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on Africa |
| By: | Swetha Ramachandran |
| Abstract: | For decades now, Western development agencies and donors have been castigated for their colonial biases in providing aid to Africa. It is well established that donors provide considerably more foreign aid to their former colonies relative to other countries in the region. However, what happens over time to the influence of the former-colonizer-turned-donor within the aid recipient countries? Does their influence become stronger over time due to early and significant contributions, or does it decline with the emergence of other contemporary donors? |
| Keywords: | Colonialism, Foreign aid, Donors, Africa |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2024-47 |
| By: | Cullen S. Hendrix (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | This Policy Brief assesses the prospects for three Sub-Saharan African countries--Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania--for providing stable supplies of natural graphite to the US market, considering both domestic factors in the three countries and US policies established by the Inflation Reduction Act. These countries have adequate graphite resources and operators headquartered in Western allies. The problem is that there are significant governance-related challenges in Madagascar and Mozambique and some domestic challenges to incorporating East African graphite into US electric vehicle supply chains. US critical mineral sourcing policies will need to be modified to facilitate greater involvement of African producers in US graphite supply chains. |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:pbrief:pb24-5 |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for a third of the countries on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. In the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) Ranking and Risk Assessment Tool, the region performed poorly in terms of resilience to ML/TF, with more than 60% of countries falling into the high-risk category. Although countries on the grey list are not subject to sanctions, inclusion on the list has a significant impact on their economies. This includes a significant reduction in capital inflows and foreign direct investment. The four main sources of illicit financial flows from SSA, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria, accounted for more than 50% of total illicit financial flows. While SSA received nearly $2 trillion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA) between 1980 and 2018, it issued over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows. These illicitly acquired funds and diverted from the region continue to pose a development challenge. Illicit financial flows increased overall, but not concerning trade. In the 38 years from 1980 to 2018, they increased significantly in the 2000s, in parallel with the growth of African trade. Emerging and developing countries in Asia and the Middle East have become key targets. Previous initiatives to curb money laundering and improve the exchange of tax information between countries have largely failed, including the three most important: the Financial Action Task Force (founded in 1998), the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (founded in 2009 ) and the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (founded in 2016). First, African countries lack the resources and capacity to address illicit financial flows. Second, many advanced economies are not sufficiently engaged in these initiatives. However, the repatriation of illegal funds is an important tool for strengthening the resource base of African countries. In 2020, for example, the United States and the self-governing British Crown Dependency of Jersey, one of the world's most notorious tax and money laundering havens, reached an agreement with Nigeria to repatriate more than $300 million stolen by Nigeria's former military dictator General Sani Abacha. |
| Keywords: | Money laundering; Money Laundering Control Act; Embezzlement; Corruption; tax evasion; Terrorism financing; Informal economy; Illegal drug trade; Human trafficking; Blood diamonds; Good governance; Sub-Saharan Africa; South Africa; Kenya; DR Congo; Ethiopia; Mozambique; Uganda; Rwanda, Nigeria; Ghana, Mali;, Cameroon; |
| JEL: | D23 D53 D63 D74 E21 E26 E42 F35 F38 F53 F54 G28 H26 K42 N27 N47 O17 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–06–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:121354 |
| By: | Florian Léon (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International); Sitraka Rabary (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | In the face of climate and social challenges, the financial sector can no longer limit itself to an approach focused solely on profitability. Two movements are converging. On the one hand, more and more players are calling for the extra-financial impact of investments to be taken into account in their strategy. International regulations, such as the ISSB and the CSRD, are putting increasing pressure on companies to do so. On the other hand, development financiers (governments, foundations, international financial institutions) are looking for innovative ways to accelerate growth in poor countries and contribute to global public goods through the private sector. |
| Keywords: | Africa, Firms, Impact investing |
| Date: | 2024–07–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04654027 |
| By: | Bello, Lateef Olalekan; Awotide, Bola Amoke; Abbeam, GideonDanso; Sakurai, Takeshi |
| Abstract: | Climate change remains a major impediment to food security in majority of developing countries, such as the West Africa Sahel (WASR), due to the rudimentary and rain-fed production system practiced by most farmers. The adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT), which aim to increase resilience and adaptation to changing climatic conditions, is crucial for boosting crop productivity and increasing food sufficiency. This study examined the food security impact of smallholder farmers adopting CSAT in WASR (Mali and Niger). We control for potential endogeneity bias that could occur in this study by employing the extended ordered probit and multinomial endogenous treatment effect model to analyze food security impact using the two most common approaches, which are the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Food Consumption Scores (FCS). The impact results from the HFIAS estimation indicate that CSAT adopters are more food insecure than non-adopters in WASR. Subsequently, the FCS estimation results show that smallholder farmers adopting CSAT are less food secure than non- adopters. Further analysis of mechanisms and pathways to food security revealed that CSAT 2 Copyright 2024 by Lateef Olalekan Bello, Bola Amoke Awotide, Gideon-Danso-Abbeam, and Takeshi Sakurai. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. adopters significantly reduced the share of crop production they retained for household consumption compared to non-adopters. Subsequent findings revealed that adopters of CSAT generate significantly higher crop revenues than non-adopters. This implies that CSAT adopters sell the majority of their marketable surplus and retain a minor share for household consumption. These findings suggest that farm-level sensitization programs could emphasize the need for farmers to strike a balance between agricultural investment and food security. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2024–08–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp15:344323 |
| By: | Fernández, Violeta; Pietrelli, Rebecca; Torero, Maximo |
| Abstract: | Digital agriculture offers promising solutions to meet growing food demands. Investigating whether targeting youth in digital agriculture affects the adoption of good practices is a topic that has been overlooked but holds critical implications for policymakers. This study explores whether providing agricultural information via digital technologies to adolescents can influence household adoption of improved agricultural practices. Leveraging a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) conducted in collaboration with a secondary school in rural Uganda, we examined the transmission of knowledge from students to household members and assessed adoption rates and food loss reductions. To the best of our knowledge, our research is the first to focus on the effectiveness of digital technologies aimed at youth in promoting agricultural practices in Africa, particularly affordable basic farming techniques essential for vulnerable and poorer farmers. Our most conservative estimates indicate that households exposed to agricultural videos through computer classes showed substantial gains in knowledge (with a 16% increase). We find a modest effect on adoption rates, with households whose students were exposed to agricultural videos in the classroom showing twice as much adoption rates than those who were not. We speculate that the joint decision-making process could be a constraint on adoption. Interestingly, the intervention had a greater effect on poorer households and those with more traditional values, indicating that strong family ties may be a pathway for the impact. The insights contribute to bridging the gap between behavioral economics and agricultural adoption, offering practical implications for sustainable agricultural development strategies. |
| Keywords: | Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2024–07–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp15:344380 |