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on Africa |
| By: | Green, Elliott; Harding, Robin |
| Abstract: | The literature on Political Business Cycles (PBCs) has suffered from two limitations, namely a dominant focus on government policies rather than outcomes that could influence voter behaviour, and a lack of attention to the relationship between PBCs and democratization. Using multiple fine-grained data on objective and subjective outcomes we examine the nature of PBCs in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region which has experienced substantial levels of democratization in recent decades. We demonstrate clear evidence for the existence of PBCs in Sub-Saharan Africa and that the nature of the PBC changes with democratization. Specifically, we show that PBCs in non-democracies focus more on the provision of private goods and less on public goods, with this reversing as countries democratize. These findings, which hold across data sources and are robust to various specifications, have important implications for our understanding of the link between elections and development outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. |
| Keywords: | African politics; democratization and regime change; elections; public opinion; voting behavior |
| JEL: | D72 H41 H54 N47 |
| Date: | 2026–05–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:138370 |
| By: | Vianney Dequiedt (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International, CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Audrey-Anne de Ubeda (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International); Andrea Dsouza (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International); Jean-Marc Gravellini (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | African agriculture employs 45% of the continent's working population and accounts for 21% of its GDP. Yet the sector's technical and economic performance remains insufficient, both to meet the continent's growing food needs and to fully leverage its key position within global food and industrial value chains. Every exogenous shock - financial crises, COVID-19, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East - highlights and exacerbates this situation, which is characterized by deep-seated structural constraints: rapid population growth, climate change, soil degradation, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, and weak institutional frameworks. The Kampala Declaration set ambitious targets for 2035 - increasing production by 45%, halving post-harvest losses, tripling intra-African trade, and mobilizing $100 billion - but achieving them requires enhanced coordination between public and private, African and international actors. Building productive, resilient, and sustainable African agri-food systems is a shared challenge for Africa and Europe. Ferdi identifies three areas of focus with significant multiplier effects and, for each, a priority for action at the Africa Forward Summit. |
| Keywords: | agri-food systems, Africa, African agriculture |
| Date: | 2026–05–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05614424 |
| By: | Appiah, Raymond; , KuoRayMao |
| Abstract: | This chapter examines the intersection of institutional corruption and environmental crime in rural Ghana, focusing on gold extraction. Using a social and ecological disorganisation framework, it argues that the erosion of governance structures, shaped by colonial legacies and enduring legal dualism, has enabled environmental and social harm. Weak regulatory enforcement, widespread corruption among statutory and customary authorities, and limited state capacity intensify social and ecological breakdown. Chinese companies, particularly those linked to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), exploit these disordered contexts to carry out environmentally destructive practices with little accountability. The resulting degradation disproportionately affects rural populations as collusion between multinational actors and local elites further weakens resistance and undermine collective governance in rural Ghana. Structural constraints, including conflicting land rights, jurisdictional overlap, and fragmented enforcement, impede efforts to address rural green crime. The chapter concludes that without addressing the systemic roots of social disorganisation and corruption, green crime will persist, driven by global mineral demand, deepening the marginalisation of rural communities and accelerating ecological decline in rural Ghana. |
| Date: | 2026–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:eu3pr_v1 |
| By: | Ahmed, Musa Hasen; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Mesfin, Hiwot Mekonnen; Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of drought shocks on unintended pregnancies across 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results show that drought exposure increases the likelihood of unintended pregnancy by one to two percentage points (about 3 to 6 percent), depending on the specification. The analysis further finds that children born from unintended pregnancies are less likely to receive antenatal care, less likely to be delivered in health facilities, and more vulnerable to illness. The findings also show that unintended pregnancies have implications for women’s labor market outcomes. Overall, the findings indicate that drought shocks intensify women’s economic and reproductive vulnerabilities. Given the wide-ranging consequences of unintended births for both mothers and children, the results high-light the importance of integrating reproductive health interventions into climate adaptation policies. |
| Date: | 2026–04–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11364 |
| By: | Mallett, Richard |
| Abstract: | this research note offers an introduction to and critique of contemporary vehicle financing in Uganda’s motorcycle-taxi (boda boda) industry. Informal workers in this sector have long accessed motorcycles through a daily rental-based system known as kibaluwa. however, over the past15 years a new wave of international asset financers have entered the fray, selling Ugandan moto-taxi riders the tantalising dream of ‘being your own boss’ through hire-purchase (or ‘ride-to-own’) credit schemes. Drawing on original interview- and survey-based data from the Ugandan capital, Kampala, this note drills through the glossy promotional material used to market these products to put forward a more grounded, worker-centred and critical perspective on what it means tobe and become a ‘financially included’ informal worker. It shows that despite delivering lucrative, if temporary, outcomes for riders once they have successfully completed hire-purchase, for the long duration of there payment schedule riders are exposed to new risks, new costs and new pressures. a clear conclusion is reached: for Uganda’s financially included moto-taxis, the powerful allure and rewarding experience of being one’s own boss is very different to the arduous process of becoming one. |
| Keywords: | financial inclusion; fintech; informal economy; motorcycle-taxis; boda boda; Uganda |
| JEL: | R14 J01 F3 G3 J1 |
| Date: | 2026–04–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:137831 |