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on Africa |
| By: | Babu, Suresh Chandra; Shishodia, Mahika |
| Abstract: | Agribusiness has a major role to play in the transformation of the agricultural sector in Africa. With the demand for high-value food products increasing around the world, the production and export of these goods represents an opportunity to achieve increases in income and employment. To capture the benefits of this trend and capitalize on this opportunity for long-term agricultural growth, agribusiness in Africa must become more competitive. In addition to improving competitiveness, increasing agricultural productivity and food security are also major challenges in African agricultural development. In this paper, we compare the agribusiness competitiveness of African countries and develop typologies connected with their food security and agricultural productivity status. The typologies reveal various stylized facts on the competitiveness of agribusiness to help nations prioritize issues for agricultural development and growth. We develop the measures of agribusiness competitiveness and apply them to African countries. Additionally, we present policy implications and lessons for increasing the competitiveness of agribusiness in African countries. |
| Keywords: | agroindustrial sector, measurement, typology, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1648&r=afr |
| By: | Cols, Gilles; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | For the past quarter of a century, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows have grown exponentially across the world. Sub-Saharan Africa has, however, lagged behind and only lured on average a mere 2% of global FDI. The investment that the region attracts tends, moreover, to be concentrated in a number of commodity-rich countries. Natural resources and the size of national markets have generally been considered as the main drivers of FDI. The quality of local institutions has, by contrast, attracted less attention. This paper uses institutional data for 22 countries in order to demonstrate that the quality of governance plays a far from negligible and enduring role in the distribution of FDI in sub-Saharan Africa. It is shown that factors such as political stability, government effectiveness, lower corruption, voice and accountability, and the rule of law not only are more important determinants of FDI than the size of local markets, but also that their influence on the capacity of African countries to attract FDI is long-lasting. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment (FDI); good governance; institutions; markets; Natural resources; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | F21 N57 O43 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12223&r=afr |
| By: | Richard Akresh; Sonia Bhalotra; Marinella Leone; Una O. Osili |
| Abstract: | We analyze long-term impacts of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, providing the first evidence of intergenerational impacts. Women exposed to the war in their growing years exhibit reduced adult stature, increased likelihood of being overweight, earlier age at first birth, and lower educational attainment. Exposure to a primary education program mitigates impacts of war exposure on education. War exposed men marry later and have fewer children. War exposure of mothers (but not fathers) has adverse impacts on child growth, survival, and education. Impacts vary with age of exposure. For mother and child health, the largest impacts stem from adolescent exposure. |
| JEL: | I12 I25 J13 O12 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23721&r=afr |
| By: | Bouët, Antoine; Cosnard, Lionel; Laborde Debucquet, David |
| Abstract: | In the Malabo Declaration of June 2014, African countries committed to tripling the level of intra-African agricultural trade and services by 2025, fast-tracking the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area, and adopting a continentwide common external tariff. To accomplish these goals, African countries will need to consistently and accurately measure their participation in international trade. This paper reviews the literature on the measurement and qualification of trade integration in Africa. Starting with a complete review of available indicators and methodologies, it develops a methodological toolbox for better evaluation of the actual level of trade integration on the continent and formulates recommendations for policy assessment. It recommends use of a diverse range of indicators and methodologies, reviewing indicators that have recently emerged from network analysis and indicators of trade in value added. The study concludes that Africa is characterized by weak trade integration, particularly with the rest of the world. The region’s small number of trading partners and low product diversification are also striking. Contrary to what can be concluded from some simple trade share indicators, the use of more refined indicators shows that intra-African trade is relatively high compared with trade with other continents. |
| Keywords: | trade, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1667&r=afr |
| By: | Raymond B. Frempong; David Stadelmann |
| Abstract: | Female education and its potential to empower women in the development process have engaged the interest of policy makers and academics over the years. By employing individual level data from Ghana and Uganda, we analyze whether female education has a direct bargaining effect on six household welfare indicators: child labor and school enrollment; food expenditure and nutrition intake; female labor force participation and fertility rates. The empirical results indicate that both, the level of the wife and her husband's education, are significant determinants of household welfare. However, the wife’s education has no larger effect than that of her husband's, and the relative bargaining position of the wife, at most, has negligible effects on the welfare indicators studied. Further robustness analysis largely confirms our findings. We conclude that, whilst female education has the potential to enhance household welfare, the effect does not necessarily work though enhanced bargaining power. |
| Keywords: | Women Empowerment; Intra-household Bargaining; Household Welfare; Ghana; Uganda |
| JEL: | I2 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cra:wpaper:2017-08&r=afr |
| By: | GBATO, ANDRE |
| Abstract: | In this study, we empirically test the impact of taxation on the long-term growth of a sample of 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate a zero effect of taxation on long-term growth. Moreover, the results suggest a significant negative effect of indirect taxes and taxes on individuals in short term. Consequently, the use of taxation as an instrument of intervention is not appropriate in the region. The countries of the region could therefore increase their growth, if the design of fiscal policy rests solely on logic of fiscal neutrality. |
| Keywords: | Growth, Taxation, Heterogeneous panels, Cross-sectional dependence |
| JEL: | C13 E62 H30 O40 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80903&r=afr |