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on Africa |
| By: | Dimico, Arcangelo |
| Abstract: | I evaluate the impact of abortion policies in sub-Saharan Africa to understand possible consequences from a reduced international support for women's rights following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I find that decriminalizing abortion reduces fertility through two complementary channels. For households at the top of the wealth distribution, the effect manifests as a reduction in excess fertility, which is more pronounced among lower-educated women due to their lower likelihood of using contraception. For households at the bottom of the wealth distribution, the impact runs through a decline in the number of children with a low survival probability. This latter effect is more pronounced among highly educated women, who are more likely to control their own health-related decisions and view abortion as a viable option. I also find that while women's education levels rise after decriminalization, this does not lead to better labor market opportunities. However, children born afterward tend to achieve higher levels of education. |
| Keywords: | Abortion, fertility, child mortality, human capital |
| JEL: | O15 J13 J16 K38 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qmsrps:202406 |
| By: | Ackah, Charles; Görg, Holger; Hanley, Aoife; Hornok, Cecilia |
| Abstract: | While the recent success of Africa’s ‘Lionesses’ – successful female entrepreneurs – is internationally celebrated, less is known about how liquidity can fuel the success of the ‘Lionesses’ and other businesswomen. Using information from a panel of over 800 male- and female-owned businesses in Ghana (ISSER-IGC survey), we capture a measure of underfunding, in addition to data on supplier credit, equity and other finance sources. Our regressions reveal a female-to-male productivity gap of between − 11 and − 19 per cent, values similar to estimates for other African countries. However, when financial constraints are taken into account, the gender performance gap disappears. Accordingly, female business owners who indicate that funding is not a problem are associated with higher productivity than males, all things equal. In a finding new to the literature, our regressions reveal the importance of supplier credit for Africa’s businesswomen. |
| Keywords: | Female-owned businesses, Liquidity, Productivity, Supplier credit, Africa, Ghana |
| JEL: | D22 J16 L26 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:301879 |
| By: | van der Merwe, Melissa; Zdráhal, Ivo; Lategan, Francois |
| Abstract: | Despite the free trade agreement, South Africa’s agri-food exports to the European Union (EU) are declining. Without intervention, we expect this trend to persist. The paper aims to interrogate the change in South Africa’s agri-food exports to the EU by applying the Constant Market Share (CMS) model to study South African agri-food exports to the four EU sub-regions over 20 years. This allows us to analyse the impact of trade liberalisation and the slowdown of global value chain activity on agri-food trade. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to understand the competitiveness of South African agri-food exports to the EU using the CMS model over a longer period. The agri-food products are grouped into four categories: bulk commodities, processed intermediate goods, horticulture products and consumer-ready goods. We find that South African agri-food exports were responsive to changes in the EU market demand for agri-food imports. However, South African agri-food exports were not competitive over the long period. This is because South Africa focused on slower-growing markets and agri- food commodities that show lower-than-average growth rates. South Africa is competitive in exporting specific agri-food commodities to specific markets with increasing demand. We recommend that South Africa focus on exporting commodities for which demand is growing quicker to fast-growing EU markets and invest in key priority areas to compete with other sources of supply available to the EU. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2024–08–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp15:344687 |
| By: | Touray, Alfusainey |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to measure and analyze the total factor productivity (TFP) trend for fourteen countries in the Economic Community of West African states from 2016 to 2022. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used to measure TFP using the CCR model. Among all the countries surveyed, Nigeria has the highest TFP and is the only country within the bloc that is optimally using factors of production while Niger has the lowest total factor productivity in the ECOWAS region within the study period. The study shows that the ECOWAS as a bloc is not efficiently using its factors of production to produce output, a reason why the region's growth has been low and volatile for decades since independence. The inefficiency is coming from the slack use of land as a factor of production. The study also shows that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war had a profound impact on the total factor productivity in the ECOWAS bloc. Thus, there is a need for a land reform policy to get optimal returns from land usage in the region. |
| Keywords: | Total factor productivity, Data Envelopment Analysis, and CRR Model |
| JEL: | O47 |
| Date: | 2024–07–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:121592 |
| By: | Ceesay, Habib; Limbe, Medad |
| Abstract: | Remittances are crucial to The Gambian economy, providing a major source of foreign exchange and sustaining the livelihoods of numerous households. In addition, they help in offsetting trade deficit and stabilize the country's external position. However, substantial external inflows into developing economies can lead to an appreciation of the domestic currency, making exports more expensive and reducing competitiveness. This study investigates the impact of remittances on the real effective exchange rate in The Gambia using monthly data from January 2009 to December 2019. Employing the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model, the study finds evidence of a long run cointegrating relationship among the variables. The empirical results reveal that remittance inflows have a positive significant effect on the real effective exchange rate in the long run, indicating that higher remittances lead to an appreciation of the Gambian Dalasi. |
| Keywords: | Remittance, ARDL, the Gambia, exchange rate |
| JEL: | E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2024–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:121774 |
| By: | Jadouri Echaimaa (UM5 - Université Mohammed V de Rabat [Agdal]); Aziz Ragbi (UM5 - Université Mohammed V de Rabat [Agdal]) |
| Abstract: | The unemployment rate in Morocco has plummeted exponentially in recent years, with multiple potential causes for unemployment. The objective of this article is to estimate the effects of individual characteristics on unemployment using a logit model. The resulting findings indicate that the main determinants of unemployment are age, level of education, place of residence, and gender. The statistical analysis of these elements reveals that these determinants significantly influence unemployment at a 5% threshold. |
| Abstract: | Le taux de chômage au Maroc a dégringolé d'une manière exponentielle ces dernières uméannées, dont les causes qui peuvent déterminées le chômage sont multiples. L'objectif de cet article est d'estimer les effets des caractéristiques individuelles sur le chômage en utilisant un modèle logit. Les résultats qui en découlent indiquent que les principaux déterminants du chômage sont l'âge, le niveau d'éducation, le milieu de résidence et le genre. L'analyse statistique de ces éléments révèlent que ces déterminants influencent significativement le chômage au seuil de 5%. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment, Logistic regression, Employment, Public policy, Chômage, Régression logistique, Emploi, Politique publique |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04667140 |