Number of results to display per page
Search Results
302. SACU Revenue Sharing Formula: Towards a Developmental Agreement
- Author:
- Roman Grynberg and Masedi Motswapong
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- The South African Customs Union (SACU) Revenue Sharing Formula (RSF) has been revised substantively twice; once in 1969 and in 1994-2002 since the creation of the customs union in 1910 and each time the changes in the treaty were a reflection of the historic changes occurring in Southern Africa. The apartheid regime created a RSF that served to increase the share of revenue of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (BLS), leaving the South African share as a residual of revenues. As this made South Africa a residual claimant it was unsustainable and required reform in the post-apartheid era. The 2002 formula increased the share to the Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BNLS) and removed South Africa as a residual claimant but did not change the fundamental economic relationship between members. While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports orthodox fiscal adjustment imbalances this paper argues that the order of magnitude makes those adjustment implausible and a new political arrangement is needed between South Africa and Lesotho and Swaziland to create a viable way forward for Southern African Development Community (SADC). It is argued that even in the case of Botswana and Namibia a new developmental formula, based on investing SACU revenues for regional and national development projects is needed to relieve those countries that have suffered the effects of polarization.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Customs, and Revenue Sharing
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
303. Factors Underlying Communal Beef Cattle Marketing Decisions in Botswana: The Role of Public and Private Transfers
- Author:
- Tebogo Seleka and David Mmopelwa
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- This article examines factors underlying communal beef cattle marketing at a household level in Botswana, with emphasis placed on the role of public and private transfers. Results show that public and private transfers (pensions, remittances, government food rations, and food supplies from friends and relatives) discourage cattle marketing. Thus, while they are important sources of household food security, cash and food transfers may adversely impact on beef export performance in Botswana. It is therefore fundamental that public transfer programmes are well targeted to needy and poor households, in order to minimize their adverse effects on the cattle industry. On the positive side, the paper argues that public transfer programmes may assist poor farmers rebuild their cattle and other livestock inventory, contributing to transition out of inter-generational poverty.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Public Policy, Economic Development, Private Sector, and Cattle
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
304. Competition and Trade Policy: The Case of the Botswana Poultry Industry
- Author:
- Masedi Motswapong and Roman Grynberg
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- The poultry sector is the most successful example of import substitution in Botswana with the country having achieved national self sufficiency. The paper describes the value chain in the industry and shows how, given the small size of the market, a high degree of market concentration exists. There is an estimate of the loss of consumer surplus from the current trade regime. The paper raises issues regarding the fundamental tension between competition and industrial policy in a small developing country. As the larger firms in the poultry industry move towards export readiness after 32 years of protection, the question of a new trade and industry regime is considered.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Economic Development, Trade Policy, Strategic Competition, and Industry
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
305. Security Policies of India, Brazil and South Africa – Regional Security Contexts as Constraints for a Common Agenda
- Author:
- Daniel Flemes and Alcides Costa Vaz
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In the course of the last decade, the IBSA states (India, Brazil, South Africa) have increased their weight in the shifting global order, particularly in economic affairs. Can the same be said about the IBSA states' position in the international security hierarchy? After locating the IBSA coalition in the shifting world order, we analyze its member states' willingness and capacity to coordinate their security policies and build a common global security agenda. In addition, we explore the state of and perspectives on bi- and trilateral collaboration initiatives on defense and armaments between India, Brazil and South Africa. A key reason for the mostly modest results of global security agenda coordination and cross-regional defense collaboration is that the prevailing security concerns of each country are located at the regional level. Therefore, the starting point of an assessment of the prospects of IBSA's security cooperation and its potential impact on the strategic global landscape has to be a comparative evaluation of the regional security environments, focusing on overlaps and potential synergies between the national security policies of the three state actors.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, India, and Brazil
306. Africa Can Feed Itself in a Generation
- Author:
- Calestous Juma
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- African agriculture is at a crossroads. Persistent food shortages are now being compounded by new threats arising from climate change. But Africa also has three major opportunities that can help transform its agriculture to be a force for economic growth. First, advances in science, technology, and engineering worldwide offer Africa new tools needed to promote sustainable agriculture. Second, efforts to create regional markets will provide new incentives for agricultural production and trade. Third, a new generation of African leaders is helping the continent focus on long-term economic transformation.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Economics, Science and Technology, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Africa
307. Sensitivity of Loan Size to Lending Rates
- Author:
- Samuel Kobina Annim
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the combined effect of interest rates and poverty levels of microfinance clients on loan size. Cross section data on 2,691 clients and non-clients households from Ghana is used to test the hypothesis of loan price inelasticity. Quantile regression and variants of least squares methods that explore endogeneity are employed. We find the expected inverse relationship only for the 20th to 40th quantile range. The semi-elasticity of loan amount responsiveness to a unit change in interest rate is more than proportionate and significant for the poorest group only. Market segmentation based on poverty level is suggested in targeting and sustaining microfinance clients.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Markets, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa
308. Exchange Rate Regimes and Trade: Is Africa Different?
- Author:
- Mahvash Saeed Qureshi and Charalambos G. Tsangarides
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper revisits the link between exchange rate regimes and trade in the context of Africa's exchange rate arrangements. Applying an augmented gravity model that includes measures of currency unions and pegged regimes, the paper compares Africa's experience with that of the world. Our results suggest that both currency unions and direct pegs promote bilateral trade in Africa vis-à-vis more flexible exchange rate regimes,and that their effect is almost double for the region than that for an average country in the world sample. Further, we find evidence that the effect of conventional pegs is at least as large as that of currency unions in Africa, and that the benefits of fixed exchange rate regimes stem through channels in addition to reduced exchange rate volatility.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa
309. Population Size, Per Capita Income, and the Risk of Civil War: Regional Heterogeneity in the Structural Relationship Matters
- Author:
- Markus Brückner
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- A common finding in the empirical civil war literature is that population size and per capita income are highly significant predictors of civil war incidence and onset. This paper shows that the common finding of population size and per capita income having a significant average effect on civil war risk in a world sample breaks down once country- and year-specific unobservables are accounted for. However, for Sub-Saharan Africa there continues to be a highly significant average effect of population size and per capita income on civil war risk that is robust to the use of country- and year-fixed effects and instrumental variable techniques.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Demographics, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Africa
310. Does Lack of Innovation and Absorptive Capacity Retard Economic Growth in Africa?
- Author:
- Steve Onyeiwu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews the innovative capabilities and absorptive capacities of African countries, and investigates whether they have played significant roles in the region's slow and episodic economic growth. Results from cross-country regressions covering 31 Sub-Saharan African countries suggest that growth in Africa is not simply a question of capital accumulation, fertility rates, aid dependency, and stable macroeconomic environment. It is also about strengthening the capacity of African countries to assimilate and effectively use knowledge and technology. Contrary to the views held by many analysts, the growth of African economies does not depend so much on their ability to innovate, but rather on their capacity to absorb and effectively use new technologies. Beyond technological issues, the paper confirms the stylized facts that the size of the government and political stability are important for the growth performance of African countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Africa