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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Impacts Of Commercialization On Depth, Breadth, Scope, And Quality Of Outreach In Mozambique: A Case-Study, Courtney Johnson Dec 2017

The Impacts Of Commercialization On Depth, Breadth, Scope, And Quality Of Outreach In Mozambique: A Case-Study, Courtney Johnson

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

In today’s microfinance, scholars and policy-makers across the world have emphasized the importance of financial sustainability, or the ability of a microfinance institution (MFI) to finance its operations. In order to reach financial sustainability, MFIs embrace commercialization, a process where an MFI undergoes restructuring in order to open up avenues to capital. Yet, scholars are concerned that this emphasizes on financial sustainability will cause the social good objective to suffer, a phenomenon known as “trade-off.” Indeed, studies have found that commercialization impacts MFI outreach in various ways. To my knowledge, no research has attempted to understand the impacts of commercialization …


A Framework Towards Technology Creation In Africa: Focusing On Ghana, Martin Yao Donani, Hannatu Abue Kugblenu, Azindow Bawa Fuseini Dec 2017

A Framework Towards Technology Creation In Africa: Focusing On Ghana, Martin Yao Donani, Hannatu Abue Kugblenu, Azindow Bawa Fuseini

International Journal of African Development

Underdevelopment in Africa has been historical and a global concern coupled with the quest for good governance. Several efforts have been made in academia, national governments, the international community, and other institutional arrangements to reverse the trend. These efforts however are yet to produce a lasting result as Africa is still characterized by low productivity output, poverty and a widening technology gap when compared to other developing regions of the world. Conventional approaches used to address the African problem have consistently been devoid of indigenous technology development. Technology is here seen as paramount to every form of production on which …


Does Globalization Improve Quality Of Life?, Laura E. Hirt May 2017

Does Globalization Improve Quality Of Life?, Laura E. Hirt

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.


Infrastructure, Trade Facilitation, And Network Connectivity In Sub-Saharan Africa☆,☆☆, Ben Shepherd Jan 2017

Infrastructure, Trade Facilitation, And Network Connectivity In Sub-Saharan Africa☆,☆☆, Ben Shepherd

Journal of African Trade

This paper uses new measures of value added in exports in two sectors (textiles and clothing, and agriculture) to examine the linkages between trade facilitation and infrastructure on the one hand, and value chain participation on the other. It applies network analysis methods to derive a summary measure of value chain connectivity for 189 countries, including 44 in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is a statistically significant association between this measure and summary indicators of infrastructure development and trade facilitation performance. Moreover, it is not only a country's own performance that matters, but also that of its neighbors. The regional dimension of …


Trade And Economic Growth In Developing Countries: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa, Pam Zahonogo Jan 2017

Trade And Economic Growth In Developing Countries: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa, Pam Zahonogo

Journal of African Trade

This study investigates how trade openness affects economic growth in developing countries, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We use a dynamic growth model with data from 42 SSA countries covering 1980 to 2012. We employ the Pooled Mean Group estimation technique, which is appropriate for drawing conclusions from dynamic heterogeneous panels by considering long-run equilibrium relations. The empirical evidence indicates that a trade threshold exists below which greater trade openness has beneficial effects on economic growth and above which the trade effect on growth declines. The evidence also indicates an inverted U-curve (Laffer Curve of Trade) response, robust …


Modelling The Economic Impact Of The Tripartite Free Trade Area: Its Implications For The Economic Geography Of Southern, Eastern And Northern Africa☆, Andrew Mold, Rodgers Mukwaya Jan 2017

Modelling The Economic Impact Of The Tripartite Free Trade Area: Its Implications For The Economic Geography Of Southern, Eastern And Northern Africa☆, Andrew Mold, Rodgers Mukwaya

Journal of African Trade

This study evaluates the economic impact of the proposed COMESA-SADC-EAC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) on 26 African countries. It uses the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and database to measure the static effects of the establishment of the TFTA on industrial production, trade flows and consumption in the TFTA. The results indicate a significant increase in intra-regional exports as a result of tariff elimination, boosting intra-regional trade by 29%. Particularly encouraging is the fact that the sectors benefiting most are manufacturing ones, such as light and heavy manufacturing, and processed food. Concerns have been …


State-Led Industrial Development, Structural Transformation And Elite-Led Plunder: Angola (2002–2013) As A Developmental State, Jesse Salah Ovadia Jan 2017

State-Led Industrial Development, Structural Transformation And Elite-Led Plunder: Angola (2002–2013) As A Developmental State, Jesse Salah Ovadia

Political Science Publications

From 2002-2013, Angola engaged in large-scale state-led reconstruction and development alongside an elite-led appropriation and seizure of national assets. Until the oil price shock, Angola had been succeeding in promoting rapid economic growth and possibly even significant social development alongside a massive grab of wealth and power by local elites. Today, though an economic crisis has taken hold, frequent predictions of the country’s immanent collapse have yet to be fulfilled. This paper reviews the state’s development planning and expenditure with a focus on public investment and industrial development to determine to what extent Angola during this period might have been …


Structural Change And Industrial Policy: A Case Study Of Ethiopia’S Leather Sector, Michael Mbate Jan 2017

Structural Change And Industrial Policy: A Case Study Of Ethiopia’S Leather Sector, Michael Mbate

Journal of African Trade

Recent empirical evidence underscores the vital role of industrial development in fostering structural change and promoting a country's long-run development objectives. Devising sound industrial policy institutions emerges as a key policy option to promote the reallocation of human, physical and financial resources to high value added sectors of the economy. This paper examines the rationale for industrial policy, why it has been ineffective in most African countries and what policy lessons should be distilled from past experiences. Using the Ethiopian leather and leather product sector, it examines how industrial policies are formulated and implemented in practice. The paper concludes by …


Trade Facilitation And Trade Participation: Are Sub-Saharan African Firms Different?☆, Abdoulaye Seck Jan 2017

Trade Facilitation And Trade Participation: Are Sub-Saharan African Firms Different?☆, Abdoulaye Seck

Journal of African Trade

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where firms face the greatest hurdles when it comes to cross-border trading. This paper examines how these firms, relative to their counterparts in the developing world, would respond to changes in the trade environment as a result of trade facilitation reforms. Using data from World Bank's Enterprise Surveys, the paper suggests that improving customs clearance, government regulations, trade finance, and energy and telecommunication infrastructure contributes to increasing the probability of firms' entry into exporting and importing, as well as to the extent of their trade. The results also indicate that African firms tend to respond …


Agricultural Input Intensification, Productivity Growth, And The Transformation Of African Agriculture, Didier Y. Alia Jan 2017

Agricultural Input Intensification, Productivity Growth, And The Transformation Of African Agriculture, Didier Y. Alia

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation studies agricultural input intensification, defined as the increased use of modern inputs such as hybrid seeds, mineral fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide in African agriculture. It also analyses the potential of this intensification to accelerate productivity growth and tests the effectiveness of two policies, input subsidies and land reforms, in promoting it and consequently in increasing crop yield. In the first essay, we argue that to create the conditions for the emergence of a green revolution in Africa, modern agricultural technologies have to be adopted as a package, not in a piecemeal fashion. This argument is consistent with a …