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on Africa |
| By: | Balistreri , Edward J.; Tarr, David G. |
| Abstract: | Given the growing importance of commitments to foreign investors in services in regional trade agreements, it is important to develop applied general equilibrium models to assess the impacts of liberalization of barriers to multinational service providers. This paper develops a 55 sector applied general equilibrium model of Kenya with foreign direct investment and Dixit-Stiglitz productivity effects from additional varieties of imperfectly competitive goods or services, and uses the model to assess its regional and multilateral trade options, focusing on commitments to foreign investors in services. To assess the sensitivity of the results to parameter values, the model is executed 30,000 times, and results are reported as confidence intervals of the sample distributions. The analysis reveals that a 50 percent preferential reduction in the ad valorem equivalents of barriers in all business services by Kenya with its African partners would be somewhat beneficial for Kenya. If a preferential agreement with African partners is combined with an agreement with the European Union, the gains would more than triple the gains of an Africa only agreement. Multilateral reduction of services barriers, however, would yield gains about 12 times the gains of an agreement with the Africa region alone. These results suggest that preferential liberalization in the region is a valuable first step, but wider liberalization, with larger partners and liberal rules of origin or multilaterally, will yield much larger gains due to providing access to a much wider set of services providers. The largest gains would come from domestic regulatory reform in services, as this would almost triple the gains of multilateral liberalization. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Free Trade |
| Date: | 2011–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5552&r=afr |
| By: | Recuero Virto, Laura; Parvati-Goudry, Marianne |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present the role of information communications and the Internet, as tools for the deployment of innovative applications for Africa, showing that this is not an African matter since the same phenomenon took place fairly recently in the OECD countries. We then describe the work that remains to go for Africa to achieve full Internet access and usage, emphasizing in particular the role of governments in the use of public funds to create an environment facilitating the deployment of local content. Furthermore, we emphatise that there should be a paradigm shift in donors strategies by integrating broadband into human development but also into economic progress. Finally, we conclude by stressing the urgent need for engagement in peer learning. |
| Keywords: | Internet; Africa |
| JEL: | L97 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28565&r=afr |
| By: | Mathieu Couttenier (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CES and Sciences-Po); Raphael Soubeyran (INRA-LAMETA and IDEP Montpellier) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we show that drought has a positive effect on the incidence of civil war over the 1945-2005 period in Sub-Saharan Africa. We use the Palmer Drought Severity Index which is a richer measurement of drought than the measures used in the literature (rainfall and temperature) as it measures the accumulation of water in the soil in taking into account the temperature and the geological characteristics of the soil. We show that the risk of civil war increases by more than 42% from a “normal” climate to an “extremely drought” climate. Surprisingly, only 2.5% of this effect is channeled through economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Drought, Civil War |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.150&r=afr |
| By: | Jean-Louis Arcand (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Marcel Fafchamps (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | Using a rich dataset from West Africa we study the determinants of membership in rural producer organizations (RPO). We ...nd that on average it is the more fortunate members of rural society who belong in RPOs. In Senegal, the dominant criteria are land ownership. In Burkina Faso it is economic status and family ties with village authorities. Ethnicity also plays a role: RPO membership is less likely for ethnic groups that traditionally emphasize livestock raising. We also look for evidence of assortative matching along multiple dimensions. To this e¤ect we develop an original methodology based on dyadic regressions. We ...nd robust evidence of assortative matching by physical and ethnic proximity as well as by wealth and social status. |
| Keywords: | keywords: matching;group membership;rural producer organizations;Africa |
| Date: | 2011–02–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00562629&r=afr |
| By: | José De Sousa; Julie Lochard |
| Abstract: | Does colonisation explain differences in trade performance across developing countries? In this paper, we analyse the differential impact of British versus French colonial legacies on the current trade of African ex-colonies. We initially find that former British colonies trade more, on average, than do their French counterparts. This difference might be the result of the relative superiority of British institutions. However, a core concern is the non-random selection of colonies by the British. Historians argue that with Britain, trade preceded colonisation. Using an instrument based on colonisation history to control for this endogeneity, we find no evidence of a systematic difference between the British and French colonial legacies with respect to trade. This finding suggests that the apparent better performance of British ex-colonies might be instead explained by pre-colonial conditions. |
| Keywords: | Trade, colonisation, Africa |
| JEL: | F10 F54 O55 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201012&r=afr |
| By: | Parra Osorio, Juan Carlos; Wodon, Quentin |
| Abstract: | Higher incomes for women can have significant beneficial impacts for poverty reduction both in the short run by providing more resources to households and in the long run by increasing investments in the human capital of children. Substantial research has been done using microeconomic household survey data on gender disparities in labor incomes in developing countries in recent years. The first contribution of this paper is to summarize some of that research as applied to Guinea. However, microeconomic studies may not necessarily provide insights on how broad structural shifts in an economy could affect differently opportunities for work and income generation for men and women. In the second part of the paper, we use a recent Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Guinea to assess how growth in various sectors of the economy could affect the incomes of women and men both directly and indirectly through multiplier effects. We find that an expansion of sectors oriented primarily towards domestic consumption could have a larger positive impact on the labor income share of women than an expansion of export-oriented sectors. |
| Keywords: | Gender; Labor income; Social Accounting Matrix; Guinea |
| JEL: | J31 D57 J22 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28465&r=afr |