nep-afr New Economics Papers
on Africa
Issue of 2017‒06‒04
two papers chosen by
Sam Sarpong
The University of Mines and Technology

  1. Bilateral FDI from South Africa and Income Convergence in SADC By J. Paul Dunne; Nicholas Masiyandima
  2. Childhood aspirations, occupational outcomes and exposure to violence: Evidence from Burundi By Lionel Jeusette; Philip Verwimp; Gudrun Østby

  1. By: J. Paul Dunne (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Nicholas Masiyandima (School of Economics, University of Cape Town)
    Abstract: This study investigates whether bilateral foreign direct investment between a technology leader country and follower countries has technology and productivity externalities that speed up income convergence among the countries. The study is based the SADC region, in which South Africa is identified as both the technology leader and a major source of FDI for the other 14 developing countries in the region. Using countries’ per capita incomes time series over a period spanning from 1980 to 2011, the results of the study show that bilateral FDI between South Africa and countries in the region fosters income convergence in the region. Countries that have higher FDI stocks from South Africa exhibit higher rates of convergence towards both the regional average per capita income and South Africa’s per capita income, than those that host less FDI stocks.
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctn:dpaper:2017-04&r=afr
  2. By: Lionel Jeusette (University of Luxembourg, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management); Philip Verwimp (Université libre de Bruxelles); Gudrun Østby
    Abstract: Recent evidence points at the importance of childhood aspirations for our understanding of poverty and development. But how are these affected by the exposure to violence? This paper employs a logistic framework to study that question for Burundi, a conflict-affected, fragile state. Using data from a new nationwide survey with a panel component we distinguish between armed violence, domestic violence, violence at school and participation in violence. We find that (i) aspiring a job in the public sector is popular regardless of the type of violence; (ii) Children exposed to armed conflict have higher aspirations, defined as wishing to be employed outside of agriculture. Our results also show that these children, as well as children exposed to domestic violence, have a lower probability to fulfill their aspirations; (iii) children exposed to violence at school or children who perpetrated violence do not aspire to leave agriculture, making that their outcomes are closer to their aspirations, (iv) the differences between aspirations and outcomes for the four types of violence have a strong gender component.
    Keywords: aspirations, outcomes, armed violence, domestic violence, aspirations failures.
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:247&r=afr

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