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on Africa |
| By: | Cogneau, Denis; Mo, Zhexun |
| Abstract: | We examine the enforcement of two pillars of colonial rule in French West Africa, military conscription and head tax collection, using novel district-level data from 1919 to 1949. Colonial states are often characterized as either omnipotent Leviathans or administration on the cheap. Our findings reveal their notable coerciveness in achieving key objectives. Military recruitment targets were consistently met, even amid individual avoidance and poor health conditions, by drawing on a pool of eligible fit young men. Tax compliance was similarly high, with approximately 80% of the liable population meeting obligations. Spikes in head tax rates significantly increased tax-related protests, likely prompting caution among colonial administrators. The tax burden was adjusted according to perceived district affluence, and tax moderation was applied in times of crisis. However, local shocks such as droughts or cash crop price collapses were largely ignored. These results underscore the capacity of colonial states to enforce their authority despite limited policy responsiveness, offering new insights into the political economy of colonial governance. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper) |
| Date: | 2024–12–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:7wnsz |
| By: | Raputsoane, Leroi |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between the attributes of Global minerals companies and corporate governance. This is achieved by augmenting and comparing the corporate governance ratings of mineral companies in South Africa to that of the mineral companies world wide. The results show that the measures of transparency, namely required disclosure and additional disclosure, of the sampled companies have a statistically significant positive relationship with corporate governance. The results have also shown no statistically significant difference in corporate governance between the minerals companies operating in South Africa and those operating in other parts of the world. The results have also shown that the companies’ attributes that include market value, market performance and financial performance do not have a statistically significant relationship with corporate governance. The paper, nevertheless, recommends continued encouragement of good corporate governance to all companies, including those in the minerals industry, given the devastating consequences of the recently experienced corporate scandals. |
| Keywords: | Global minerals companies, Corporate governance, Companies attributes |
| JEL: | C13 D22 G3 L7 |
| Date: | 2025–01–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123205 |
| By: | Amadi, Matthew Chima; ODOZI, JOHN CHIWUZULUM |
| Abstract: | The increasing flow of remittances and the growth of Nigeria's diaspora population are attracting policy discussions and debates. Many scholars view the mobilization of remittances as a more resilient channel for development financing compared to other traditional sources. The study explores the role of remittances in economic growth and the financial development pathway empirically. We used autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and Granger causality techniques and time series data covering the period from 1996 to 2020. From the table, we found a statistically significant negative long-run relationship between remittances and economic growth. However, in the short run, a significant positive relationship was found to exist between remittances and financial development reflecting a complementary relationship. Our findings also showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) and gross domestic formation(GCF) were statistically significant in their relationship with financial development in the long run. From the pairwise Granger test, a unidirectional causality from remittance inflows (Rem) to financial development was established while bidirectional causality between foreign direct investment (FDI) and gross capital formation (GCF). The study concludes that a certain degree of financial development might stifle long-term economic progress, and the combined effect of financial development and remittances should be of concern to policymakers. Given the study's finding of a negative contribution of remittances to economic growth in the long run, a significant policy consequence is that efforts to encourage remittances and those to improve the financial system should be undertaken concurrently. |
| Date: | 2024–11–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:bygma |
| By: | Smeets, Chayenne; Cebotari, Victor |
| Abstract: | This study uses longitudinal data to examine the educational performance—specifically self-reported grades in Science, English, and Mathematics—of male and female students in Ghana whose parents have either moved within the country or abroad. The study analyzes responses from 741 secondary school students over the years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Findings indicate that boys with at least one parent living internationally often attain grades that are similar to or better than those of their counterparts from non-migrant families. On the other hand, girls from migrant families typically do not exhibit significant differences in grades compared to girls from non-migrant backgrounds. A key risk factor highlighted in the study is the detrimental effect of parental divorce or separation on the academic outcomes of children from migrant families. |
| Date: | 2024–12–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:b6sz9 |
| By: | Ali Souag (University of Mascara); Ragui Assaad (University of Minnesota and ERF) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact on labor force behavior of the employment agencies program adopted by the Algerian government in 2008. Using pooled cross-sectional labor force survey data on employment and unemployment from 2004 to 2014, we estimate a two-way fixed effects difference-in-difference model with geographic access to an employment agency as the treatment variable. Our findings indicate that access to an employment agency reduces the rate of transition from unemployment to employment and the rate of transition from out of the labor force to employment for both male and females. The impact is more pronounced for older workers and for more educated workers. The program has a positive and significant effect on women’s labor force participation, but much of that effect is through increased unemployment rather than employment. We attribute these results to job seekers using registration at an employment agency to queue for public sector jobs that make up the majority of jobs available through the employment agencies |
| Date: | 2024–09–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1726 |
| By: | Dixon Dumba; Mary W. Muthoga; Partson Paradza; Winnet K. Ngarakana |
| Abstract: | Universities have always been touted as agents of social and economic change as they advance the boundaries of knowledge and propel innovation through research and knowledge transfer. This paper aims to review the different approaches universities use to promote green environments by examining the extent to which green technologies and curricula, and sustainable campuses are embraced within tertiary institutions (Universities) in Botswana. The methodology involved administering a questionnaire to all Universities in Gaborone to elicit responses on efforts to go green. The sample size was determined at a 90% confidence level with a margin (standard) error of 10% using a purposive sampling technique for analysis purposes. The data used in this study was collected using interviews with various key informants (lecturers in the built environment and facilities managers) for the Universities. It was found that some Universities are trying to become green campuses, though none have attained bespoke green campus status yet because of different challenges. Therefore, it is recommended that Universities, as think tanks of the society, should lead by example and become points of reference for the society to benchmark the concept of green and sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Carbon trading; Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); green campus; sustainability; Sustainable Development |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-022 |