|
on Africa |
| By: | Hiroyuki Hino (Office of Global Affairs, Duke University, U.S.A. and Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN); Charles Piot (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University, U.S.A.); Nobuaki Hamaguchi (Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN); Lilly Brouwer (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University, U.S.A.); Jiahan Yin (Department of Economics, Duke University, U.S.A.) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents findings of a large-scale survey of low-income microentrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, conducted in order to understand the informality of the microenterprise sector. The findings reveal three key outcomes. First, contrary to common belief in the literature on informality, a significant portion of low-income entrepreneurs boast high educational credentials, and their businesses exhibit substantial sales revenues, in each case surpassing national averages. Surprisingly, nearly all low-income microenterprises pay some form of tax and maintain official registration with some government agencies. Second, again contrary to assumptions often made, microenterprises do not exist in a homogeneous realm of informality. Broadly defining informality envelops almost all microenterprises, yet a more nuanced definition uncovers rich heterogeneity in the nature and depth of informality. Third, far from stagnating, many microbusinesses are vibrant, dynamic and resilient. This finding is particularly important because development economics has traditionally judged informal enterprises as low in productivity and inferior to their formal counterparts, and this has had a profoundly negative impact on government policy. Thus, conventional approaches to the study of informality demand critical reassessment and a paradigm shift in conceptualizing informality and a reinvigorated perspective on the dynamics of low-income microenterprises in Africa. |
| Keywords: | Informality; Africa; Microenterprises; Dynamism |
| JEL: | O55 O17 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2024-12&r=afr |
| By: | Onyango, Gedion |
| Abstract: | Ethics management remains a grey area, especially in how developing countries organise and manage their public finances and administrative activities. This paper draws on a descriptive statistical analysis to explore managers’ perceptions of whether appropriate procedures and sanctions exist against fraud or wrongdoing and whether organisational mechanisms and management of human resources promote ethical conduct in Uganda and Kenya. It explores the central tendencies of Ugandan (N = 122) and Kenyan (N = 104) managers’ perceptions of ethics management in their own organisations. The findings show that despite critical challenges, there is progress towards improving ethics management conditions through the drafting of specific anti-fraud policies and guidelines, the promotion of ethical conduct, and the higher individual propensities to report observed fraud by managers. |
| Keywords: | whistleblowing; African public management; public integrity; public leadership; T&F deal |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2024–02–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:122254&r=afr |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | Jews in Africa have a long history. Africans have encountered Jewish myths and traditions in different forms and situations, leading to the development of a new Jewish identity linked to that of the Diaspora. Different groups of black Jews from western, central, eastern and southern Africa used and imagined their oral traditions and traditional practices to construct a distinct Jewish identity. The adoption of Judaism by black Africans was a form of liberation from Anglo-Christian authority. Blacks and Jews are the two marginalised and stigmatised minorities in Western culture. Since ancient times they have maintained a complex relationship of identification, cooperation and rivalry. The Igbo of Nigeria, for example, were at the forefront of a normative Jewish movement that included several other ethnic groups. The rhetoric of the Holocaust, Zionism and the external features of Judaism were exploited by the Biafran neo-secessionists for their own ends. The majority of African Jews live in South Africa. However, most of them are white. The South African Jewish community numbered more than 120, 000 in the mid-1970s. After several large waves of emigration at the end of the apartheid regime, the number fell to just over 50, 000. However, the Jewish claim to South African citizenship is controversial. The South African host society distinguishes between the Jewish diaspora and South African citizenship. Since the early 1990s, the second-largest Jewish community in sub-Saharan Africa has developed in Nigeria, which previously did not appear on any map of the Jewish world. Nine out of ten Nigerian Jews are Igbo. Estimates range from 3, 000 to 30, 000 Jews. Israel, however, refuses to recognise them as a Jewish population. In the DR Congo, a small Jewish community has held a special position since colonial times. Many Jews were among Leopold II's close advisers and agents in his Congo Free State (1885-1908). Jews also played an important role in Katanga Province in the 20th century, when the first mines were opened there and a railway line to South Africa was built. However, Mobutu's Zairisation (1973) and the looting of 1991 forced most Jewish entrepreneurs to leave the country. Ethiopia could be considered the cradle of Judaism, including the ancient kingdom of Sheba, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Koran, and Beta Israel. Today, however, the harsh reality faced by Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel reveals the racism that is deeply rooted in Israeli society. |
| Keywords: | Black African Jews; Jewish identity; Jewish mythology; Black Jews, Black Judaism; Jewish diaspora; History of the Jews in Africa; Uganda Scheme; Ethiopian Jews; Beta Israel; Lemba people; Igbo Jews; House of Israel (Ghana); List of Jews from Sub-Saharan Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; South Africa; Nigeria; DR Congo; Ethiopia; |
| JEL: | F35 F52 F54 K37 N17 N37 N97 O15 O55 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120512&r=afr |
| By: | Anulo, Olkamo, Degefe |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia has experienced substantial growth in per capita income, domestic savings, and financial sector developments over the past four decades. This paper aims to examine the causal relationship between certain variables in Ethiopia from 1981 to 2023. The variables considered in this paper include per capita income, private sector credit, domestic savings, and the rate of change in the consumer price index. Per capita income and private sector credit are used as proxies to measure real economic growth and financial sector development, while the inflation rate plays a crucial role in controlling these variables. The study used the bounds cointegration test within the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model framework to investigate the existence of long-run integration among series. The ADF unit root test was employed to determine whether variables remained stationary. This paper used the Granger causality test to determine causal influences in the Ethiopian economy. The vector error correction model was employed for this purpose. The study also aimed to identify hypotheses that support these causal influences. The findings affirm the existence of bidirectional causal relationships among the variables. Thus, the Ethiopian economy adheres to a feedback hypothesis, which suggests that an expansion of real economic growth will favour efficient financial development and stimulate savings. Similarly, having a well-functional financial sector development and steadfast domestic resources plays a crucial role in promoting economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Testing hypotheses, domestic savings, private sector credit, and Real economy growth |
| JEL: | E6 |
| Date: | 2024–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120335&r=afr |
| By: | A. Fronzetti Colladon; R. Vestrelli; S. Bait; M. M. Schiraldi |
| Abstract: | Various macroeconomic and institutional factors hinder FDI inflows, including corruption, trade openness, access to finance, and political instability. Existing research mostly focuses on country-level data, with limited exploration of firm-level data, especially in developing countries. Recognizing this gap, recent calls for research emphasize the need for qualitative data analysis to delve into FDI determinants, particularly at the regional level. This paper proposes a novel methodology, based on text mining and social network analysis, to get information from more than 167, 000 online news articles to quantify regional-level (sub-national) attributes affecting FDI ownership in African companies. Our analysis extends information on obstacles to industrial development as mapped by the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. Findings suggest that regional (sub-national) structural and institutional characteristics can play an important role in determining foreign ownership. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2403.10239&r=afr |
| By: | Ozili, Peterson K |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the recent unification of exchange rate in Nigeria. Recently, Nigeria unified the exchange rate and adopted an imperfect free float exchange rate system that is based on the willing buyer willing seller principle. The exchange rate regime is slightly close to a free float exchange rate system. Multiple factors led to exchange rate unification in Nigeria such as exchange rate price arbitrage and the market distortion it created. The unification of exchange rate is expected to yield potential benefits such as fewer government intervention in the foreign exchange market, improve price discovery, greater foreign exchange supply, higher capital importation, reduction in budget deficit, increased investor confidence, improved sovereign credit rating, increased transparency in the foreign exchange market, improved business environment and greater competition. Adverse effects are expected in the short-term, but these effects will dissipate in the medium to long-term. |
| Keywords: | exchange rate, unification, parallel market, official exchange rate, Nigeria. |
| JEL: | E31 F31 |
| Date: | 2024–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120441&r=afr |