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1. East Africa’s Potential Role in US Graphite Supply Chains

Author:
Cullen S. Hendrix
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
The impact of the green tech trade war between the United States and China, which began with US semiconductor export controls, is now being felt in other areas. In December 2023, China introduced export controls on graphite, a key element used in the production of noncarbon technologies like batteries and solar panels. The effects were immediate: Chinese graphite exports to the rest of the world declined by 93 percent (by volume) in a single month. Exports to the United States and Japan—which is collaborating with the United States on semiconductor controls—dropped to zero.1 But although China is the largest player, it is not the only graphite producer in town. This Policy Brief assesses the prospects for three Sub-Saharan African countries—Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania—for providing stable supplies of natural graphite to the US market, considering both domestic factors in the three countries and US policies established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These countries have adequate graphite resources and operators headquartered in Western allies. The problem is that there are significant governance-related challenges in Madagascar and Mozambique and some domestic challenges to incorporating East African graphite into US electric vehicle (EV) supply chains. US critical mineral sourcing policies will need to be modified to facilitate greater involvement of African producers in US graphite supply chains.
Topic:
Supply Chains, Electric Vehicles, Critical Minerals, and Graphite
Political Geography:
Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, East Africa, and United States of America

2. Working Conditions in Madagascar’s Apparel Industry: Comparing Export and Domestic Market Firms

Author:
Kristoffer Marslev and Lindsay Whitfield
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
The apparel export industry in Madagascar is one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet limited data exists on the conditions of its 180,000 predominantly female workers. This paper draws on new ILO quantitative and qualitative data generated in 2021 and 2022 to provide a systematic mapping of wages and working conditions in Madagascar’s apparel industry. The analysis shows important variations by end market. While workers in export firms are more likely to do excessive overtime and have inadequate rest time, they earn higher wages and enjoy better social protections such as paid leave, insurance, pension, and maternity. In contrast, nearly half of workers in firms producing for the domestic market earn incomes below the national minimum wage and have limited social benefits. These findings point to a paradox in which workers in export firms are more exploited in terms of their labor power but better off in terms of wages and benefits. The paper attributes these differences to the governance dynamics of global apparel supply chains, in which buyers on the one hand require suppliers to meet certain social standards and to comply with domestic labor laws, but on the other hand impose high flexibility demands that incentivize excessive overtime and work intensification. In both export and domestic market firms, however, wages fall severely below living wage benchmarks. In the context of high levels of absolute poverty in Madagascar and even lower incomes in agriculture, there is not much upwards pressure on wages and working conditions from the labor market.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Global Value Chains, Labor Market, Wages, Garment Industry, Work, and Apparel
Political Geography:
Africa and Madagascar

3. Containing Tariff Evasion*

Author:
Clément Anne, Cyril Chalendard, Ana Fernandes, Bob Rijkers, and Vincent Vicard
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales (CEPII)
Abstract:
To identify transactions at risk of tariff evasion, this paper matches export transaction data from France with import transaction data from Madagascar using container identifiers. Reporting discrepancies between exporters and importers are prevalent but small, with over two-fifths of importers reporting in a way that increases their tariff liability. Yet, aggregate tariff revenues are 24 percent lower due to discrepancies. These revenue losses are highly concentrated: the top five evaders account for three-quarters of all tariff revenue losses and larger shipments are more at risk of evasion. Tariff enforcement in Madagascar is ineffective and only marginally mitigates revenue losses.
Topic:
Corruption, Tariffs, Exports, Trade, Imports, and Tax Evasion
Political Geography:
Africa, Madagascar, and Global Focus

4. Exploring the conflict-readiness of parties: The Dynamics of Proclivity Towards Violence and/or Conflict in Madagascar

Author:
Velomahanina T. Razakamaharavo
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
Since the beginnings of the anti-colonial struggle, Madagascar, a former French colony and an island in the Indian Ocean, has gone through nine episodes of conflict, ranging from political tension to high intensity conflicts. These changes of conflict intensity demonstrate that the proclivity towards conflict may take different forms in various episodes of violence and conflicts in the country. This phenomenon may be explored by examining the causal configurations and the co-existence of positive and negative processes and mechanisms which are interacting and co-constructing each other. In order to untangle the intricacy behind the conflict-readiness of parties preparing for conflict at low, medium or high levels of violence, use is made of concepts and theories pertaining to peace, conflict, negotiation and mediation, conflict escalation and de-escalation to explore the roles played by the following factors: local narratives and metanarratives. repertoires of action of the actors the actors’ framing of the conflicts the actors’ polarising of public opinion construction of the image of the self and the other conflict dimensions (socio-economic, cultural, political and global external) accommodation policies This paper argues firstly that proclivities toward violence/conflict in Madagascar are related to the coexistence of positive and negative elements, and secondly, that such proclivities are built partly upon the fact that liberal strategies for maintaining peace give rise to negative as well as positive effects on the dynamics of keeping that peace.
Topic:
Colonialism, Conflict, Violence, and Local
Political Geography:
Africa and Madagascar

5. Racial Formations in Africa and the Middle East: A Transregional Approach

Author:
Hisham Aïdi, Marc Lynch, Zachariah Mampilly, Diana S. Kim, Parisa Vaziri, Denis Regnier, Sean Jacobs, Wendell Marsh, Stephen J. King, Eric Hahonou, Paul A. Silverstein, Afifa Ltifi, Zeyad el Nabolsy, Bayan Abubakr, Yasmin Moll, Zachary Mondesire, Abdourahmane Seck, Amelie Le Renard, Sumayya Kassamali, Noori Lori, Nathaniel Mathews, Sabria Al-Thawr, Gokh Amin Alshaif, Deniz Duruiz, Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Efrat Yerday, Noah Salomon, and Ann McDougall
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
In February 2020, the editors of this volume organized a POMEPS workshop that explored the origins of the disciplinary divide between the study of Africa and the Middle East, examining issues that span both regions (i.e., cross-border conflict, Islamist politics, social movements and national identity, and Gulf interventionism.) In February 2021, we convened another workshop, sponsored by POMEPS and the newly-founded Program on African Social Research (PASR, pronounced Pasiri) centered on racial formations and racialization across the two regions. Both workshops centered around the need for a genuinely transregional scholarship, one which rejects artificial divisions between ostensibly autonomous regions while also taking seriously the distinctive historical trajectories and local configurations of power which define national and subregional specificities. The workshop brought together nearly two dozen scholars from across multiple disciplines to explore the historical and contemporary politics of racial formation across Africa and the Middle East.
Topic:
Islam, Race, War, Immigration, Law, Slavery, Judaism, Colonialism, Borders, Identity, and Amazigh
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, South Africa, Yemen, Palestine, North Africa, Egypt, Madagascar, Tunisia, Oman, and Gulf Nations

6. Exporting out of China or out of Africa? Automation versus Relocation in the Global Clothing Industry

Author:
Tilman Altenburg, Xiao Chen, Wilfried Lütkenhorst, Cornelia Staritz, and Lindsay Whitfield
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
The Discussion Paper examines the opportunities that the rising industrial wages in China will bring for Africa. China has been the industrial workbench of the global economy for decades. However, its competitive advantages are waning, particularly for labour-intensive assembly activities in the clothing, shoe, electronics and toy industries. The Chinese government estimates that up to 81 million low-cost industrial jobs are at risk of relocation to other countries - unless China can keep the companies in the country through automation. Against this background, three complementary studies were carried out. The first examines where the automation technology for clothing and footwear production stands today; the second, how clothing companies in China deal with the cost pressure: to what extent they automate, relocate within China or abroad and how great is the interest in Africa as a production location. The third part is devoted to Africa’s competitiveness in clothing assemly, with empirical findings from Ethiopia and Madagascar. The Discussion Paper shows that the manufacture of clothing can already be robotized today, but that for sewing, robotization will probably remain more expensive than manual labor in the next 15-20 years. China’s companies are investing heavily in the automation of all other production processes and at the same time shifting production to neighbouring Asian countries. In Africa, only Ethiopia is currently competitive in the manufacture of clothing, and here too there are significant institutional difficulties in absorbing large amounts of direct investment.
Topic:
Industrial Policy, Labor Issues, Foreign Direct Investment, Exports, and Automation
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Germany, Ethiopia, and Madagascar

7. The Significance of Erdoğan's Visit to East Africa

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
On the 22nd of January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embarked on another tour of three East African countries, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. These visits bring his total trips to 10 in Sub Saharan Africa, the most by any Turkish president. Earlier in 2016, he visited Ghana, Guinea, Cote d’ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. These trips to a much larger extent signify the increasing policy attention Turkey is giving Africa.
Topic:
Development, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, Geopolitics, and Trade
Political Geography:
Africa, Turkey, Middle East, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, and East Africa

8. Turning Africa’s digital divide into digital dividends

Author:
Fenohasina Rakotondrazaka Maret and Daiki Akiyoshi
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
In Nairobi, Kenya, technological advances like Uber have brought positive disruption and significant benefits to consumers. The country has been called the Silicon Savannah for having hatched various technological innovations. But in some parts of Kenya, it’s not uncommon to wait for hours to get a stable Internet connection. In the capitals of Madagascar and Burkina Faso, where smartphone and computer ownership is still low, people have to go to cybercafés to access the Internet, usually on run-down computers with old software, and even then, connection speeds may be painfully slow. Slow connection speeds and lack of Internet access aren’t just a hassle though, they’re signs of the digital divide that sets many African countries behind. The World Bank’s World Development Report 2016 provides an in-depth analysis of countries’ access to and use of the Internet, mobile phones, and tools to collect, store, analyze, and share information digitally. We revisited the latest data and observed a persistent digital divide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso

9. Madagascar Dealing with Multi-Faceted Crime

Author:
Mathieu Pellerin
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
Recently, the successful organization of La Francophonie summit in November 2016 and the success of the Donors’ and Investors’ conference in December of the same year have ensured Madagascar’s return to the international scene. However, careful observation of the state of the country leads us to question if the crisis has continued in other forms. The economic difficulties, despite some glimmers of hope, and an increasingly vindictive opposition (in the National Assembly and elsewhere) are the most visible signs of it. The very identity of this opposition, largely built around the former transitional president, Andry Rajoelina’s, party shows that the political sequence that opened in 2009 is still not closed, and that it promises to be subject to a new crisis in the next presidential election in 2018. However, the most difficult legacy of the transition to deal with, as we demonstrated in 2014, is undoubtedly the ever more advancing pervasiveness of multi-faceted crime.
Topic:
International Relations and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Madagascar

10. 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