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on Africa |
| By: | Henry, Oigiangbe Omeahon; Sodje, Kenneth O. |
| Abstract: | Human resource procurement remains a critical determinant of public sector performance and governance quality across Africa. Although formal civil service systems emphasize merit, transparency, and accountability, recruitment processes in many African countries continue to be shaped by politicization, patronage networks, clientelism, and weak institutional capacity. This study systematically examined the structural challenges affecting human resource procurement in African public administration and evaluated the effectiveness of neoliberal reform instruments introduced through Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and New Public Management (NPM) reforms. A PRISMA-guided systematic literature review was adopted, drawing on Institutional Theory to examine the interaction between formal administrative rules and entrenched informal institutions, including elite bargaining and patronage politics. Peer-reviewed literature published between 1990 and 2025 was synthesized using thematic analysis to identify recurrent governance patterns and reform outcomes. The review identified three dominant trajectories: relative reform success in contexts characterized by stronger institutional enforcement; hybrid adaptation, in which formal merit-based recruitment coexisted with informal patronage practices; and reform stagnation or failure in fragile governance environments where institutional weaknesses persisted. The findings indicate that although neoliberal reform instruments improved procedural standardization, introduced managerial innovations, and strengthened administrative frameworks in selected countries, their overall effectiveness remained dependent on political commitment, enforcement capacity, and institutional coherence. In many instances, reforms were implemented symbolically without fundamentally transforming underlying incentive structures or reducing political interference in recruitment processes. The study concludes that sustainable human resource procurement requires stronger institutions, credible oversight mechanisms, and greater alignment between reform design, administrative capacity, and domestic political realities. It recommends strengthening merit-based recruitment systems, enhancing institutional accountability, promoting transparent recruitment procedures, and reinforcing independent oversight bodies to improve public sector governance across African states. |
| Date: | 2026–06–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:8p2sf_v1 |
| By: | Mohammed Ouargani (ENCG - École Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion d'Agadir - Université Ibn Zohr = Ibn Zohr University [Agadir]); Bouchra Radi (ENCG - École Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion d'Agadir - Université Ibn Zohr = Ibn Zohr University [Agadir]) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of ownership structure on ESG performance among firms listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange over the period 2019–2024. Using a balanced panel of 40 Moroccan listed companies and Refinitiv ESG scores, the research analyzes the effects of institutional ownership, family ownership, state ownership, and ownership concentration on firms' sustainability performance. The study employs panel data regression models, including pooled OLS, Random Effects, and Fixed Effects estimations. The findings reveal that institutional ownership positively influences ESG performance, while family ownership shows a negative relationship with ESG engagement. In contrast, state ownership and ownership concentration do not exhibit significant effects after controlling for firm-specific heterogeneity. The study contributes to the literature on corporate governance and sustainable finance by providing evidence from an emerging African market characterized by concentrated ownership structures and evolving ESG practices. Keywords: ESG performance; ownership structure; corporate governance; Morocco. |
| Keywords: | African Scientific Journal, Morocco, corporate governance, ownership structure |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05635076 |
| By: | Okoro, Francis Oti; Onyejiuwa, Daniel C. |
| Abstract: | The study examined the impact of government expenditure composition on human capital development in Nigeria from 1985–2025. Annual time series data were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and the World Development Indicators (WDI). The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique was employed to estimate both the short-run and long-run relationships between government expenditure composition and human capital development. The ARDL bounds test confirmed the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables. The long-run estimates revealed that government expenditure on education exerted a negative and statistically significant effect on human capital development, while expenditure on health and gross capital formation had positive and significant effects. Inflation exhibited a negative but statistically insignificant effect. The estimated error correction term indicated a high speed of adjustment toward long-run equilibrium, implying that short-run disequilibria were corrected rapidly. The findings established that the composition and efficiency of government expenditure, rather than its aggregate size, are crucial for promoting human capital development in Nigeria. The study recommends improving expenditure efficiency, increasing budgetary allocations to the education and health sectors, and strengthening institutional frameworks to ensure prudent management of public expenditure. |
| Date: | 2026–07–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:t9jqv_v1 |
| By: | Kurtz, Gerrit |
| Abstract: | The system of international conflict management is in deep crisis. Relevant instruments such as UN peace operations are being withdrawn, normative and power-political preconditions (for example, US-guaranteed international order) no longer apply and all too often agreements have led to the entrenchment of violent authoritarian systems rather than their transformation. This crisis is particularly evident in the Horn of Africa. Neither peace agreements concluded under significant international pressure (as in the case of South Sudan) nor those negotiated between armed actors with virtually no mediation (as in Sudan in 2020) have brought about stability. Rather, governments (such as that of Ethiopia) have regularly exploited peace processes to secure their own rule. More recent mediation processes have been primarily a function of regional rivalries and the diplomatic interests of the external actors involved (as has been the case in Sudan since the current war began in April 2023). If foreign support is available, the parties to the conflict have fewer incentives to make compromises. Because mechanisms for implementing agreements are poorly resourced and receive little political support, there is no inclusive political process following ceasefires to address the root causes of the conflict. Sooner or later, fighting flares up once again. As far as European contributions to conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa are concerned, there are lessons to be learned from this crisis. Europe should neither cling nostalgically to what is a largely defunct system of conflict management, nor should it, out of frustration, adopt approaches dominated solely by security considerations. Instead, it should support civilian peace initiatives, help political economies of violence die out and rethink its own cooperation with governments that exacerbate conflict (such as that of the United Arab Emirates). |
| Keywords: | Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, conflict management, UN peace mission, mediation process, ceasefire, peace agreement |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swprps:342500 |
| By: | Sheth, Ketki; Weis, Toni Johannes; Getnet, Saba Yifredew |
| Abstract: | Gender gaps in pay and leadership roles are well documented across labor markets. However, the literature on low- and middle-income countries is limited, and it remains unclear whether these gaps reflect sorting into lucrative, high-skill sectors or differential career progression within those sectors. This paper examines gender differences in compensation, advancement, and career-relevant mechanisms within such a high-skill sector, focusing on finance in Ethiopia and using evidence from the country’s largest commercial bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, which is estimated to account for roughly one-quarter of employment in the country’s finance sector. Using six years of administrative records covering the universe of nearly 50, 000 employees, combined with large-scale employee and manager surveys, the paper documents substantial gender gaps in compensation and career advancement: women earn approximately 85 percent as much as men, are 80 percent less likely to hold supervisory roles, and are 68 percent less likely to hold managerial roles. These gaps are not explained by differences in education, experience, or internal performance evaluations. The study finds little support for commonly cited mechanisms emphasized in high-income settings, including gender differences in willingness to compete for promotions, negotiate, or access professional netwo rks. Instead, gender differences emerge in access to career-enhancing opportunities and in constraints on work flexibility. Together, these findings suggest that gender gaps in advancement arise not from lower ambition or weaker effort but from differences in exposure to advancement-relevant opportunities and in time allocation and geographic mobility, some of which may be amplified through supervisors’ perceptions. The bank under study performs relatively well on aggregate gender indicators and has explicitly prioritized women’s advancement, suggesting that these estimates are likely lower bounds on gender gaps elsewhere in the financial sector and that substantial disparities can persist even in comparatively favorable institutional settings. |
| Date: | 2026–08–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11436 |