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on Africa |
| By: | Richard Adu-Gyamfi (Research Africa Network, Botswana); John Kuada (Aalborg University, Denmark); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | It is a well-established practice of many Sub-Sahara African (SSA) governments to aid entrepreneurs within both the formal and informal sectors in order to enhance their performance and growth. Unfortunately, there is no agreed method by which governments can differentiate between entrepreneurs and target them with the appropriate promotion policies. Thus, despite the good intentions, entrepreneurship policy initiatives have been incorrectly targeted, poorly implemented and without the desired results, since different entrepreneurs may require different forms of assistance. Some scholars have suggested that without a context-specific classificatory guide, policymakers are unlikely to be accurate in their assessment of the growth capabilities of prospective candidates for specific promotion initiatives and this can explain some of the policy failures. This observation has motivated the present paper. Our objective is to provide a framework that helps identify the different contextual dimensions influencing formal and informal enterprise creation processes in SSA. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; formal; informal; Africa |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:22/015&r= |
| By: | Cowan, Robin (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, BETA, University of Strasbourg, and CREST, University of Stellenbosch); Müller, Moritz (BETA, University of Strasbourg); Kirman, Alan (Ecole des Hautes Etudes de Sciences Sociales); Barnard, Helena (GIBS, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | Because discrimination is systemic, efforts to counter it, and thus policy interventions, must also be systemic. The South African case is particularly instructive because it is so extreme: Apartheid deliberately excluded the vast majority of the population, black South Africans, from fully participating in society, but post-Apartheid efforts to achieve transformation have had limited success. This paper hones in on a key enabler of transformation, the university system. A successful transformation will be characterized by a larger academic system to accommodate the many previously disadvantaged students, by growing scientific quality and by more black academics so that the proportion of black to white academics resembles that of South Africans generally. This will require more black South Africans to do PhDs, to select academic careers, and to be selected into the top South African universities. Policy interventions can be developed for each of these many constituent elements, but it is not known whether policies will be complementary or contradictory. To determine the outcomes of different options, this paper uses computer simulations, calibrated with evidence from South Africa since the end of Apartheid. The simulations reveal very few direct trade-offs, although different combinations result in different benefits. By highlighting the (larger and smaller) gains and costs of different combinations of policies, the paper can therefore support informed policy-making about a highly complex issue. |
| Keywords: | discrimination; transformation; universities, South Africa |
| JEL: | I2 J15 J18 J7 |
| Date: | 2021–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2021040&r= |
| By: | Michael Kilumelume; Bruno Morando; Carol Newman; John Rand |
| Abstract: | Extractive industries form an important part of the economy for many developing countries, but their impact on growth and welfare remains understudied. With global efforts to transition to net-zero carbon emissions in the coming decades, understanding the local impacts of the extractives sector is crucially important for regional economic development policy in the management of this transition. In this paper we use tax administrative data from South Africa to examine the local spillovers from mining activities, focusing on wages, firm profitability, and job creation. |
| Keywords: | Mining, South Africa, Spillovers, Firms, Profitability |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-10&r= |
| By: | Doruka, Ömer Tuğsal; Pastore, Francesco |
| Abstract: | In this study, for the first time, to our knowledge, we use the propensity score matching algorithm to estimate the probability to remain 'stuck in the status-quo ante' across generations in Egypt. We use repeated cross-sectional data relative to a 20-year period from 1998 to 2018 to build transition matrices of intergenerational occupational mobility. The findings of the econometric analysis hint at a low degree of occupational mobility, with children of fathers in the agricultural sector or holding a blue- or white-collar job remaining linked to the profession of their fathers in most cases and experiencing only rarely upward mobility from agricultural to blue- and white-collar jobs. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational occupational mobility,Status quo bias,Propensity score matching,Egypt |
| JEL: | C35 D64 J24 J62 L16 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1018&r= |