nep-afr New Economics Papers
on Africa
Issue of 2006‒04‒29
eight papers chosen by
Suzanne McCoskey
Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State

  1. Swords and Plowshares: Regional Trade Agreements and Political Conflict in Africa. By F. Andreatta; P. G. Ardeni; A. Pallotti
  2. The determinants of aid in the post-cold war era By Subhayu Bandyopadhyay; Howard J. Wall
  3. Measuring and Analysing Educational Inequality: The Distribution of Grade Enrolment Rates in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa By Frankema, Ewout; Bolt, Jutta
  4. Does US Aid Buy UN General Assembly Votes? A Disaggregated Analysis By Axel Dreher; Peter Nunnenkamp; Rainer Thiele
  5. Progressivity and Flexibility in Developing an Effective Competition Regime: Using Experiences of Poland, Ukraine, and South Africa for developing countries By Franz Kronthaler; Johannes Stephan
  6. Economic Growth in Mozambique? An Assessment. By P. G. Ardeni
  7. Household Access to Microcredit and Child Work in Rural Malawi By Sudipta Sarangi; Gautam Hararika
  8. Effects of Trade Liberalization on Domestic Prices: Some Evidence from Tunisian Manufacturing By Saggay, Ali; Heshmati, Almas; Adel Dhif, Mohamed

  1. By: F. Andreatta; P. G. Ardeni; A. Pallotti
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:387&r=afr
  2. By: Subhayu Bandyopadhyay; Howard J. Wall
    Abstract: This paper estimates the responsiveness of aid to recipient countries* economic and physical needs, civil/political rights, and government effectiveness. We look exclusively at the post-Cold War era and control for the political, strategic, and other considerations of donors with fixed effects. In general, we find that aid and per capita income were negatively related, while aid was positively related with infant mortality, rights, and government effectiveness.
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2006-021&r=afr
  3. By: Frankema, Ewout; Bolt, Jutta (Groningen University)
    Abstract: Cross-country research on educational inequality presents contrasting views on the extent of educational inequality in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The differences in opinion also concern the relation between educational inequality and income inequality. This paper argues that part of the reported results are influenced by the type of inequality indicator applied. Moreover, there may be a separate effect of educational attainment and educational distribution on income inequality, which cannot be discerned properly by conventional indicators (in particular the Gini-coefficient faces this problem). A new indicator of educational distribution, which we coined the grade enrolment ratio, focuses at the distribution of students among consecutive grades in schooling, apart from average years of schooling (attainment). We find that the grade enrolment ratio outperforms the other indicators in explaining cross-country variation in income inequality and accurately assesses Latin American and Sub-Saharan African educational inequality.
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugggd:gd-86&r=afr
  4. By: Axel Dreher; Peter Nunnenkamp; Rainer Thiele
    Abstract: Using panel data for 143 countries over the period 1973-2002, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of US aid on voting patterns in the UN General Assembly. We use disaggregated aid data to account for the fact that various forms of aid may differ in their ability to induce political support by recipients. We obtain strong evidence that US aid buys voting compliance in the Assembly. More specifically, our results suggest that general budget support and untied grants are the major aid categories by which recipients have been induced to vote in line with the United States. When replicating the analysis for other G7 donors, no comparable patterns emerge.
    Keywords: Bilateral Aid, UN General Assembly, Voting
    JEL: F33
    Date: 2006–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1275&r=afr
  5. By: Franz Kronthaler; Johannes Stephan
    Abstract: Die Studie diskutiert die Bedeutung von ‘special and differential treatment’ im Rahmen von Freihandelsabkommen für die Entwicklung eines Wettbewerbsregimes. Zunächst werden die Entstehung und die Hauptbestandteile dieses Konzeptes kurz diskutiert. Anschließend werden drei Länder – Polen, Ukraine und Südafrika – bezüglich dieses Konzeptes bewertet. Polen mußte im Rahmen der Beitrittsverhandlungen zur Europäischen Union das Wettbewerbsregime dem der Europäischen Union anpassen. Die Ukraine wählte freiwillig das Europäische Modell, trotz der engen Anbindung an Rußland. Mit Südafrika wird ein Entwicklungsland behandelt, dessen Gesellschaftssystem durch jahrzehntelange Rassentrennungspolitik beeinflußt wurde und heute noch durch eine hohe Konzentration der Wirtschaftsaktitivtät gekennzeichnet ist. Alle drei Länder haben jüngst ein Wettbewerbsgesetz eingeführt beziehungsweise reformiert, um den Herausforderungen zunehmender wirtschaftlicher Integration, nachholender Entwicklung und gesellschaftlicher Probleme zu begegnen. Die Erfahrungen dieser Länder können anderen Entwicklungsländern helfen, die angehalten sind, im Rahmen eines Freihandelsabkommens ein Wettbewerbsregime zu etablieren.
    Date: 2006–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:6-06&r=afr
  6. By: P. G. Ardeni
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:381&r=afr
  7. By: Sudipta Sarangi; Gautam Hararika
    Abstract: This paper examines the effect of household access to microcredit upon work by seven to eleven year old children in rural Malawi. Given that microcredit organizations foster household enterprises wherein much child labor is engaged, this paper aims to discover whether access to microcredit might increase work by children. It is found that, in the peak harvest season, household access to microcredit, measured in a novel manner as self-assessed credit limits at microcredit organizations, raises the probability of child work in households with sample means of owned land and number of retail sales enterprises. It appears this is due to children having to take up more domestic chores as adults are busied in household enterprises following improved access to microcredit.
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsu:lsuwpp:2006-08&r=afr
  8. By: Saggay, Ali; Heshmati, Almas (Ratio); Adel Dhif, Mohamed
    Abstract: This paper presents estimates of the competitive effects of trade liberalization on domestic pricing behaviour of Tunisian manufacturing industries. The theoretical framework is based on a dynamic flexible adjustment model of price determination in a small open economy. It investigates the process of adjustment in price level toward a desired level. The adjustment process is both industrial and time-specific. The empirical results show that, in the long run, domestic price responds greatly to import penetration, followed by demand pressure. There was a negative effect from import competition on domestic price. Trade policy is a viable policy option to promote competitiveness.
    Keywords: dynamic model; domestic price; trade liberalization; panel data; speed of adjustment; Tunisia
    JEL: C33 E31 F14 L60
    Date: 2006–04–25
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0096&r=afr

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