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on Africa |
| By: | Abagna, Matthew Amalitinga; Hornok, Cecília; Mulyukova, Alina |
| Abstract: | This paper provides novel evidence on the impact of a prominent place-based policy – Special Economic Zones (SEZs) – on the economic well-being of African households. Exploiting time variation in SEZ establishment on a dataset of repeated cross-sections of households in 10 African countries during 1990-2020, we show that households living near SEZs become wealthier relative to the national average after SEZ establishment. The effect accrues mostly within 10 km of SEZs, is not driven by selective migration, and is accompanied byimproved access to household utilities, higher consumption of durable goods, increased educational attainment and a shift away from agricultural activities. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:318396 |
| By: | Marsh, Vic; Clara Delavallade; Das, Smita; Lea Marie Rouanet; Tricia Koroknay-Palicz; McDaniel, Dawn |
| Abstract: | Social, emotional, and behavioral skills are critical for success across life domains, yet research is constrained by a lack of internationally validated measures for adult populations. Existing tools often assess isolated skills and are predominantly validated in Western, school- aged samples. To address these limitations, this study developed and validated the Effective Socio-emotional skills To gain Economic EMpowerment framework, comprising 14 distinct social, emotional, and behavioral skills with prior demonstrated relevance to economic outcomes. The framework’s self-report scales were tested among adults in six Sub-Saharan African countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania), spanning diverse cultural and linguistic contexts (English, French, Hausa, Swahili, and Yoruba). The results confirm the psychometric validity of the scales, supporting their utility in both research and practice. The framework categorizes skills as intrapersonal or interpersonal, awareness or management, and agentic or communal, providing a robust tool to unpack which skills matter for employment and earnings and how this differs by gender. By enabling exploration of social, emotional, and behavioral skills in underrepresented and cross-cultural contexts, use of the Effective Socio-emotional skills To gain Economic EMpowerment self-report scales advances theoretical and practical understanding of social, emotional, and behavioral skills in adult populations. |
| Date: | 2025–05–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11128 |
| By: | Wolfgang Stojetz; Tilman Brück; Carlo Azzarri; Erdgin Mane |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence on the impacts of armed conflict and climate change on individual labor intensity. Based on pooled labor force survey, climate, and conflict event data from 21 African countries, we document that climate change and armed conflict can create a polycrisis: the negative impacts of extreme climate events on labor intensity in and outside of agriculture are more severe in conflict environments. This interaction effect, driven by heat waves and floods, is concentrated among young people, and it is the result of violent conflict presence before a climate event occurs, not of conflict events that occur at the same time as the climate event. In addition, our results suggest that conflict contributes to gender-specific shifts in labor allocation in response to climate events exacerbating women’s work burden. Our findings emphasize the importance of concerted, evidence-based policies to tackle climate-conflict polycrises, taking into account the specific vulnerabilities shaped by individuals’ gender and age. |
| Keywords: | africa, agriculture, agrifood systems, climate, conflict, employment, gender, polycrisis, youth |
| JEL: | D74 J16 J22 O12 Q10 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:430 |
| By: | Sanae Ait Jillali (Université Hassan 1er [Settat], Ecole Nationale de Commerce et Gestion - Settat); Belkasseh Mohammed (Université Hassan 1er [Settat], Ecole Nationale de Commerce et Gestion - Settat) |
| Abstract: | This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of underpricing in the Moroccan market. When underpricing occurs, investors can get a positive initial return. Underpricing is then the practice of listing an initial public offering (IPO) at a price lower than its real value in the stock market. This is a well-documented and widely studied anomaly in finance, and was explained by several theories such as Information Asymmetry (Winner's Curse), Signaling Theory, Agency Theory, and other Behavioral Theories. Many works on the international scale highlighted the prevalence of underpricing in IPOs, discussing factors influencing the decision to underprice and its impact on market efficiency. This study examines the evolution of initial returns (both adjusted and non-adjusted) and tests the computation of initial returns (IRs) using the Student's t-test as the data analysis method, to affirm or reject the null hypothesis. The data are sourced from the prospectus and financial statements of companies after their Initial Public Offering (IPO). The sample consists of 35 companies listed on the Moroccan stock market from 2004 to 2020. The findings confirm the phenomenon of initial underpricing in the Moroccan context, consistent with international studies. However, our work suggests that further research is needed to explore the factors contributing to this underpricing, particularly those related to the characteristics of Moroccan companies and the economic conditions surrounding the IPO event, both pre- and post-IPO. This opens avenues for future research on the factors that drive the decision to underprice and how this affects the Moroccan market efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Moroccan Capital Market, Initial public offering, Initial returns, Underpricing. |
| Date: | 2025–05–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05061870 |
| By: | Joshua Mabeta (University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the agricultural sector performance of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, specifically the efficiency of agricultural production and the overall competitiveness of their agricultural sectors. The study uses data spanning the period from 2001 to 2019 to assess agricultural production performance, and from 2001 to 2021 to investigate the competitiveness of the agricultural sectors. Using Malmquist productivity indices, the findings reveal that while overall productivity has increased in SADC, with 11 out of 15 countries recording an upward trajectory during the review period, technological progress has regressed. The gains in productivity have been driven by technical efficiency rather than advancements in technology. On the other hand, the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) index shows that 11 out of the 16 SADC countries were competitive, especially among diversified economies like South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, compared to less diversified countries. This demonstrates that diversification plays a critical role in resilience to shocks such as climate change, variability, and global commodity price fluctuations. The findings further reveal that mineral-rich countries have less competitive agricultural sectors, potentially reflecting the presence of Dutch disease. These findings highlight the need to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) not only to reduce the funding gap in the agricultural sectors of SADC countries but also to bring much-needed technological innovation that can drive agricultural productivity, meet the food needs of the fast-growing population, and contribute to the overall growth of their economies. |
| Keywords: | Efficiency, competitiveness, SADC, Malmquist index, Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage index |
| JEL: | F14 F15 F21 Q10 Q17 |
| Date: | 2025–05–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boh:wpaper:02_2025 |