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on Africa |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | High-flying illusions on the part of the proponents and grim predictions on the part of the sceptics have characterised the controversy around Brexit. The article assesses five key issues at stake for post-Brexit relationships between Britain, the EU, and Africa: market access, foreign direct investment (FDI), aid, security, and the nature of the partnership. The analysis focuses on those sub-Saharan African countries that belong to the Commonwealth, as the British government’s vision of a “Global Britain” relies heavily on its reinforced cooperation with Commonwealth nations. The review of potential developments in these different policy fields shows that the expectations of Brexiteers and African politicians alike concerning an enhanced, partnership-like post-Brexit Commonwealth relationship are largely unfounded. Although the post-Brexit United Kingdom will increase African countries’ choices regarding preferred trading partners, it remains questionable whether London could offer something new that other global players with increasing interest in Africa, such as China, do not already have on their agenda. |
| Keywords: | UK, Brexit, EU, Africa, international trade, tariffs, aid, security, partnership |
| JEL: | F13 F2 F35 F54 G15 G2 N17 N47 N77 O17 P16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:89202&r=afr |
| By: | Adu-Gyamfi, Richard; Kuada, John; Asongu, Simplice |
| Abstract: | Despite the good intentions in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), previous policy initiatives on entrepreneurship have been disjointed, unambitious, and implemented without commitment and required resources. Furthermore, there has been limited research that can provide insight into the reasons why some of the policy initiatives appear to be successful while others fail. 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 aim is to provide a framework that helps identify the different contextual dimensions influencing enterprise creation processes in SSA. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, Africa |
| JEL: | O1 O55 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:89133&r=afr |
| By: | Bergh, Andreas (Department of Economics); Fink, Günther (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute) |
| Abstract: | More than 50 years after independence, the majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa remain poor with limited rates of economic growth. One of the most striking features of economic development on the sub-Saharan subcontinent is the remarkably poor performance of French colonies relative to British ones. While British and French colonies had similar GDP per capita shortly after independence, their economic trajectories have increasingly diverged, with particularly large gaps in the post-2000 period. Neither measures of human capital, geography nor measures of institutional quality appear to explain this gap, suggesting that colonialism affected deeper societal factors that are crucial for economic growth but that are not captured in standard macroeconomic variables. |
| Keywords: | Growth; Development; Colonies; Institutions |
| JEL: | F54 O43 |
| Date: | 2018–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1234&r=afr |
| By: | Foltz, Jeremy D.; Traore, Nouhoum |
| Keywords: | Resource and Environmental Policy Analysis, Productivity Analysis and Emerging Technologies, International Trade |
| Date: | 2018–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea18:274434&r=afr |
| By: | van den Hengel, G.; Franses, Ph.H.B.F. |
| Abstract: | We propose to view social conflicts in Africa as having strong similarities with earthquake occurrences and hence to consider the spatial-temporal Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence (ETAS) model. The parameters of this highly parameterized model are estimated through simulated annealing. We consider data for 2012 to 2016 to calibrate the model for four African regions separately, and we consider the data for 2017 to evaluate the forecasts. These forecasts concern the amount of future large events as well as their locations. Examples of our findings are that the model predicts a cluster of large events in the Central Africa region, which was not expected based on past events, and that in particular for East Africa it apparently holds that small conflicts can trigger a larger number of conflicts. |
| Keywords: | ETAS model, social conflicts, Africa, Forecasting |
| JEL: | D74 F51 O55 |
| Date: | 2018–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureir:110578&r=afr |
| By: | Biloa Essimi, Jean Aristide |
| Abstract: | This paper highlights civil society actors involved in collecting and monitoring the tax obligations of mining companies in Cameroon. To achieve this goal, we used data collection from leaders or members of civil society companies through semi-structured interviews using a questionnaire developed for this purpose on the one hand and the tools of game theory and sociology of behavior on the other hand. The study shows that there are two civil society organization groups (CSOs) in the extractive sector: CSO leaders and CSO followers. They are all grouped together in the "Cameroon Coalition Publish What You Pay". They are characterized by a lack of specialization, a strong identity withdrawal and a lack of expertise in public finances because the promoters are recruited in various sectors of the working life. One could speak of an inadequacy training job and a game indefinitely repeated between the actors. |
| Keywords: | Engagement, Citizenship, Training, Governance, Game Theory, Cameroon |
| JEL: | C7 H2 O1 O12 |
| Date: | 2018–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88987&r=afr |
| By: | Marysse, Stefaan; Megersa, Kelbesa |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore if claims of ‘good’ (improving) economic governance are factual in DRC, particularly over the 2003-2016 period. We analyze the role of institutional reforms (mainly those of former P. M. Matata Ponyo) for gains in economic governance and how this compares to failures in basic functions of the state. We show how recent gains in economic growth and contentions of ‘good’ governance (in public institutions, big projects, etc.) overlap a ‘real’ governance composed of competitive clientelism and elite capture. In this regard, we document a list of major reforms and the ‘resistance’ to such reforms posed by the political elite. We also discuss the economics and governance of mega projects (often termed as ‘white elephants’) in the agribusiness sector, i.e. Parcs Agro-Industriels. By focusing on one major project (Bukanga-Lonzo), we depict the role and dynamics of key private actors and personalities. |
| Keywords: | DRC; Congo; governance |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:201808&r=afr |