Electricity Consumption–Economic Growth–CO2 Emissions Nexus in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Panel Cointegration

This study explores the causal relationship among electricity consumption, economic growth and CO₂ emissions for a group of 14 sub‐Sahara African (SSA) countries from 1980 to 2009 using panel cointegration and panel vector error correction modelling methods. The findings demonstrate that in the long run electricity consumption has a statistically significant positive impact on CO₂ emissions. The results also reveal that the inverted U‐shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis exists in the SSA countries' case. The panel causality tests indicate that there is short‐run unidirectional causality running from economic growth to CO₂ emissions and electricity consumption respectively. Simultaneously, there is long‐run bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth, electricity consumption and CO₂ emissions, economic growth and CO₂ emissions. Depending on the results, relevant policies can be initiated without negatively affecting economic growth.     

Financial Liberalization Policies and Economic Growth: Panel Data Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract: The paper conducts an empirical investigation into the effects of financial liberalization policies on the growth of 19 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Two indexes are constructed which measure the gradual progression and institutional changes involved in financial liberalization. Because these indexes track specific financial liberalization policies, they provide better measures of financial liberalization than the indicators of financial development often used in the literature. Panel data estimates show a significant positive relationship between economic growth and financial liberalization policies. Our results are robust to alternative specifications of the model, and also across slow‐ and fast‐growing countries.     

Institutional Foundations for Shared Growth in Sub‐Saharan Africa*

Abstract: The paper examines the dynamically evolving triangular relationships between institutions, growth and inequality in the process of economic development, in order to deepen the understanding of institutional conditions for pro‐poor growth and shared growth. In this context, the paper discusses the institutional conditions found in sub‐Saharan Africa, which may have produced the growth pattern that is unequal and against the poor. The analysis shows that sub‐Saharan African countries require transforming institutions for embarking upon and sustaining a development path which would ensure shared growth in years to come. The paper first evaluates the growth‐inequality‐poverty nexus, as found in the recent literature, which increasingly challenges the trade‐off between growth and equity, as postulated in the traditional theories. Various definitions of pro‐poor growth are discussed and a sharper definition of the concept of ‘shared’ growth is provided. Definitions of institutions are then examined, as well as the triangular inter‐relationships between institutions, inequality and poverty. The paper finally analyses specific institutional conditions found in sub‐Saharan Africa that prevent economies from emerging out of low‐equilibrium poverty traps that are characterized by low economic growth, unequal distribution of income and wealth as well as unequal access to resources and power.     

Institutional Quality and CO2 Emission–Trade Relations: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

This paper examines the roles of trade, institutional quality and their interactions in explaining carbon dioxide emissions in a panel sample of 40 Sub‐Sahara African countries using the system generalised method of moments. We find that institutional reforms are unequivocally environmental improving. Meanwhile, the impacts of trade on the environment tend to depend on the institutional setting of a country. More specifically, trade openness is harmful to the environment in countries with low institutional quality and beneficial to the environment in countries with high institutional quality. This means that institutional reforms are a perquisite for the countries with low institutional quality to actualise the beneficial environment effect of trade. As for the countries with adequate institutional quality, trade and institutions are reinforcing each other in bringing down pollution. From these results, we conclude that trade openness implemented in a sound institutional setting potentially brings better trade, more growth and better environment.     

Agricultural Exports: Important Issues for Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract: The central argument of this paper is that African countries stand to benefit more from the goodwill currently being shown by industrialized countries who have committed themselves to further opening up of their markets for commodities from the region. However, more needs to be done by African governments and the international community if these benefits are to trickle down to the African farmers and result in attaining the goal of poverty reduction. This paper identifies the issues that need to be addressed by all parties involved. At the macro level, our results find that the distortion in the macro environment is a major factor hindering African exports. At the micro level, our results show that for farmers to benefit from the opening up of the international market, they would need more access to market information, easier road access to the markets for both their output and inputs, improve their farming techniques by utilizing modern scientific farming methods and inputs, and to increase their productivity. At the international level, our study finds strong results indicating that foreign tariff rate, price support (PNAC) and standards act as a market barrier to African agricultural exports.     

Explaining the High Incidence of Child Labour in Sub–Saharan Africa

There has been a growing interest on the issue of child labour among the academic and professional circles in recent times. Estimates show that the number of under–aged working children in Africa could reach some 100 million in the next 10–15 years, posing serious challenges to African policy–makers. Little is known about the likely causes for the rise in child labour in Africa. The lack of data has seriously undermined the amount and quality of research on the topic particularly in sub–Saharan Africa. The intent of the present study is to examine the link between children’s labour force participation and some macroeconomic variables using aggregated data from sub–Saharan Africa. The results show that the high incidence of child labour in sub–Saharan Africa could be explained, among other things, in terms of the high incidence of poverty, the predominance of a poorly developed agricultural sector, high fertility rates leading to high population growth, and low education participation. Contrary to some recent arguments, which questioned the direct link between poverty and child labour, the results of this study show that poverty is indeed one of the most important reasons for the high incidence of child labour in Africa. This complex problem calls for comprehensive and multi–faceted interventions including the adoption of poverty reduction strategies, introduction of labour–saving technologies for the agricultural production, an aggressive provision of primary education, and the mobilization of the communities for creating awareness. Ces dernières années, la problématique du travail des enfants a suscié un intérÁt croissant dans les cercles académiques et professionnels. Selon les estimations, le nombre d’enfants mineurs qui travaillent en l’Afrique pourrait atteindre quelque 100 millions au cours des dix è quinze prochaines années, ce qui pose un défi majeur pour les décideurs politiques africains. On sait peu de choses sur les causes probables de l’incidence croissante du travail des enfants en Afrique. Le manque de données a un effet négatif tant sur la quantité que sur la qualité des recherches sur le sujet, en particulier en Afrique subsaharienne. La présente étude a pour objet d’examiner les liens entre la participation des enfants au marché du travail et plusieurs variables macroéconomiques en se basant sur des données agrégées provenant d’Afrique subsaharienne. Les résultats indiquent que la forte incidence du travail des enfants en Afrique subsaharienne découle notamment de la forte incidence de la pauvreté, la prédominance d’un secteur agricole peu développé, les taux de fertilitéélevés entraÑnant une forte croissance démographique, et les faibles taux de scolarisation. Contrairement è ce que laissent entendre des arguments avancés récemment, qui mettent en cause le lien direct entre la pauvreté et le travail des enfants, les résultats de cette étude montrent que la pauvreté est en effet l’une des causes majeures de la forte incidence du travail des enfants en Afrique. Ce problème complexe appelle des interventions globales et multiples, axées notamment sur l’adoption de stratégies de réduction de la pauvreté, l’introduction de technologies génératrices d’économie de main d’uvre pour la production agricole, un programme agressif de scolarisation au niveau primaire, et la mobilisation des communautés pour la sensibilisation.     

Citizens' support for Economic Reforms in Sub‐Saharan Africa

The objective of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence citizens' support for costly economic reforms in sub‐Saharan Africa. This is relevant for several reasons, but the most obvious perhaps is that economic reform will be difficult if faced by strong resistance from citizens. In this paper, individual data from Round 4 of the Afrobarometer surveys is used to investigate how support for economic reforms is influenced by factors falling under the following broad categories: (i) Economic variables; (ii) group identity and fairness variables; (iii) Institutional and state/government variables; (iv) Demographic and control variables. An individual's trust in the president and the belief that the government manages the economy well are two of the most significant and robust factors. This is in keeping with the results found in Williamson (The Political Economy of Policy Reform, Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC, 1994 ). Another robustly significant variable is satisfaction with how democracy works in the country. Variables related to ethnic identity and community membership also play a significant role in support for costly economic reforms, which is in line with the theories put forward by van de Walle (African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979–1999. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2001 ). Females are less likely to support economic reforms, while individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to support economic reforms.     

The Determinants of Cereal Grain Imports: Sub‐Saharan Africa, 1970–1997

Abstract: During the 1970s cereal imports in sub‐Saharan Africa increased at an annual rate in excess of 20 percent. As a result, it was assumed Africa had two choices: reduce the rate of population growth or become increasingly dependent on food imports and aid. In this paper we investigate the relative importance of food shortfalls versus policy choices that resulted in a taste change away from roots and tubers and coarse grains to imported wheat and rice. Of the 41 countries studied, 17 are still net exporters of food commodities, cereal imports serve to supplement inadequate production of food, but these imports, generally, are not driven by severe nutritional needs within any one country. Rather, the observed cereal imports are primarily wheat and rice flowing into the countries with adequate levels of nutrition available.