Science Policy Priorities and Implementation Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Experience of Ghana

Abstract: The persistence of poverty in sub-saharan Africa constitutes a distressing paradox given the region's rich natural resources. To alleviate this endemic poverty and improve the well-being of the inhabitants on a sustainable basis, require the promotion of integrated national science and technology policy plans with prioritised objectives based primarily upon basic needs, namely improved food supply, better environment, and improved health, shelter and fuel energy supply through enhanced manpower. Prioritisation of the policy objectives appears necessary to optimise the limited investment resources. Severe financial limitations, weak job incentives, mismanagement, intersectoral rivalry, political-economic disunity, and a general lack of an enabling environment loom as a serious threat to the implementation of such S & T plans. But these problems could be surmounted by imaginative financial mobilisation arrangements, rational resource management, appropriate incentives and education, co-operation, and a will to succeed.     

A Model for Monetary Policy Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa

We develop a small open economy DSGE model usable for monetary policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper we apply the model to quarterly data from Ghana from 1981–2007. We find that permanent, but not transitory, technology shocks are the most important source of fluctuations. We find that the estimated monetary policy rule suggests that policy is aimed almost exclusively at fluctuations in output and ignores inflation, imports and exports. A negative result is that there appears to be significant issues in identifying some important parameters.     

Leaders and Tenures in Sub-Saharan Africa

While there has been extensive evidence provided on the varying effects of leaders’ extended tenures on economic growth, political institutions and conflict, little attention in the empirical literature has been given to the determinants that may contribute to long tenures. Without being cognisant of these underlying factors, any efforts aimed at limiting tenures to progress economic development and democratic institutions will have little effect, as evidenced by several leaders’ attempts to subvert constitutional laws in this regard. Using panel data analysis for sub-Saharan African countries between 1960 and 2015, this study looks at the likely determinants (both at individual and country level) that can increase or decrease political survival. The preliminary results suggest that at an individual level, the leader’s age, political career and rebel experience increase the likelihood of extended tenure, while the leader’s education reduces the probability of extended tenure. At a country level, the country’s wealth is likely to increase tenures, while increased conflict and strong institutions decrease a leader’s tenure.     

Political instability, investment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper explores the relationship between political instabilityand economic growth in Sub-Saharan African nations. A more comprehensivemeasure of political instability than has previously been developedis used in combination with a simultaneous equations model anddynamic panel estimation approach to produce several interestinginferences. First, the statistically significant inverse relationshipbetween political instability and economic growth identifiedby earlier studies is confirmed by the estimates presented here.Second, the estimated system of equations indicates that economicgrowth and political instability are jointly endogenous. Third,in addition to the direct impact that political instabilityhas upon growth, estimates confirm the hypothesis that politicalinstability indirectly decreases economic growth by decreasinglong-run capital accumulation. Fourth, failure to account forthe dynamic nature of growth equations as well as the endogeneityof explanatory variables may produce biased effects of politicalinstability on growth. Fifth, the broad measure of politicalinstability we use in this study can better capture the effectsof political instability on economic growth than 'elite' instabilitythat has been used by earlier researchers. Finally, principalcomponents estimation is used to develop a measure of politicalinstability that can serve as an alternative to the arbitraryweighting scheme used in previous research.     

Protection and export performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Zusammenfassung Protektion und Exportleistung in Schwarzafrika. - Der Verfasser untersucht das Ausma? und die Struktur der nominalen Protektion in einer gro?en Zahl schwarzafrikanischer L?nder und sch?tzt die Auswirkungen der Protektion auf die Exporte dieser L?nder. Er stellt fest, da? sowohl die Zolls?tze als auch die H?ufigkeit nichttarif?rer Handelsschranken in Schwarzafrika durchschnittlich wesentlich h?her sind als in anderen Entwicklungsl?ndern. Die Sch?tzungen auf der Grundlage von Simulationen mit einem einfachen Modell des partiellen Gleichgewichts für Handel und reale Wechselkurse deuten darauf hin, da? die Protektion den Wert der Exporte der untersuchten L?nder (im Verh?ltnis zum Basiswert bei Abwesenheit von Protektion) um 15 bis 33 vH pro Jahr verringert und eine Exportdiversifizierung verhindert.

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Résumé La protection et les exportations en Afrique Noire. - L’auteur examine l’étendue et la structure de la protection nominale pour une grande nombre des pays de l’Afrique Noire et estime les effets de cette protection sur les exportations de ces pays. On constate que les taux tarifaires ainsi que le taux de fréquence des barrières nontarifaires sont en moyenne considérablément plus hauts aux pays de l’Afrique Noire qu’aux autres pays en voie de développement. Les estimations qui sont basées sur des simulations d’un simple modèle d’équilibre partiel du commerce international et de l’ajustement de taux de change réel suggèrent que la protection réduit la valeur des exportations des pays choisis (en relation aux niveaux de base) par un pourcentage entre 15 et 33 chaque année et empêche une diversification de l’exportation.

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Resumen Protección y performance exportadora en el Africa del Sub-Sahara.- En este trabajo se examina el grado y la estructura de la protección nominal de una gran muestra de países africanos del Sub-Sahara y se proveen estimaciones de los efectos de esta protección sobre las exportaciones de esos países. Tanto los aranceles cómo la frecuencia de las medidas no arancelarias resultan ser bastante más altas en promedio en los paises del Sub-Sahara que en otros paises en desarrollo. Sobre la base de simulaciones de un modelo simple de equilibrio parcial de ajuste del comercio y de la tasa de cambio las estimaciones sugieren que la protección reduce el valor de las exportaciones de los paises de la muestra (en relación al valor base) entre un 15 y 33 por ciento por a?o e inhibe la diversification de las exportaciones.

     

Growth Linkages, Price Effects and Income Distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper measures economic linkages emanating from investment-ledgrowth in eight different African countries with widely varyingeconomic structures. To explore the importance of price effectsin estimating these linkages, the paper employs two differentmethodologies for measuring the linkages, a fixed-price semi-input–output(SIO) model as well as a fully price-endogenous computable generalequilibrium model (CGE). Regardless of the methodology used,indirect effects prove to be large. On average — acrosscountries and sectors — inclusion of growth linkages nearlydoubles estimated national income growth following an initialinvestment-led shock. Sectorally, investments in agriculturegenerate the largest impact on the poor.