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22. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s Growth Prospects
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The third webinar in a seven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Governance, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Africa
23. ‘Delangokubona’ and the distribution of rents and opportunity
- Author:
- Ayabonga Cawe
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Capital spending on infrastructure presents a significant counter-cyclical tool, however contested it might be in a society as unequal as South Africa. The history of racial capitalism, racebased exclusion from economic participation, and an enduring political economy based on the concentration of capital, product, and service markets has given rise to a post-apartheid ‘politics of entry’ that mobilizes both formal and informal adaptations of redistributive policies aimed at ensuring redress of past injustices and access and participation by small and medium-sized enterprises owned by historically disadvantaged people. This is observed in stark form in the capital spending on economic and social infrastructure, which the South African government envisages as the ‘flywheel’ of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery. Applying a combination of tools from new institutional economics, political sociology, and heterodox political economy frameworks, this paper considers the ‘informal’ and at times violent adaptation of policy, here defined as the ‘Delangokubona phenomenon’, which uses both formal mechanisms and the threat (perceived or real) of violent disruption to negotiate access to policy-sanctioned economic ‘rents’ under the auspices of ‘black economic empowerment’ in public infrastructure projects.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Economy, Rent, Redistribution, and Empowerment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
24. MIT X TAU Series: Africa's Information Technologies
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The second webinar in a seven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Governance, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Africa
25. Taxation, infrastructure investment, growth, and poverty reduction: A case study of Zimbabwe
- Author:
- Hans Lofgren and Martin Cicowiez
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- In recent decades, Zimbabwe’s development record has been disappointing. In the last few years, a severe drought and the Covid-19 pandemic have added to the country’s development challenges. This paper is concerned with the long-run need to find a path toward faster growth in GDP, employment, and incomes, accompanied by more rapid progress on poverty reduction and other parts of the global sustainable development agenda. As part of this search, the country will need to address structural constraints including a large infrastructure gap, an inefficient government, and unhospitable business climate. Among these, this paper is focused on infrastructure and alternative means of financing scaled-up investments – what are the consequences of relying on domestic taxes compared to foreign financing? To address these questions, the paper draws on simulations with SDGSIM, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, designed for SDG analysis but applicable to analysis of policies in a wide range of areas, including growth, fiscal space, and external shocks. The model was adapted to the Zimbabwean context and calibrated to a database for 2016. The simulations cover the period 2016-2030 and analyzes the effects of alternative levels and priorities for government spending and resource mobilization (domestic and foreign). The simulation results cover a wide range of economic indicators, including some related to the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda. The differences between the scenario results for GDP growth, household consumption, and poverty point to the importance of strong public investment management and, other things being equal, of targeting TFP gains to tradable sectors. The advantages of reliance on domestic taxation for the funding of expanded investment include slower debt accumulation and less reliance on the decisions of external actors. Tax reliance may also give the funders, the citizens, a stronger sense of ownership and right to monitor how the money is used, with a positive impact on investment productivity. On the other hand, before the investment have yielded sufficient returns, reliance on taxes reduces private purchasing power, leading to some combination of lower private consumption and investment. Raising the tax burden by 2-3 percent of GDP may also be administratively difficult. It would of course be possible to consider scenarios that split the funding burden between domestic taxes and foreign financing.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Infrastructure, Economic Growth, Tax Systems, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zimbabwe
26. Malawi’s Peace Policy: The bedrock of a coherent national peace architecture?
- Author:
- Gwinyayi Dzinesa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- In November 2017, the government of Malawi launched the country’s first National Peace Policy (NPP) to systematically promote sustainable peace and unity. Malawi already had infrastructures for peace (I4P) that had been developed separately by the state, non-state actors and other stakeholders for various purposes. However, there was no integrated and coherent national peacebuilding framework which was focused on proactive conflict prevention and the promotion of sustainable peace and unity. The outbreak of deadly violence between police and civilians in July 2011 was a major manifestation of shortcomings and failures of the uncoordinated and mainly reactive top-down and bottom-up peace infrastructures established by the state and non-state actors, respectively. In response to the violence, the United Nations’ (UN) preventive diplomacy and facilitation of national dialogue in Malawi helped de-escalate tensions and mitigate conflict risk. This culminated in the development and approval of the NPP. The NPP is a bedrock strategy of a coherent and credible National Peace Architecture (NPA) to serve as the national pillar for peacebuilding. The NPP is being implemented by complementary state and non-state actors working closely with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in compliance with regional, continental and international instruments relating to the NPA. The case of Malawi presents an opportunity for building integrated local, national, regional, continental and international peace architectures.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Infrastructure, Violence, Peace, Domestic Policy, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Malawi
27. Egypt transport policies 2014-2021
- Author:
- Mohamed Hegazy
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- The Egyptian Ministry of Transport’s1 YouTube channel provides an excellent documentation of the far-reaching changes taking place in the transport sector in Egypt: new highways connecting cities and new bridges; new train carriages for the national railways; new public transport systems such as the Metro, Monorail and Electric train. Between 2014 and 2021 the Egyptian state has invested 1 trillion EGP (~63.6 billion USD) in the transport sector2 in its bid to achieve sustainable development3 . This paper seeks to examine policies and state investments in the transport sector from a sustainable development perspective, focusing on the environmental and social dimensions.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Transportation, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Egypt, and MENA
28. Egypt’s water policy after the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
- Author:
- Sherif Mohy El Deen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Egypt is one of the driest countries in the world. It is also the country that is most dependent on a single source of water: The Nile. The Nile River provides over 93% of Egypt’s water needs, according to Egyptian government documents. However, the water crisis discussion mainly focuses on the extent to which previous water agreements with other Nile Basin countries are binding, or on the truthfulness of the current news on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Hence, this discussion is not addressing the main issue, which is the extent to which operating the Dam would affect the annual water use per capita in Egypt at present, as well as in the near and distant future. The Renaissance Dam crisis is recent, as it began when Ethiopia unilaterally decided to build the Dam in a border region between Ethiopia and Sudan. However, it is a main factor that could exacerbate and deepen the problem of water scarcity in Egypt. Other factors affecting water use per capita in Egypt include exponential population growth and increasing climate change. This policy brief aims to shed light on the main causes and background of the water crisis in Egypt. It will briefly discuss some examples of recent or upcoming projects by the Egyptian government under the new Water Resources Management Strategy (2016-2050). Finally, the paper will highlight the importance of conducting comprehensive and constant feasibility and impact assessments of these projects. These assessments should focus not only on the water dimension, but also on the economic, social, environmental, cultural, and political dimensions. This paper also provides some recommendations and lessons learned from the “Jonglei Canal,” an Egyptian-Sudanese water megaproject that launched nearly five decades ago.
- Topic:
- Development, Water, Infrastructure, and Dams
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Egypt
29. The GERD and Cyber Diplomacy
- Author:
- Mirette F. Mabrouk, Joey Shea, and Eliza Campbell
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Middle East Institute (MEI)
- Abstract:
- Mirette Mabrouk, Joey Shea, and guest host Eliza Campbell discuss current political disputes over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), cyber diplomacy, and the effects of climate change on the Horn of Africa.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Diplomacy, Infrastructure, Dams, Cyberspace, and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ethiopia, and Horn of Africa
30. Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam. The Law, History, Politics and Geopolitics behind Africa’s Largest Hydropower Project
- Author:
- Francesca Caruso
- Publication Date:
- 10-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Since 2011, the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has provoked a diplomatic crisis between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, adding fuel to the already combustible geopolitics of the Horn of Africa. Despite its technical aspects, the GERD dispute has over time become a multi-layered geopolitical crisis where a plethora of actors and dynamics have been influencing the ongoing negotiations. Protagonists are no longer only Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, and the resolution of the crisis is now dependent on factors beyond technical solutions. Moreover, the crisis seems to have become an instrument that the three countries are using to deal with issues of national legitimacy, territorial disputes and regional balance. However, while instrumentalisation can be politically expedient in the short term, all parties have an interest an equitable and regionally based, inclusive and cooperative agreement. In order to understand how multilateral organisations can contribute to the finding of an equitable and reasonable solution, a multi-layered analysis – on local, national and regional dynamics – needs to identify the main drivers for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, History, Water, Infrastructure, Law, Geopolitics, Dams, Conflict Management, and Hydropower
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt