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on Africa |
| By: | Cedric Nartey (Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, United States); Samson Quaye (Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, United States); Maurice Dawson (Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, United States) |
| Abstract: | Given the borderless nature of cyber threats, this study examines the collaboration to combat cybercrime through legal frameworks and law enforcement in Ghana and its neighboring countries. Many West African countries still have underdeveloped cybersecurity laws or strategies. For instance, as of 2021, only 29 out of 54 African states had enacted cybersecurity legislation, and just 10 had a national cybersecurity strategy. This fluctuating landscape allows criminals to exploit jurisdictions with weaker laws. Ghana stands out as a regional leader—ranked among the top in Africa for cybersecurity maturity— taking steps in ratifying the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the African Union’s Malabo Convention. However, Ghanaian officials have cautioned that this progress “will be meaningless if other African countries do not develop along the same line, as cyber insecurity in one country has a real impact on another.†This study explores mechanisms to bolster regional enforcement: harmonizing laws through Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) initiatives, improving cross-border information sharing, and building capacity among police and judicial authorities to handle digital evidence. The topic directly engages law enforcement and democratic institutions, since a secure cyberspace is essential for stable governance. It aligns with current policy needs by offering practical recommendations—such as cooperative frameworks and mutual legal aid improvements—and theoretical grounding in how international law can be localized to enhance West Africa’s cybersecurity posture. |
| Keywords: | cybersecurity, law enforcement, ECOWAS, cybercrime |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:raiswp:0561 |
| By: | Sambit Bhattacharyya; Chirantan Chatterjee (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, BN1 9SL Falmer, United Kingdom); Stephen Lartey |
| Abstract: | How do global crises affect development aid effectiveness? We explore this question by analyzing the impact of 2008 global financial crisis on development aid effectiveness in Africa using a novel triple-difference design (aid by donor × governance quality × trade exposure) estimated pre and post 2008 with nightlights data across 41 African countries observed over the period 2000 to 2021. We find Chinese aid to be effective in well governed and trade exposed countries following the crisis whereas OECD aid lost its governance dependent advantage. Structural break test confirms 2008 as a turning point for Chinese aid effectiveness. Total aid concentration outperforms aid diversification by 79% relative to pre-crisis patterns in terms of effectiveness. US aid appears to be inequality reducing post 2008. Chinese aid seems effective post 2008 irrespective of its modalities ‘ODA like’ and ‘other official flows’ whereas US aid is effective only under the modality ‘economic’. The results appear to be robust to GDP as an alternative outcome variable and placebo test. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Aid; Economic Development; Africa; China |
| JEL: | F35 O19 O47 O55 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:0126 |
| By: | Marc Witte (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute); Johanna Roth (Sciences Po); Morgan Hardy (New York University Abu Dhabi); Christian Johannes Meyer (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | We present findings from an at-scale randomized trial of a government program providing public employment services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with up-to-date vacancy information. Before the program, women with relatively less education searched more narrowly with worse labor market outcomes than the rest of our representative sample of relevant job seekers. These women also have lower direct intervention take-up than the rest of the sample. However, only these women significantly increase applications, receive more offers, shift from household enterprise work to wage employment, and experience higher earnings in response to the intervention. These employment impacts are larger than can be explained by vacancies directly curated through the intervention. Instead, these women adjust search behavior, expectations, and employment aspirations more broadly. Notably, offers come through friends and family networks, their modal baseline search method, underscoring the potential role of social networks in disseminating employment information to the most marginalized job seekers. |
| Keywords: | Public Employment Services, Labor Market Frictions, Marginalized Job Seekers, Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) |
| JEL: | J08 J16 J64 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–07–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250044 |
| By: | Steenkamp, Daan; Fourie, Jurgens |
| Abstract: | We show that national total factor productivity estimates mask significant heterogeneity across industries. Our estimates imply that there has been broad-based decline in productivity since the global financial crisis, particularly for mining, manufacturing and construction. While we highlight challenges to measuring productivity in South Africa, we show that our estimates are broadly similar to estimates from other international agencies. Over the long term, productivity is a key determinant of a country's per capita income. South Africa's poor productivity performance since 1990 is therefore very concerning. Our estimates have profound policy implications, highlighting the impact that electricity and logistical constraints, rising regulatory compliance costs, policy uncertainty and municipal mismanagement. |
| Keywords: | productivity, TFP, production functions |
| JEL: | D24 O47 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esrepo:335705 |
| By: | Hanan AbdelKhalik Abouelfarag (Damanhour University); Noha Nagi Elboghdadly (Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science) |
| Abstract: | Financial inclusion is one of the key enablers of driving economic growth, alleviating poverty, and consequently achieving inclusive growth. Although the relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth has been widely investigated, its relationship with inclusive growth remains unexplored. This paper examines the causality between financial inclusion and inclusive growth in Egypt during the period 2004-2022. The novelty of this study resides in constructing two composite indices using a Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The first composite index is for financial inclusion, while the second is a new multidimensional index for inclusive growth. The results reveal that the Inclusive Growth Index experiences an upward trend over the study period while the Financial Inclusion Index starts to increase in 2018. The results of the Toda-Yamamoto Causality Test show a bidirectional causality between financial inclusion and three of the sub-indices of inclusive growth as well as the overall inclusive growth index. The empirical evidence highlights that financial inclusion efforts will not achieve their targeted outcome unless a simultaneous inclusive growth strategy is conducted. Moreover, improving governance indicators is crucial to promoting inclusive growth. |
| Date: | 2024–09–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1736 |
| By: | Mahmoud Arbouch |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the economic and environmental implications of Morocco’s strategic transition from internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) manufacturing to electric vehicle (EV) production, with a particular focus on the regional impacts of localizing high-value battery manufacturing. Using an interregional input-output model, extended with environmental satellite accounts, the study simulates a structural shock related to the wholesale substitution of ICEV-specific inputs with EV-specific components. The results highlight substantial macroeconomic gains, including a 1.9% increase in national GDP and positive employment growth, particularly in Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, and Casablanca-Settat. However, these benefits are regionally concentrated, exposing the risk of deepening spatial inequalities. Additionally, while the transition enhances Morocco’s position in global green value chains, it also induces a measurable rise in carbon dioxide emissions, especially in industrial and phosphate-rich regions. The prospect of economic advancement accompanied by environmental degradation raises critical concerns about policy alignment between industrial growth and energy decarbonization. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:rpaeco:rp17_25 |