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42. The Preserving Effect of Social Protection on Social Cohesion in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Author:
- Christoph Strupat
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- This paper examines empirically whether social protection in the form of adapted social assistance programmes are affecting social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using unique primary data from nationally representative, in-person surveys from Kenya allows for the exploration of the effect of social protection on attributes of social cohesion (trust, cooperation and identity). The analysis employs a difference-in-differences approach that compares households with and without social assistance coverage before and after the first wave of the pandemic. The findings suggest that social assistance can have a positive effect on attributes of social cohesion, but only in regions that faced larger restrictions due to lockdown policies. Turning to the analysis without focusing on lockdown regions, social assistance does not affect attributes of social cohesion. Overall, the results suggest that only under specific circumstances existing national social assistance programmes and their adaptation in times of large covariate shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can be beneficial for social cohesion.
- Topic:
- Social Cohesion, COVID-19, Trust, and Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
43. Employing Capital: Patient Capital and Labour Relations in Kenya’s Manufacturing Sector
- Author:
- Florence Dafe, Radha Upadhyaya, and Christoph Sommer
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- Generating decent employment is key to the creation of a new social contract and social cohesion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The crucial question is, thus, how can more decent jobs be created? Much of the extant research has focused on the role of states and businesses in shaping employment relations. In this paper, we draw attention to a third type of actor that has been largely absent in the literature on the determinants of employment relations in developing countries: financial institutions. Based on data from 38 interviews of Kenyan manufacturing firms, financiers and labour representatives before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the relationship between the patience of capital and labour relations. In particular, the evidence presented in this paper suggests that access to more patient sources of capital may help to enhance the quantity and quality of jobs in African countries. We discuss three mechanisms through which this occurs. Our paper contributes to the growing body of research on patient capital (which largely focuses on developed countries) by extending it to the context of lower income African countries; it also speaks to the broader debates about how to enhance the contribution of finance capital to social cohesion.
- Topic:
- Development, Labor Issues, Manufacturing, Social Cohesion, COVID-19, and Capital
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
44. Main Trends of Terrorism in Africa Towards 2025
- Author:
- Yoslán Silverio González
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- The article is divided in: a methodological and theoretical framework to explain the prospective method used and some ideas about the discussion of terrorism and how to understand it. The second part of the paper focuses on the scenarios, taking into account the development of organizations such as: Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its related groups, Boko Haram (BH) in the area surrounding the Lake Chad, as well as Al-Shabaab (ALS) in southern Somalia and the border with Kenya. We finalized with a generalization of terrorism in Africa – conclusions – and the possible recommendation to solve this problem.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Terrorism, History, Violent Extremism, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sahel
45. Ending Gender Violence in Elections: Inclusion of Women in Kenyan Politics and the National Dialogue Process from a Transitional Justice Perspective
- Author:
- Agatha Ndonga and Kelli Muddell
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- In its primary findings, Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission noted that women and girls have been subject to systematic, state-sanctioned discrimination in all spheres of their lives, and that the state has failed to take measures to end the practices that restrict women’s political involvement. This paper highlights the need to overcome the political challenges Kenyan women face: their exclusion from political life, the continued violence against them during electoral contests, and their inability to rise to leadership positions in the country.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Gender Issues, Elections, Gender Based Violence, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
46. An analysis of optimal devolved government size for growth: Armey curve in Kenya
- Author:
- Naftaly Mose
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- The recent global initiative towards federalized spending has been gradually justified on the basis that decentralization of resources to sub-national governments level are likely to deliver greater efficiency in the delivery of public goods and services and consequently stimulate economic activities at devolved units (Martinez-Vasquez and McNab 2006). The devolution trend in unindustrialized nations is reinforced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), which considers expenditure decentralization as a key pillar of its economic growth and poverty eradication strategy (World Bank 2016). But, attention to expenditure transfer has been mainly inspired by local political reasons (Mwiathi 2017). Like the case of Kenya in 2007/2008. The 2007/2008 post-election violence saw the introduction of the new governance system, which entrenched devolved systems (GoK 2010). In a number of nations including Kenya, a devolved system of governance refers to devolution. Essentially devolution is one form of fiscal decentralization. However, devolution is more extensive and includes transfer of both economic and political powers from central government to devolved units (Ezcurra and Rodríguez-Pose 2010).
- Topic:
- Government, International Political Economy, Poverty, World Bank, Economic Growth, Economic Development, and IMF
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
47. The Horn of Africa and the refugee field in Dadaab in Kenya
- Author:
- Juliana Tomiko Ribeiro Aizaw
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- The political and economic emancipation in the African continent occurred, mostly, through wars of national liberation, from 1953 to 1960, causing the uprooting of civilians who were in the midst of these conflicts, as in the case of analysis on the Horn of Africa - Somalia. Civil wars, coups d’état, political instability, physical and climatic conditions from Somalia forced the exodus of Somalis to neighboring countries in search of protection and minimum conditions for survival (Silva 2016). Kenya had an open policy for refugees, however after the fall of the military regime in Barré in 1991 it began to receive thousands of Somalis in its territory. Therefore, as a result of this large flow of people, the Kenyan government had to enlist the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in search of humanitarian aid. Thus, the Kenyan government began to adopt the refugee camps as an host policy
- Topic:
- Civil War, Migration, Post Colonialism, Refugee Issues, Refugee Crisis, Displacement, and Coup
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Somalia, and Horn of Africa
48. The Impact of COVID-19 on Democratic Elections in Africa
- Author:
- Michael Asiedu
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
- Abstract:
- Almost all African countries rolled out significant measure in response to Covid-19. From border closures through to the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to restricted gatherings and contact tracing, a combination of diverse public health safety strategies was employed. These same strategies nonetheless would make preparations toward holding smooth and timely elections cumbersome. Ghana’s electoral commissioner announced an indefinite postponement of its voter registration exercise, it is still in consultation with stakeholders on carrying out the exercise with only six months to its presidential and parliamentary elections if the timeline stays the same. Niger also suspended its voter registration exercise; Ethiopia postponed its elections entirely. Other countries that have had some forms of election postponement include Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya.
- Topic:
- Elections, Democracy, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Ghana
49. Post-workshop Briefing Paper: Preventing a COVID-19 Crisis in Africa
- Author:
- Atif Choudhury, Yawei Liu, and Ian Pilcher
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- In May 2020, the Carter Center’s China Program partnered with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) to organize a virtual workshop on Africa-U.S.-China cooperation on COVID-19 response. The workshop brought together a range of experts from the U.S, China, Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, and South Africa to discuss the public health impact and wider policy implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent. Emory University’s Global Health Institute and The Hunger Project also helped identify speakers and moderate panels.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, United States, China, Asia, South Africa, North America, Ethiopia, and Burundi
50. Skills in African Labor Markets and Implications for Migration to Europe
- Author:
- Andreas Backhaus
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- This paper assesses the potential for skilled labor migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe. It utilizes representative surveys from Ghana and Kenya to shed light on the quality and distribution of skills in the labor markets of these countries. Skills in both countries are found to be unevenly distributed, with significant parts of the labor force being essentially unskilled. Similarly designed surveys from France, Germany, and the UK further allow comparing skills and formal education between the African and the European countries. On average, the labor force in the sub-Saharan African countries is less skilled and less educated than the European labor force. Importantly, even at the same levels of formal education, workers in Ghana and Kenya are substantially less skilled than workers in Europe. The paper further considers a number of hypothetical scenarios for skilled labor migration from the African to the European countries. It is demonstrated that the European countries would have to recruit workers from the very top end of the African skill distribution to match European demands for skills. In turn, the average worker from the African labor markets would fit only into the low end of the European skill distribution where employment rates are low. Hence, more regular and skilled labor migration from African countries will unlikely be a remedy for skill shortages in Europe unless migrants are positively selected on their skills. In that case, however, additional opportunities for skilled labor migration would risk a brain drain from African countries that could harm economic development there. Improving the quality of education in sub-Saharan Africa on a broad scale remains indispensable for mutually beneficial migration between Africa and Europe.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Migration, Labor Issues, Migrant Workers, and Skilled Labor
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Europe, Ghana, and Sub-Saharan Africa