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41. Determinants of Self-Employment in Botswana

Author:
Tshepiso Gaetsewe
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
The global market is rapidly recognizing the importance of entrepreneurship and selfemployment, especially in growing the economy, creating jobs and reducing poverty. This paper employs the logit regression model to investigate the determinants of selfemployment in Botswana, using the 2009/2010 Botswana Core Welfare Indicator Survey (BCWIS) data. The results reveal that individuals who are male, citizens, educated and living in cities are less likely to be self-employed than their counterparts. On the other hand, the age of the entrepreneur positively influences the likelihood of self-employment, as well as being a widow. Public policy needs to empower females and rural dwellers in terms of skills and entrepreneurship training in order to enhance their success in their self-employment activities. In addition, government should continue with its efforts of providing assistance to the youth for entrepreneurial development in order to reduce unemployment.
Topic:
Entrepreneurship, Public Policy, Economic Development, and Self-Employment
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

42. Multidimensional Impact Evaluation

Author:
Bilal Malaeb and Eustace Uzor
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
Ending (extreme) poverty in all of its forms everywhere around the world continues to dominate the International Development Agenda (UN 2015). However, while poverty is declining in much of the developing world, data from the World Development Report (WDR) Conflict, Security, and Development reveal that fragile and conflict-affected states are lagging behind. The report points out that ‘Poverty rates are 20 percentage points higher in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence over the last three decades. Indeed, with the worlds extreme poor over represented in fragile and conflict-affected ,some authors argue that violent conflict is development in reverse
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Poverty, United Nations, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa, North Uganda, and Global Focus

43. Electrification in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward

Author:
Chukwuka Onyekwena, Joseph Ishaku, and Precious Chukwuemelie Akanonu
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
Although electricity has been generated in commercial quantities in Nigeria for over a century, the rate of electricity infrastructure development in the county is low and power supply remains inadequate. Prior to reforms, the central challenges of the Nigerian power sector was the vertically integrated monopoly of government in power generation, transmission and distribution. While the reforms was successful in privatizing the generation and distribution segments of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the overbearing problems in the sector persists –with privatization only changing the dimensions of the challenges. Financing remain a major problem across all the segments of the NESI partly due to non-cost reflective tariff. Yet each segment of the NESI also faces its unique challenges. The generation segment is riffed with the problems of energy security and inefficiencies in other segments. The challenges in the transmission segment lies in the lack of modern transmission lines and equipment, gross mismanagement, poor maintenance of available infrastructure and inefficient grid design. Distribution companies face the problem of huge Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses.
Topic:
Economics, Privatization, Infrastructure, Finance, Electricity, Economic Development, Financial Institutions, and Financial Services
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

44. Youth Unemployment in Africa: Capacity Building and Innovative Strategies

Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The aim of this Occasional Paper produced by the African Capacity Building Foundation is to provoke evidence-based discussion, and encourage further investigation on the critical capacity challenges to be addressed to tackle youth unemployment in Africa. The paper assesses the causes and impacts of youth unemployment in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. It profiles and characterizes the status and nature of youth unemployment as well as the strategies and programs—and identifies the challenges, implications, and gaps—to find ways to address it. Stakeholder and expert consultations with development partners, government, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations in addressing youth unemployment were carried out, as such research is crucial for identifying capacity gaps and key policy aspects to address it. The consultations were complemented with a review of success stories and best practices to inform strategies and capacity development interventions aimed to tackle youth unemployment and refine policy approaches toward inclusive, employment-creating, and sustainable economic growth.
Topic:
Development, Economic Growth, Youth, Capacity, Unemployment, Economic Development, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, and Botswana

45. Drivers of Economic Growth in Africa

Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The paper produced by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) shows that investment, human capital formation, debt, and overseas development assistance drive Africa’s economic growth. It recommends paying attention to capacity, which is critical to making Africa’s growth sustainable and inclusive. Continental, regional, and national long-term growth plans require stronger capacities to improve economic governance, align national and subnational institutions, coordinate planning and financing ministries, and cultivate a culture of committed leadership to stir economies when times are hard and execute recovery plans without policy reversals. The paper provokes discussion, encourages further investigation, and defines the critical capacity challenges to tackling the growth-equality disconnect in Africa.
Topic:
Economics, Economic Growth, Capacity, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Global Focus

46. Accessing Funds for Development: Required Capacities for Resource Mobilization and Absorption

Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
African countries are now implementing the Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 (also known as Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs), both requiring huge financial resources. Globally, large amounts of investable resources, mostly private, are available in advanced and emerging economies while domestic public resources, even in low-income countries, can be increased when the relevant capacities are in place. To efficiently mobilize the available resources, therefore, countries need to tackle the binding capacity constraints. These include human and institutional capacity to effectively manage tax exemptions, tax evasion, capital flight, illicit financial flows; constraints to accessing private resources particularly blended finance offered by public private partnership (PPP) avenues; and constraints relating to underdeveloped capital markets in most Africa countries. This Issues Paper produced by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for the 26th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors considers the capacity dimensions related to the mobilization and absorption of funds by responding to the following questions (1) What are the domestic and external resources available for Africa’s development? (2) How can the resources be effectively mobilized? (3) What are some of the good practices employed by countries to ensure that the available resources are effectively utilized and fully absorbed? (4) What have been the capacities required to effectively access and absorb the mobilized resources?
Topic:
Economics, Economic Growth, Public Sector, Capacity, Capital Flight, Economic Development, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Africa

47. Which Inequalities Matter for Africa's Sustained Growth and Poverty Reduction?

Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
This paper produced by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) examines the growth, poverty, and inequality dynamics. The findings suggest that policy efforts should target class inequality, especially gender and age related. Among other recommendations, this paper suggests that countries like South Africa should shift focus from interracial inequality to inter-class inequality broadly, which is affecting its economic performance. The aim is to provoke discussion, encourage further investigation, and lay bare for action the critical capacity challenges at the center of Africa’s observed inequality.
Topic:
Political Economy, Inequality, Economic Inequality, Capacity, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

48. Sustainability Issues in the Cameroon Banana Supply Chain

Author:
Kingsly Awang Ollong
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Banana cultivation has long been a key aspect of agricultural development in Cameroon, actually taking advantage of this incentive impetus created for agricultural development. In the late 1970s, the Office Camerounaise de Banane (OCB), a state parastatal was put in place to regulate the banana industry in Cameroon. It received the mandate to organize the marketing chain of Cameroonian bananas (UNECA 1981). To better realize this mission assigned to her by the State, OCB was endowed with financial autonomy guaranteed through the allocation of public subsidies, ensuring the channeling of production, supervision of producers and access to credit and agricultural inputs to operators in the banana sector in Cameroon. The attractive and enticing prospects of a booming banana market and opportunities for land acquisition in a banana field that was seen as terra nullius aroused the interest of many international operators for the Cameroon banana sector. Until 1988 the banana sector in Cameroon was organized around coexistence between food crops and industrial cultivation. Since 1988, the organization of the productive system changed with the dissolution of the OCB in 1993—effectively signaling the end of small banana farms (Anania 2014, 173). Consequently, the field was left free to banana agribusiness consisting of giant multinational corporations. Under the impetus of these large industrial groups, Cameroon’s banana industry experienced tremendous growth. Thus, the industry pointed to the first largest export crops in Cameroon, imposing itself as a crucial economic activity (Atanga 2006)
Topic:
Agriculture, Natural Resources, Economic Development, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon

49. Infrastructure Financing In Nigeria

Author:
Chukwuka Onyekwena, Precious Chukwuemelie Akanonu, and Anointing Ogie Momoh
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
Similar to most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, Nigeria has a huge infrastructure deficit which considerably limits efforts towards achieving inclusive growth, sustainable development, and poverty reduction. With infrastructure stock estimated at 20-25 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigerias infrastructure stock is still significantly lower than the recommended international benchmark of 70 per cent of GDP. The 2014 National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIMP) estimates that a total of US$ 3 trillion of investments, or US$100 billion annually, is required over the next 30 years to bridge Nigerias infrastructure gap. In particular, the Plan estimates that Nigeria will have to spend an annual average of US$ 33 billion infrastructure investments for the period 2014 -2018. This means that Nigeria will have to more than double its spending on infrastructure from the current 2-3 per cent of GDP to around 7 per cent to make appreciable progress in infrastructure development over the next three decades.
Topic:
Economics, Infrastructure, GDP, Finance, Economic Growth, Economic Development, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:
Africa, Nigeria, and Sub-Saharan Africa

50. Six ways to enable women’s economic empowerment

Author:
Fenohasina Rakotondrazaka Maret, Ammar A. Malik, Nan Marie Astone, and H. Elizabeth Peters
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Worldwide, only about one in two women work, compared with three in four men. In some low-income countries, such as Zimbabwe and Madagascar, the labor force participation rate for women has reached 90 percent, but these women are often underemployed. Hard economic circumstances often force them to be self-employed or work in small enterprises that are unregulated and unregistered. About 83 percent of all domestic workers in the world are women, most of whom work in precarious conditions. Women also do much more unpaid work than men, including caring for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities; contributing to family farms or businesses; and performing household chores such as collecting water or gathering firewood. Improving women’s livelihoods constitutes basic human rights protection. But could including more women in the labor force also stimulate economic growth, enhance business competitiveness, and improve well-being? We recently conducted a review of evidence to answer that question and found that reducing the gender pay gap and equalizing access to economic opportunities and resources are good for economic, social, and business development. For example, some firms that purposefully reduced gender discrimination and supported family-friendly policies attracted more talented workers, improved retention rates, and decreased employee stress, resulting in enhanced productivity.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar