Yenice; Jung Eun Yoon |
| Abstract: | Does greater product market competition improve external competitiveness and growth? This paper examines this question by using country-and firm-level data for a sample of 39 sub-Saharan African countries over 2000–17, as well as other emerging market economies and developing countries, and finds that an improvement in domestic competition is associated with a signficant increase in real GDP per capita growth rate, achieved mainly through an improvement in export competitiveness and productivity growth. Price levels, including of essential items, are also generally lowered with an increase in competition. Moreover, at the firm-level, evidence shows that greater competition—proxied through a decline in corporate market power—is associated with an increase in firm’s investment and the labor’s share in output. These effects are more pronounced in the manufacturing sector and among domestic firms compared to foreign firms. |
| Date: | 2020–02–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:20/30&r=all |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice A; Odhiambo, Nicholas M |
| Abstract: | This study assesses whether improving governance standards affects environmental quality in 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments. Bundled and unbundled governance dynamics are used notably: (i) political governance (consisting of political stability and ?voice & accountability?); (ii) economic governance (entailing government effectiveness and regulation quality), (iii) institutional governance (represented by the rule of law and corruption-control) and (iv) general governance (encompassing political, economic and institutional governance dynamics). The following hypotheses are tested: (i) Hypothesis 1 (Improving political governance is negatively related to CO2 emissions); (ii) Hypothesis 2 (Increasing economic governance is negatively related to CO2 emissions) and (iii) Hypothesis 3 (Enhancing institutional governance is negatively related to CO2 emissions. Results of the tested hypotheses show that: the validity of Hypothesis 3 cannot be determined based on the results; Hypothesis 2 is not valid while Hypothesis 1 is partially not valid. The main policy implication is that governance standards need to be further improved in order for government quality to generate the expected unfavorable effects on CO2 emissions. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions; Governance; Economic development; Sustainable development; Africa |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uza:wpaper:26282&r=all |
| By: | Ekhator-Mobayode,Uche Eseosa; Hanmer,Lucia C.; Rubiano Matulevich,Eliana Carolina; Arango,Diana Jimena |
| Abstract: | Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women in conflict and non-conflict settings, but in conflict settings it often receives less attention than other forms of gender-based violence, such as conflict-related sexual violence. Using data from the 2008 and 2013 Domestic Violence module of the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey spatially linked to the Boko Haram actor file of the Armed Conflict Location and Events Database, this paper employs a kernel-based difference-in-difference model to examine the effect of the Boko Haram insurgency on women's experience of physical and sexual intimate partner violence. It also examines the effect of the Boko Haram insurgency on women's experience of controlling behavior from a husband or partner, women's autonomy in household decision making, and their control over their own earnings. The paper finds that the Boko Haram insurgency is associated with slower progress toward preventing and eliminating women's experiences of physical and sexual intimate partner violence. Controlling behaviors from husbands/partners and reductions in women's autonomy in household decision making are heightened in locations that are impacted by the Boko Haram insurgency, indicating that the Boko Haram insurgency adversely affects women's agency and exacerbates behaviors that are often precursors to intimate partner violence. |
| Date: | 2020–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9168&r=all |
| By: | Telaye,Andualem; Benitez,Pablo; Tamru,Seneshaw; Medhin,Haileselassie Amaha; Toman,Michael A. |
| Abstract: | This study uses a computable general equilibrium model to analyze various policy scenarios for a carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum fuels and kerosene in Ethiopia. The carbon tax starts at $5 per ton of carbon dioxide in 2018 and rises to $30 per ton in 2030. Different scenarios examine the impacts with revenue recycling through a uniform sales tax reduction, reduction of labor income tax, reduction of business income tax, direct transfer back to households, and use by the government to reduce debt. Because petroleum fuels and kerosene are a relatively small part of the Ethiopian economy, the carbon tax has quite small impacts on overall economic activity while having a notable proportionate impact on greenhouse gas emissions from these energy sources, depending on the recycling scenario. The carbon tax can raise significant revenue -- up to $800 million per year by 2030. The impacts on the poor through increased cost of living are not that large, since the share of the poor in total use of petroleum fuels and kerosene is small. In terms of income effects through employment changes, urban households tend to experience more impacts than rural households, but the results also depend on the household skill level and the revenue recycling scenario. |
| Date: | 2019–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8860&r=all |
| By: | Alibhai,Salman; Buehren,Niklas; Frese,Michael Dr.; Goldstein,Markus P.; Papineni,Sreelakshmi; Wolf,Kathrin |
| Abstract: | Is there a mindset gap holding women back in business? Can entrepreneurship training instill a set of attitudes, behaviors, and strategies that are thought to underpin success in business such as motivation, perseverance, and self-confidence? This study conducted two randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of mindset-oriented business trainings on the performance of women-owned micro and small enterprises in Ethiopia. The trainings were underpinned by psychology with a mission to foster self-esteem and entrepreneurial spirit. Despite a similar approach, however, the quality of delivery seemed to matter as impacts of the trainings on business performance were mixed. A key channel for an impact on profits is if the training can actually effectuate the mindset change, with only one training transferring higher levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, personal initiative, and entrepreneurial locus of control to the women, relative to a control group. The study finds suggestive evidence that psychological skills and mindset are better inspired by a trainer who previously owned a business themselves and therefore may have a better understanding of the entrepreneurs'specific challenges. The study concludes that psychological skills are important for women's business success, and these skills can indeed be transferred using training, assuming a shared identity match between trainer and student. Service delivery appears to be critical for inculcating these important skills. |
| Keywords: | Technology Innovation,Gender and Economic Policy,Technology Industry,Gender and Poverty,Economics and Gender,Gender and Economics,Private Sector Economics,Marketing,Private Sector Development Law,Labor Markets |
| Date: | 2019–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8892&r=all |