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on Africa |
| By: | Amare, Mulubrhan; Arndt, Channing; Guo, Zhe; Seymour, Gregory |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the impacts of urbanization on women’s attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV). The scarcity of empirical studies on this relationship can be partly attributed to the lack of an objective measure of urbanization levels. In this study, we investigate the effects of urbanization on both women’s attitudes toward IPV using three continuous measures of urbanization: nightlight intensity, distance to urban areas, and total urban area within a 10-km radius. These measures are defined from satellite-based nighttime-light-intensity and multispectralsensor data. We find that despite a generally strong positive association between urbanization and progressive attitudes among women toward IPV, some stages of urbanization show a more significant association than others. Such nonlinear relationships are apparent in all estimations and across different measurements of urbanization. The heterogeneities in the effect of urbanization on women’s attitudes toward intimate partner violence further show that the effects of urbanization are sharply heterogeneous across wealth indicator terciles. While we find that urbanization is associated with an overall decrease in the acceptance of IPV, the effect is mostly concentrated in higher wealth terciles. For women in lower wealth terciles, urbanization is either insignificant or even associated with an increase in the acceptance of IPV. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; gender; women; rural areas; urban areas; urbanization; households; surveys; violence; intimate partner violence; women's attitude |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:155&r=all |
| By: | Yuxiang Ye (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa); Steven F. Koch (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | Energy poverty is a major concern in most of developing countries while its measurement has not been fully addressed due to the complexity of energy basic needs estimation. This study contributes to the literature by measuring energy poverty with focus on household required energy consumption using widely available household budget survey data. We apply the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures in a developing but somewhat energy advanced context, South Africa. Our energy poverty line is based on household dependent required energy consumption, and we use data from a recent South African Living Conditions Survey. We find that headcount energy poverty is extensive, as is the gap and the severity of energy poverty. Decomposition results suggest that energy poverty rates decrease with income, and lower income groups contribute more to total poverty than higher income groups across all the three poverty indexes. Our results are consistent with those from previous research, which suggests that our measure of required energy may be a reasonable option for understanding energy poverty. |
| Keywords: | Energy poverty, Required energy consumption, FGT poverty measures |
| Date: | 2020–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:2020108&r=all |
| By: | Owusu, Solomon (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); Szirmai, Adam (UNU-MERIT); Foster-McGregor, Neil (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | The paper takes a two-pronged approach to examine the implications of the rapid rise of the service sector in the economies of the world. First, it analyses tertiarization in the global economy touching on key issues such as Baumol's hypothesis of a stagnant service sector, the contribution of the service sector to aggregate productivity growth, and the potentially positive contributions of services to other sectors. The second half of the paper focuses on tertiarization trends in sub-Saharan Africa, representing the role of the service sector in low-income economies. Using a long series of sectoral employment and output data, IO tables and multiple statistical analysis, we find that perceptions of services as stagnant and productivity resistant do not apply to all service sub-sectors. Productivity growth in modern, dynamic, and tradable services is equal to or higher than that in manufacturing and other sectors. These service sectors are innovative and might act as new or alternative engines of growth alongside manufacturing. The manufacturing sector in Africa still generates the strongest multipliers, including to market services. However, much of the manufacturing linkages are captured by foreign countries. While the multipliers in market services are relatively lower than those of manufacturing, they are comparable to those in many other regions of the world economy and more of the gains are captured by domestic firms which could encourage a self-reinforcing pattern of market service development. We also find robust evidence of strong inter-sectoral linkages between the service sector and manufacturing. Given the sector’s mutually reinforcing interaction with the manufacturing sector, the growing service sector could potentially play a significant complementary role in the prospects for industrialization of Africa. But this potential remains to be realized. |
| Keywords: | Service Sector, Sub-Saharan Africa, Global Economy, Structural Change, Technological Change, Baumol’s Hypothesis |
| JEL: | O11 O14 O33 O41 O47 C67 N17 |
| Date: | 2020–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2020056&r=all |
| By: | Alabi, M. K. (University of Ilorin); Amirthalingam, K. (University of Colombo) |
| Abstract: | The Economic Community of West African States has come up with a new single currency to be used for its proposed West African monetary union. It is called eco. Among the West African states are a group of countries collectively referred to as the West African Monetary Zone. For the smooth running of a monetary union, fiscal policy should be sustainable and countercyclical. Main objectives of this study are to assess the relationship between fiscal policy and the business cycle and the role of institutions. Panel data of six countries for the period 2001-2018 were used. A fiscal reaction model was estimated. The cyclical component of real general government expenditure was used to represent fiscal policy while the cyclical component of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was used as a proxy for the business cycle. Results showed that West African Monetary Zone member countries exhibit pro-cyclical fiscal policy and weak fiscal sustainability. Also, the quality of institutions has the capability of making fiscal policy less procyclical. The policy implication of this study’s finding is that these countries may not perform well if they go ahead with the single currency union. These countries must make concerted efforts to improve the quality of institutions and implement countercyclical fiscal policies. Meanwhile the proposed monetary union should be suspended. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal Policy; Business cycle; Monetary Union; West African Monetary Zone; Pro-cyclical |
| Date: | 2020–12–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:decilo:0008&r=all |
| By: | Benedict Probst; Richard Holcroft; Joern Huenteler; Ani Balabanyan; Andrew Tipping; Peter Robinson |
| Keywords: | Energy - Electric Power Energy - Energy Finance Energy - Energy Markets Energy - Energy Sector Regulation Infrastructure Economics and Finance - Private Participation in Infrastructure Private Sector Development - Business Environment |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:33167&r=all |
| By: | Eman Moustafa (General Authority for Investment and Free Zones) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a time series analysis to estimate the impact of corruption on FDI in Egypt during the period 1970-2019 and to address some of the drawbacks of the empirical literature. Unit root and cointegration tests are used to ensure stationarity and long run relationship among variables of interest. The results show a significant positive relationship between FDI and corruption in Egypt. Since corruption is not found to hinder FDI inflows, treating corruption should be based on sound legal procedures that infringe neither on the freedom of FDI nor on the degree of openness of the economy, which are the real stimulants of FDI in Egypt |
| Date: | 2020–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1445&r=all |