Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Success And Failure Of African Exporters, Olivier Cadot, Leonardo Iacovone, Denisse Pierola, Ferdinand Rauch

Olivier Cadot

Using a novel dataset with transaction-level export data from four African countries (Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania), this paper explores the determinants of success upon entry into export market, defined as survival beyond the first year at the (firm x product x destination) level. We find that the success probability \textit{rises} with the number of same-country competitors exporting the same product to the same destination, suggesting the existence of some cross-firm externalities. We explore several conjectures on the determinants underlying these externalities and provide evidence that these may operate through information spillovers.

What I Tell My Students (About Peace Corps), William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

Advice given to students regarding Peace Corps as well as relfections on my own tenure as a volunteer.

Crime Against Informal Businesses In Africa: Natives Vs. Immigrants, Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

The literature on crime seeks to identify groups of agents based on their socio-economic-demographic characteristics that are more likely to be victims of crime than others. The present paper contributes to this literature by focusing on crime against informal businesses in Africa and highlighting how victimization rates vary between businesses owned by natives and immigrants. We find that immigrant-owned businesses are significantly more likely to be targeted by criminals than native-owned businesses. However, much of this difference is due to higher victimization rates for businesses owned by recent immigrants to the city. Businesses owned by immigrants that have spent about …

Gender And Informality (A Short Note), Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

For a sample of informal firms in Burkina Faso, Cameroons, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar and Mauritius, this note compares male and female owned businesses. The results provide mixed evidence on a number of hypotheses discussed in the literature for firms in the formal sector. First, the female under-performance hypothesis is confirmed, but only for firm-size. For firm-efficiency measured by the average productivity of labor, we find little difference across male and female owned businesses. Second, consistent with the view that women may face glass-ceiling in getting managerial positions, we find that women managers in our sample have less experience …

Gender And Firm-Size: Evidence From Africa, Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

A number of studies show that relative to male owned businesses, female owned businesses are smaller in size. However, these studies are restricted to the formal or the organized sector. Also, with some exceptions, they focus on the developed countries. This paper explores the gender and firm-size relationship for a sample of informal or unregistered firms in six developing countries in Africa including Burkina Faso, Cameroons, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar and Mauritius. We find strong evidence that female owned businesses are smaller than male owned businesses.

[Data and Stata do files included]

Home-Based Informal Businesses And The Gender Dimension, Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

Anecdotal evidence suggests that working from home makes it easier to balance work and family life. This is particularly attractive to women, who are viewed as primary caregivers in the family in most developing countries. However, there is some concern in the literature that family responsibility may detract from doing business, leading to fewer hours of operation and lower efficiency for home-based businesses run by women. The present paper tests these hypotheses using data on informal or unregistered firms in five African countries. We find strong evidence that female entrepreneurs have a greater proclivity compared with male entrepreneurs to work …

Immigrants In The Informal Sector: Evidence From Africa (Short Note), Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

A survey of informal businesses in Burkina Faso, Cameroons and Cape Verde shows that roughly half of the businesses are owned by immigrants. Systematic differences between immigrant-owned and native-owned businesses might be expected given that immigrants are usually a vulnerable group and take time to assimilate with the native community. While the survey shows some important differences between native and immigrant owners of businesses, there is no clear evidence that relative to natives, immigrants are either discriminated against, are less efficient or come from a relatively less privileged background. However, immigrants are more likely to be males, unmarried and migrate …

Area Studies In A Global Context, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

In this editorial, the author argues that the study of global processes and a grounded understanding of world regions constitute the yin and yang of a solid internationalist curriculum.

How Different Are Service And Manufacturing Firms In The Informal Sector? (Short Note), Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

A comparison of service and manufacturing firms in the informal sector shows that service firms are larger in terms of total sales and also generate more output per worker. They rely less on physical infrastructure and machines but more on human capital. Service firms also appear to be better integrated with the financial system with access to finance being less of an obstacle to their business. Some of the commonly held reasons for not registering such as taxes that registered businesses have to pay and benefits from registering such as better access to government programs appear to be less important …

Stop The Blanket Militarization Of Humanitarian Aid, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

Op-ed problematizing the involvement of the US military in foreign assistance programs in West Africa.

Africa, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

The Africa Committee's contribution to the 2008 Year-in-Review issue of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's quarterly journal, The International Lawyer

Foreign Debt And Domestic Savings In Developing Countries, Luke Okafor, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper approaches the question of potential causality between foreign debt and domestic savings in the context of developing countries. Literature provides evidence in as far as foreign debt and development is concerned, but little attention was given so far to internal potential for capital formation. We provide a theoretical framework and test its relevance using 1975-2004 data for two groups of countries: sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America with the Caribbean. With the use of instrumental variables we find negative impact of foreign debt on domestic savings especially in the long run. The results are not susceptible to the choice …

Eu-Acp Economic Partnership Agreements, Inma Martinez-Zarzoso, Sebastian Vollmer, Nils Klann, Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D.

Inma Martinez-Zarzoso

We estimate the welfare effects of the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and nine African countries. Our analysis is based on highly disaggregated data for trade and tariffs. We extend the literature in two principal ways: First, we estimate bilateral elasticities of import demand from the disaggregated data. Second, in place of simulating rather general scenarios we apply the recently negotiated tariff reduction rates to estimate the agreement’s welfare effects. Results indicate that Botswana, Cameroon, Mozambique, and Namibia will profit from the interim agreements, while the effects for Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are close to zero.

Response To Michael Watts. Whither Development?: The Struggle For Livelihood In The Time Of Globalization., William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

No abstract provided.

The State Of African Geography In The North American Academy, William G. Moseley, Kefa Otiso

William G Moseley

The objective of this article is to examine trends in the production of Africa-related geography PhDs at US and Canadian universities.

Africa, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

The Africa Committee's contribution to the 2007 Year-in-Review issue of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's quarterly journal, The International Lawyer.

South Africa And The Arab World: Facing Common Challenges, Marcus Noland, Howard Pack

Marcus Noland

Today the Arab countries of the Middle East face a challenge familiar to all South Africans: to create jobs for the large cohort of young people reaching working age. Over the next decade or so, the region may experience population growth of 150 million people—the equivalent of adding two Egypts (table 1). In demographic terms, the task is similar to that facing South Africa—only larger. Rising labor force participation by women only increases the pressure. The task is immense, and the stakes are high.

From Importer To Exporter: The Changing Role Of Nigeria In Promoting Democratic Values In Africa, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

No abstract provided.

Against The Cultural Gap Thesis In Africa’S Democratisation, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

The article challenges the cultural gap thesis in Africa’s democratization. The thesis argues that democratization in Africa falters because there is a cultural gap in the democratic framework, such as the absence of democrats, i.e., culture, and the subsequent perversion of the democratization process. The argument holds only if there is one single democracy, and therefore, only one acceptable political culture, which is seldom the case. The problem of democracy in Africa is not due to a unique flaw in the African way of life that forecloses the feasibility of sustainable democracy in the continent. It must be that the …

Strengthening Livelihoods In Sahelian West Africa: The Geography Of Development And Underdevelopment In A Peripheral Region, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

No abstract provided.

Constructing Indigenousness In The Late Modern World, Robert Cribb, Li Narangoa

Robert Cribb

Examines changing meanings of the term 'indigenous" in relation to other ideas that have been valued in various (mainly Western) philosophical system, such as priority, attachment to the land, and technical knowledge.

The Eu–Acp Economic Partnership Agreements And The ‘Development Question’: Constraints And Opportunities Posed By Article Xxiv And Special And Differential Treatment Provisions Of The Wto, Cosmas Milton Obote Obote Ochieng Ochieng

Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng Ochieng

This article argues that Article XXIV and special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions of the WTO present a number of constraints and opportunities to the design and scope of the proposed economic partnership agreements between the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. It examines the negotiating positions of both sides to argue that were the EU's position to prevail, ACP and other developing countries would likely suffer an ‘erosion of the development principles’ embedded within the WTO. It is shown that the differences between the two groups over the desirability and/or applicability of negotiating free trade …

When Age-Old Wisdom For Life-Long Learning Becomes Innovative, Gloria Gordon Phd

Gloria Gordon PhD

The paper calls for a return to ancient knowledge left by our Kemetian ancestors about what it means to be human as well as the insights they gave about the purpose of human existence. The insights offered have the potential to provide a critical underpinning of educational processes designed for African leaders in the 21st century. The author shares her own vision for Africa, inherent in which are strategies for economic growth and poverty alleviation centred in the development of the African consciousness. The overall strategy for achieving this vision is identified as already laid out in the perennial wisdom …

Moseley, W.G. "Environmental Degradation And ‘Poor’ Smallholders In The West African Sudano-Sahel: Global Discourses And Local Realities, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

This chapter explores the 'poverty-induced environmental degradation' thesis in the West African Sudano-Sahel and the extent to which it may be considered an environmental development narrative. It examines: (1) the key elements of this discourse; (2) the degree by which this thesis has been internalized by policy makers in Mali; (3) whether there is empirical evidence to support the notion of poverty-induced environmental degradation in Mali's smallholder cotton zone; and (4) the alternative explanations for environmental degradation in southern Mali (e.g., unsustainable cotton production) and the reasons why these causal factors have been less prominent in environment-development discourse.

Genocide In The Non-Western World: Implications For Holocaust Studies, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

The example of the Holocaust has tended to dominate genocide studies, but the broader study of extreme violence makes it difficult to exclude the mass killing of indigenous peoples and mass killing on political grounds from the category of genocide.

Bush Grasps To Define Enemy, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

No abstract provided.

Timbuktu: A Lesson In Underdevelopment, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

Th e purpose of the present paper is to investigate Timbuktu’s economic decline in the three centuries elapsed between 1526, when Leo Africanus reached the Mysterious City, and 1830, when the fi rst European explorers arrived in Timbuktu. It is argued that Timbuktu’s decline was neither an accident nor the result of inevitable natural conditions. Timbuktu’s decay was the product of historical and social forces. Specifi cally, it is argued that Timbuktu lost power and prestige because its market decayed. However, it is also suggested that no single factor can account individually for this event. Th e crisis of Timbuktu’s …