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on Africa |
| By: | Soeren J. Henn; James A. Robinson |
| Abstract: | We provide an overview of the explanations for the relative lack of state formation historically in Africa. In doing so we systematically document for the first time the extent to which Africa was politically decentralized, calculating that in 1880 there were probably 45, 000 independent polities which were rarely organized on ethnic lines. At most 2% of these could be classified as states. We advance a new argument for this extreme political decentralization positing that African societies were deliberately organized to stop centralization emerging. In this they were successful. We point out some key aspects of African societies that helped them to manage this equilibrium. We also emphasize how the organization of the economy was subservient to these political goals. |
| JEL: | D7 N47 O55 P5 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34546 |
| By: | Nicolas Berman (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France); Mathieu Couttenier (ENS de Lyon, Center for Economic Research on Governance, Inequality and Conflict, CNRS and CEPR); Raphael Soubeyran (CEE-M, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France) |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between culture and environmental conservation through the lens of deforestation. Focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa over the period 2001- 2021, we show that changes of national leaders affect deforestation in a way that depends on the environmental culture of their ethnic group’s. We use data on folklore to measure the importance of forests in group-specific culture. We find that deforestation and land-intensive activities increase in the ethnic homelands of leaders whose ethnic groups have no or little forest-related culture. These patterns are reversed when the leader’s group has a salient forest culture. Our results suggest that culture is an important lever for environmental conservation in Africa. |
| Keywords: | Culture, Deforestation, Politics, Folklore, ethnicity, Africa |
| JEL: | Z1 Q5 D7 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2537 |
| By: | Clara Emefa ASEMPAPA (Venice School of Management, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Andjela PAVLOVIC (Venice School of Management, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Francesco ROSATI (Center for Technology Entrepreneurship, Technical University of Denmark; Venice School of Management, Ca' Foscari University of Venice); Francesco RULLANI (Venice School of Management, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how multistakeholder partnerships can empower marginalised beneficiaries across levels of their lives. Drawing on survey data from 129 cocoa farmers in a Fair-Trade project spanning Europe and West Africa, the study applies an abductive approach to investigate the empowerment of beneficiaries mainly in the family and cooperative levels. The findings reveal that empowerment is more observed at the family level than in cooperatives and often occurs independently of direct partner engagement. Beneficiaries who perceive that their cooperative is influential in the partnership feel more empowered both in their families and cooperatives. However, empowerment is not uniformly distributed, as a paradox emerges in one of the cooperatives (Cooperative 3), where familiarity with the partners does not translate into family empowerment due to cultural norms and centralised governance. These insights challenge linear models of empowerment and highlight the importance of intermediary structures and local perceptions. The study offers both theoretical and practical contributions by showing that empowerment depends less on formal inclusion in partnerships and more on perceived legitimacy and trust within local institutions. |
| Keywords: | cross-sector partnership, multistakeholder partnership, empowerment, democratic participation, fair-trade |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:229 |
| By: | Yahaya, Shaibu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal impact of Ghana’s 2007 oil discovery on economic growth and structural transformation. Using the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) and a donor pool of 24 non-oil-producing Sub-Saharan African countries, I estimate the counterfactual trajectory of Ghana’s economy in the absence of the oil boom. The results reveal that the discovery generated a substantial positive income shock: real GDP per capita increased by an average of $361.42 (28.64%) between 2008 and 2021 relative to the synthetic counterfactual. Crucially, the divergence begins in 2008, two years prior to commercial production, providing empirical support for an anticipatory "news shock" driven by investment expectations. However, a sectoral decomposition uncovers significant structural distortions consistent with Dutch Disease. While the industrial sector expanded dramatically, the agricultural and service sectors contracted relative to their counterfactual potentials, providing robust evidence of a "Resource Movement Effect" that crowded out traditional economic activities. These findings suggest that while oil wealth successfully accelerated aggregate growth and provided a fiscal buffer during the COVID-19 pandemic, it simultaneously induced a "two-speed" economy that threatens long-term diversification. |
| Keywords: | Natural Resources, Dutch Disease, Synthetic Control Method, Structural Transformation, News Shocks, Ghana |
| JEL: | C23 O13 O55 Q32 Q33 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127064 |