Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Africa Content Type Working Paper

1001. The Impact of Asian Investment on Africa's Textile Industries

Author:
Tang Xiaoyang
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Asian investors' impact on Africa's cotton, textile, and apparel sectors may have profound consequences for the continent's industrialization and development. As southeast African countries seek to industrialize and build indigenous cotton-textile-apparel value chains, the interactions between Asian—particularly Chinese—investors and African companies become more and more complex. Indeed, Asian investors present both a challenge to and an opportunity for local industries, and southeast African countries need a clear vision and tailored policies to make the most of the opportunities. Asian investors' impact on Africa's cotton, textile, and apparel sectors may have profound consequences for the continent's industrialization and development. As southeast African countries seek to industrialize and build indigenous cotton-textile-apparel value chains, the interactions between Asian-particularly Chinese-investors and African companies become more and more complex. Indeed, Asian investors present both a challenge to and an opportunity for local industries, and southeast African countries need a clear vision and tailored policies to make the most of the opportunities.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa and Asia

1002. Self-Selection into Credit Markets: Evidence from Agriculture in Mali

Author:
Dean Karlan, Bram Thuysbaert, Christopher Udry, and Lori Beaman
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
We partnered with a micro-lender in Mali to randomize credit offers at the village level. Then, in no-loan control villages, we gave cash grants to randomly selected households. These grants led to higher agricultural investments and profits, thus showing that liquidity constraints bind with respect to agricultural investment. In loan-villages, we gave grants to a random subset of farmers who (endogenously) did not borrow. These farmers have lower – in fact zero – marginal returns to the grants. Thus we find important heterogeneity in returns to investment and strong evidence that farmers with higher marginal returns to investment self-select into lending programs.
Topic:
Agriculture and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa

1003. Pathways to Security Council Reform

Author:
Richard Gowan and Nora Gordon
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In this paper, New York University's Center on International Cooperation (CIC) seeks to explore potential pathways to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform. We begin with an overview of the current context, which has been characterized by increasing international pressure for Security Council reform. The Council's abysmal performance in the Syrian crisis has fueled the mounting pressure for reform, which includes the French proposal to limit use of the veto and Saudi Arabia's rejection of a non-permanent seat. We then offer a brief history and analysis of previous reform attempts; an explanation of global perspectives on the issue of UNSC reform; background on the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reform in New York; and an analysis of discussions on reform in and around the African Union.
Topic:
Security, International Security, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, New York, and Saudi Arabia

1004. Limits of Control — Challenges to Spatiotemporal Analysis of Sub-State War

Author:
Christian Ickler
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Territorial control by violent (non-)state actors (VNSA) in sub-state war features prominently in many fundamental concepts in conflict studies. Though there have been attempts to measure this phenomenon or at least delimit it from a spatiotemporal perspective, these have so far been based either primarily on qualitative expert assessments or rely on dyadic event data to determine contested areas. In this methodological research paper, I present three approaches that can be used to estimate actor presence on basis of spatiotemporal approximation. In doing so, I focus on challenges and obstacles that can be encountered when measuring territorial control via the proxy of territorial contestation. Spatiotemporally disaggregated violent incidence data is used to analyze a small subsample of countries in sub- Saharan Africa in order to determine various ways of visualizing territorial contest. Further points of discussion include the impact of data aggregation, the availability of context data and analytical methods used for these evaluations.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Africa

1005. Governance Transfer by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A B2 Case Study Report

Author:
Anna van der Vleuten
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
As early as 1992, the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) already included a commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as governance standards in its member states, but it was in 2001 that SADC significantly broadened its efforts at governance transfer. SADC focuses in particular on standards related to gender, (socioeconomic) human rights, and (electoral) democracy, which are promoted and protected through various instruments including military interventions and sanctions in the framework of security cooperation. While the rule of law and good governance have also gained a more prominent place on the agenda since 2001, standards and instruments are less developed. Overall, there is a significant gap between the prescription of standards and policies on the one hand and the implementation of measures on the other. The suspension of the SADC Tribunal in 2010 following its rulings on human rights issues clearly shows the limits of SADC as an active promoter vis-à-vis its member states.
Topic:
Security, Development, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

1006. The Heterogeneity of FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Do the Horizontal Productivity Effects of Emerging Investors Differ from Those of Traditional Players?

Author:
Birte Pfeiffer, Holger Görg, and Lucia Perez-Villar
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
It is generally accepted by policymakers that outward foreign direct investment (FDI) can contribute to economic development in host countries via knowledge spillovers to the domestic economy. Given that multinational corporations (MNCs) possess technological or managerial advantages, they can generate positive externalities through the diffusion of knowledge to domestic firms. This knowledge transfer can occur horizontally, if firms in the same sector benefit from the presence of multinationals, or vertically, if upstream or downstream domestic sectors gain from the presence of foreign investors. Yet, whereas the FDI literature has reached a certain level of agreement that vertical relationships with local suppliers generate positive productivity spillovers, the evidence on horizontal spillovers is still mixed and inconclusive, and estimates differ in terms of statistical significance and magnitude (Havranek and Irsova 2013).1 These inconsistencies derive largely from differences in the measurement of foreign presence and the type of data used – cross‐sectional versus panel – across studies (Görg and Strobl 2001). Further, there are determining factors at the firm and country level that enhance the realization of spillovers and need to be taken into account. Görg and Greenaway (2004) show that studies accounting for the heterogeneity of domestic firms, and especially their absorptive capacity, tend to report positive results.
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

1007. Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Assessing the Threat, Preparing the Response

Author:
Fiona Blyth and Mireille Affa'a Mindzie
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The International Peace Institute convened a roundtable discussion on "Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Assessing the Threats, Preparing the Response" on June 6, 2013, in New York. The meeting aimed to help develop a better understanding of the peace and security challenges facing the Gulf of Guinea by examining the multifaceted threats to the stability of the region; considering national, regional, and international responses to these threats; and providing practical policy recommendations with a view to strengthening regional and international responses.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Africa and United Nations

1008. Mali :réformer ou rechuter

Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Un an après l'intervention française, l'intégrité territoriale et l'ordre constitutionnel ont été rétablis au Mali. Mais la persistance des tensions intercommunautaires et de violences localisées témoigne d'une stabilisation encore précaire du Nord, alors que les forces françaises et onusiennes peinent à consolider leurs progrès en matière de sécurité. Les attentes à l'égard du président Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta sont immenses. Il doit à la fois élaborer un compromis sur le devenir du Nord et engager la réforme d'un Etat affaibli par la crise. Son gouvernement doit aller au-delà des déclarations d'intention et passer à l'action. Pour consolider la situation à court terme, il est tenté de renouer avec un système clientéliste qui a conduit les précédents régimes dans l'impasse. Le président ne peut certes pas tout réformer brusquement mais l'urgence de la stabilisation ne doit ni faire manquer l'occasion d'entamer une réforme profonde de la gouvernance ni occulter la nécessité d'un dialogue véritablement inclusif sur l'avenir du pays.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Islam, Post Colonialism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Africa

1009. Sudan's Spreading Conf lict (III): The Limits of Darfur's Peace Process

Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The violence in Darfur's decade-old war spiked in 2013, as the mostly Arab militias initially armed by the government to contain the rebellion increasingly escaped Khartoum's control and fought each other. Recent fighting has displaced nearly half a million additional civilians – in all 3.2 million Darfurians need humanitarian help. The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) signed in Qatar in 2011 is largely unimplemented, notably because it was endorsed by factions with limited political and military influence, blocked by the government and suffered fading international support. The main insurgent groups remain active, have formed an alliance that goes beyond the region and increasingly assert a national agenda. If Darfur is to have durable peace, all parties to the country's multiple conflicts, supported by the international community, need to develop a more coherent means of addressing, in parallel, both local conflicts and nationwide stresses, the latter through a comprehensive national dialogue; eschew piecemeal approaches; embrace inclusive talks; and recommit to Sudan's unity.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Civil War, Islam, War, Armed Struggle, Insurgency, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Africa

1010. Regionalism and Economic Integration in Africa: A Conceptual and Theoretical Perspective

Author:
Daniel Sakyi and Eric Evans Osei Opoku
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
A well-established strand of the literature on regionalism and economic integration has made clear that economic, geopolitical, and socio-cultural relationships across the globe, for which Africa is no exception, have been changing rapidly in the last few decades. African leaders have been embracing these concepts as vital elements of their development agenda and have engaged their countries in a number of integration arrangements. This study has investigated regionalism and economic integration in Africa from a conceptual and theoretical perspective. The study identified that (i) the rationalist’s theory of neorealism and neoliberalism, (ii) the social constructivism theory, and (iii) several theories of economic integration are very relevant in explaining the formation of regional and economic blocs in Africa. Theories of economic integration that focus on trade, economic interdependency, monetary, fiscal, and political policy coordination seem to be the main forces driving regionalism and economic integration on the continent. The study revealed transportation and mobility of factors of production, limited intra-African trade, multi-memberships, macroeconomic divergence, and conflicts as key factors hindering the success of regionalism and economic integration in Africa. Although regionalism and economic integration on the continent is plagued with these challenges, there are opportunities and possibilities in the power and energy sectors, the manufacturing sector, and in private-public partnerships that the continent can explore to accelerate Africa’s speed of regional and economic integration, crucial for economic growth and development.
Topic:
Development, Economy, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Africa

1011. Regionalism, Food Security and Economic Development

Author:
P. Mkandawire, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Frederick Armah, and G. Arku
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
It is remarkable that Africa, with enormous resource endowments and with more than 70 percent of the population engaged in agriculture, cannot feed itself. This background paper offers a critical assessment of the potential of regional trade and integration in addressing the enduring challenge of food insecurity in Africa. Drawing on the literature, the paper argues that regionalism offers enormous opportunities and synergies for enhancing economic growth, food supply, and stability of food prices that cannot be easily addressed by individual countries when they operate in isolation from each other. To demonstrate the potential of regional integration for achieving food security in Africa, this paper starts by providing a conceptual framework that outlines the dimensions that link regional cooperation and food security. An overview of the key policy initiatives that are currently underway at enhancing integration at the continental level and in various regional blocs follows this introduction. The paper then progresses to a review of the extent of economic integration among African countries, with particular focus on the agriculture and food trade. It then presents a discussion on potential areas of integration followed by an examination of capacity issues that need policy attention in order to improve the potential of continental and regional integration in improving national and household food security among African countries.
Topic:
Agriculture, Food Security, Regional Integration, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa

1012. Integrated Results Based Management in Botswana: Institutions, Documentation and Progress to Date

Author:
Gape Kaboyakgosi and Lillian Mookodi
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
National and international pressure on governments to provide tangible and demonstrable results for public action has become a major preoccupation of many governments and international donors (Kettl, 1997; Norman, 2002; Moynihan, 2006; Mayne, 2007). The Integrated Results Based Management (IRBM) system has been found to be a very powerful instrument for achieving this aim (World Bank, 2001; Koshy and Thomas, 2007; OECD, 2009). This paper analyses Botswana’s efforts at implementing the IRBM system. IRBM is a way of reforming public sectors through helping governments focus on proper, well-timed achievement of relevant goals and objectives. Such reform is carried out through the utilisation of strategic planning, systematic implementation and resource usage, performance monitoring, measurement and reporting as well as systematic use of performance information to improve policy decision making and programme performance at all levels (Koshy and Thomas, 2007). IRBM is, therefore, a way of improving implementation by linking budgetary and human resources systems, and producing timely quality information that is linked through entire government organs.
Topic:
Governance, Institutions, Management, and Strategic Planning
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

1013. The Impact of Trading with China on Botswana’s Economy

Author:
Kedibonye Sekakela
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of trading with China on Botswana’s domestic and third markets. The paper also assesses the structure and magnitude of Botswana-China bilateral trade. Botswana’s trade balance with China has been widening over the past decade, with Botswana mainly exporting primary products and importing intermediate and capital goods, which are mainly used as inputs in the development of infrastructure in the country. The increased import penetration from China is associated with Botswana’s reduced total manufacturing output. China’s Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) exports gained market share from Botswana’s TCF exports in the third markets, that is South Africa. There is a need to consider ways of enhancing Botswana’s export competitiveness and there are also lessons to be learnt from China in relation to enhancing productivity in the TCF and other exporting industries.
Topic:
Development, Markets, Bilateral Relations, Infrastructure, and Exports
Political Geography:
Africa, China, Asia, and Botswana

1014. Towards a Diversified Economy: A Preliminary Assessment of the Potential, Prospects and Challenges for Electricity Exports from Botswana

Author:
Margaret Sengwaketse
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
The paper assesses the prospects and challenges of coal-fired power exports in Botswana. Specifically, the study analyses how supply factors, that is, resource availability; environmental concerns; infrastructure and technology as well as demand factors are likely to affect the development of thermal power exports in Botswana. The study concludes that coal resources are sufficient to support exports of thermal power and that technology on coal-fired power plants is available, reliable and mature. However, environmental concerns associated with coal-fired power generation; the high costs of construction and maintenance of power plants; regional demand factors, including the increasing competition from renewable sources of energy are major factors in the feasibility of the development of coal-fired electricity exports in Botswana.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Science and Technology, Infrastructure, Diversification, Exports, and Electricity
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

1015. Public Transfers and Subsistence Producer Disincentives in Botswana

Author:
Tebogo Seleka
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
This paper investigates the disincentive effects of public transfers on subsistence producers in Botswana. Comparative statics analyses indicate that public transfers would not affect farm production when profit and utility maximization decisions are recursive, with the profit maximization decision made first. However, when such decisions are interdependent, public transfers would lead to a reduction in farm output. Empirical results reveal that social pensions have impacted positively on cultivated area, but have had no impact on cereal yields and output. However, government food rations have impacted adversely on cultivated area, yields and output; they are a disincentive to crop production because they are relatively more sizable, consistent and certain. This, it is argued, is because food packages are directly substitutable for subsistence crop production. Therefore, public policy in Botswana should consider moving away from food to cash transfers to minimize such disincentive effects.
Topic:
Agriculture, Labor Issues, Food, Welfare, and Safety Net
Political Geography:
Botswana and Africa

1016. Health, Social Policy, and Inclusive Growth in MENA

Author:
Randa Alami
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This paper takes stock of the current status of health sectors in MENA. From the narrow perspective of national aggregate indicators, as with most middle income countries, the region has seen significant achievements. Yet, health sectors face systemic challenges, and suffer from significant and persistent inequities in health outcomes, access, delivery, and distribution of health services. Out of pocket spending levels are amongst the highest in the world, and are driven by: privatisation, poor social protection and insurance coverage, and the inability to respond to the epidemiological transition. Consequently, the financial burden of healthcare forces significant swathes of the population into poverty, or to forgo healthcare altogether. Sectoral policies have been piecemeal and short‐termist, with a clear neglect of public health sectors. These deficiencies are more evident if MENA is benchmarked against many of their peers, or against the international consensus of Universal Health Care (UHC). To achieve inclusive growth, MENA must reverse the disinvestment in public health, and the central importance of health and health equity to development must be reinstated. By the same token, MENA countries must follow UHC centred strategies, which have a good track record in tackling similar challenges in other middle income countries. While part of the difficulties may lie in financing, the lack of political commitment and weak institutional capabilities have also been serious obstacles. Sectoral reforms must target these failures, and governments need to play a more central role in covering the poor and regulating the sector.
Topic:
Health, Privatization, Inequality, Welfare, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and North Africa

1017. Nigeria-Poland Bilateral Trade: Identifying New Trade Opportunities

Author:
Idris Ademuyiwa and Chukwuka Onyekwena
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
This paper examines the bilateral trade relationship between Nigeria andPoland for the period 1995 to 2012. It uses the Decision Support Model (DSM)and the Growth Identification and Facilitation Framework (GIFF) to identifymarket for Nigerian exports in Poland.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations, Economic Growth, Exports, and Trade
Political Geography:
Africa, Eastern Europe, Poland, and Nigeria

1018. Explaining Sectoral and Spatial Variations in Growth Pro-poorness in Nigeria

Author:
Eberechukwu Uneze and Adedeji Adeniran
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
This paper examines the sectoral and spatial variations in growth pro-poorness in Nigeria, using the Shapley decomposition, the Ravallion-Huppi decomposition and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. The results show that spatial and sectoral variations in pro-poor growth are a result of inequality and shift in population, human capital (spatial variation only) and structural factors (sectoral variation only). In addition, the paper finds that the zones and sectors with moderate growth have high poverty-growth elasticity, while zones and sectors with high growth have low poverty-growth elasticity. Thus, spatial and sectoral variations in growth pro-poorness result in weak response of poverty to growth in Nigeria.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Economic Growth, and Human Capital
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

1019. Africa's Media Boom: The Role of International Aid

Author:
Mary Myers
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
This year, 2014, marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the symbolic end of the Cold War in 1989. It also marks the anniversary of the beginning of an extraordinary proliferation of media outlets in sub-Saharan Africa, which swept across the continent, freeing Africa’s press and liberating the airwaves from monopoly by the state. Economics, technology, and socio-political forces all played major roles in this boom of Africa’s media. But one of the untold stories of these changes is the role of donor aid in this process. This is the subject of the Center for International Media Assistance’s latest report, Africa’s Media Boom: The Role of International Aid, by veteran international media consultant Mary Myers. It explores these questions: · How much of a catalyst were foreign donors in this mushrooming of Africa’s news media? · What were the motives and mechanisms of this aid? · What difference did it make at the time, and subsequently? · Was media proliferation necessarily a good thing–did it lead to pluralism and genuine freedom?
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Affairs, and Media
Political Geography:
Africa and Global Focus

1020. Analysis of the Status of Women in Burundi’s Political and Electoral Processes

Author:
Serge Nanourou and Abigal Wilson
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Abstract:
Burundi is one of few countries in the world to have adopted a gender quota for its legislature in an effort to promote the inclusion and participation of women in the political process. As such, it presents an informative case study on the impact a gender quota can have as a catalyst for more progressive and inclusive governance. Given the International Foundation for Electoral System’s (IFES) commitment to gender equality and women’s participation in electoral processes and government, a thorough analysis demonstrating the effectiveness of quotas is a vital effort that aids IFES in supporting their use as a tool for democratic progress. As detailed in IFES’ Analysis of the Status of Women in Burundi’s Political and Electoral Processes, gender quotas in Burundi, which have their origin in the 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement that marked the end of a long and bloody civil war and have been encoded in Burundi’s Constitution and Electoral Code, have led to significant increases in the number of women participating in government, which is an important initial step in ensuring meaningful participation of all members of society. Perhaps the greatest indicator of success of the gender quota policy in Burundi is the high rate of women’s representation in the legislature. In the 2010 elections, 31% of National Assembly members and 46% of senators were women. Most remarkable is the fact that provisions to ensure quota requirements, which are set at 30% minimum, did not have to be invoked in order to reach these figures. In contrast, the 30% quota was only reached after seats were added in the 2005 elections. Four years prior to that, before provisions ensuring a minimum of 30% of women’s representation in the legislature had been adopted, less than 20% of seats in both the National Assembly and the Senate were filled by women. This marked improvement from election to election is strong evidence for the efficacy of gender quotas in the Burundian context.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Women, and Feminism
Political Geography:
Africa and Burundi