Economic Fluctuations in Sub-Saharan Africa

The chapter compares business cycle fluctuations in sub-Saharan African countries to the rest of the world. Its main results are: (i) African economies stand out by their macroeconomic volatility, which is reflected in the volatility of output and other macro variables; (ii) inflation and output tend to be negatively correlated in SSA countries; (iii) unlike advanced economies and emerging markets (EMs), trade balances and current accounts are acyclical in SSA; (iv) the volatility of consumption and investment relative to GDP is larger than in other countries; (v) the cyclicality of consumption and investment is smaller than in advanced economies and EMs; (vi) there is little comovement between consumption and investment; and (vii) consumption and investment are strongly positively correlated with imports. The chapter provides a tentative interpretation in terms of the main shocks hitting these economies and the nature of the mechanisms amplifying or dampening these shocks.

Economic Fluctuations in Sub-Saharan Africa

IMF Working Papers ◽

10.5089/9781484344880.001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (40) ◽

Author(s):

Giovanni Melina ◽

Rafael Portillo

Keyword(s):

Business Cycle ◽

Emerging Markets ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Macroeconomic Volatility ◽

Business Cycle Fluctuations ◽

Advanced Economies ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Macro Variables ◽

We compare business cycle fluctuations in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries vis-à-vis the rest of the world. Our main results are as follows: (i) African economies stand out by their macroeconomic volatility, which is is reflected in the volatility of output and other macro variables; (ii) inflation and output tend to be negatively correlated; (iii) unlike advanced economies and emerging markets (EMs), trade balances and current accounts are acyclical in SSA; (iv) the volatility of consumption and investment relative to GDP is larger than in other countries; (v) the cyclicality of consumption and investment is smaller than in advanced economies and EMs; (vi) there is little comovement between consumption and investment; (vii) consumption and investment are strongly positively correlated with imports.

Crowdsourcing Covid-19 signals in sub-Saharan Africa: Leveraging digital contributor networks for participatory surveillance of Covid-19 symptoms and deaths (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26347 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ngozi A Erondu ◽

Sagal A Ali ◽

Mohamed Ali ◽

Schadrac C Agbla

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Specific Information ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Health Seeking ◽

African Countries ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Local Networks ◽

The World ◽

BACKGROUND In sub-Saharan Africa, underreporting of cases and deaths has been attributed to various factors including, weak disease surveillance, low health-seeking behaviour of flu like symptoms, and stigma of Covid-19. There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spread mimics transmission patterns of other countries across the world. Since the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way research can be conducted and in light of restrictions on travel and risks to in-person data collection, innovative approaches to collecting data must be considered. Nearly 50% of Africa’s population is a unique mobile subscriber and it is one of the fastest growing smart-phone marketplaces in the world; hence, mobile phone platforms should be considered to monitor Covid-19 trends in the community. OBJECTIVE We demonstrate the use of digital contributor platforms to survey individuals about cases of flu-like symptoms and instances of unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. METHODS Rapid cross-sectional survey of individuals with severe flu and pneumonia symptoms and unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe RESULTS Using a non-health specific information platform, we found COVID-19 signals in five African countries, specifically: •Across countries, nearly half of the respondents (n=739) knew someone who had severe flu or pneumonia symptoms in recent months. •One in three respondents from Somalia and one in five from Zimbabwe respondents said they knew more than five people recently displaying flu and/or pneumonia symptoms. •In Somalia there were signals that a large number of people might be dying outside of health facilities, specifically in their homes or in IDP or refugee camps. CONCLUSIONS Existing digital contributor platforms with local networks are a non-traditional data source that can provide information from the community to supplement traditional government surveillance systems and academic surveys. We demonstrate that using these distributor networks to for community surveys can provide periodic information on rumours but could also be used to capture local sentiment to inform public health decision-making; for example, these insights could be useful to inform strategies to increase confidence in Covid19 vaccine. As Covid-19 continues to spread somewhat silently across sub-Saharan Africa, regional and national public health entities should consider expanding event-based surveillance sources to include these systems.

Individual, community and societal correlates of insecticide treated net use among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-level analysis

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11635-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Edward Kwabena Ameyaw

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

World Health ◽

Health Concern ◽

Maternal And Newborn Health ◽

African Countries ◽

The World ◽

Itn Use ◽

Multi Level ◽

Abstract Background Malaria in pregnancy is a crucial public health concern due to the enormous risk it poses to maternal and newborn health. The World Health Organisation therefore recommends insecticide-treated net (ITN) for pregnant women. The world over, sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest prevalence of malaria and its associated complications. This study investigated the individual, community and society level factors associated with ITN use among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods The study was conducted with Demographic and Health Survey data of 21 sub-Saharan African countries. A total of 17,731 pregnant women who possessed ITN participated in the study. Descriptive computation of ITN use by survey country and socio-demographic characteristics was conducted. Further, five multi-level binary logistic regression models were fitted with MLwiN 3.05 package in STATA. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation procedure was used in estimating the parameters whilst the Bayesian Deviance Information Criterion was used for the model fitness test. Results On average, 74.2% pregnant women in SSA used ITN. The highest prevalence of ITN use occurred in Mali (83.7%) whilst the least usage occurred in Namibia (7%). Women aged 30–34 were more likely to use ITN compared with those aged 45–49 [aOR = 1.14; Crl = 1.07–1.50]. Poorest women were less probable to use ITN relative to richest women [aOR = 0.79; Crl = 0.70–0.89]. Compared to women who did not want their pregnancies at all, women who wanted their pregnancies [aOR = 1.06; Crl = 1.04–1.19] were more probable to use ITN. Women in male-headed households had higher likelihood of ITN use compared to those from female-headed households [aOR = 1.28; Crl = 1.19–1.39]. On the whole, 38.1% variation in ITN use was attributable to societal level factors whilst 20.9% variation was attributable to community level factors. Conclusion The study has revealed that in addition to individual level factors, community and society level factors affect ITN use in SSA. In as much as the study points towards the need to incorporate community and societal variations in ITN interventions, active involvement of men can yield better outcome for ITN utilisation interventions in SSA.

African Politics: A Very Short Introduction

10.1093/actrade/9780198806578.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ian Taylor

Keyword(s):

Political Violence ◽

African State ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Politics ◽

African Continent ◽

African Countries ◽

Short Introduction ◽

State And Society ◽

The World ◽

African Politics: A Very Short Introduction explores how politics is practised on the African continent, providing an overview of the different states and their systems. It considers the nature of the state in sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. Exploring the historical and contemporary factors that account for Africa’s underdevelopment, it also analyses why some African countries suffer from high levels of political violence while others are spared. Unveiling the ways in which African state and society actually function beyond the formal institutional façade, this VSI discusses how external factors—both inherited and contemporary—act upon the continent.

Does economic freedom improve health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa?

International Journal of Social Economics ◽

10.1108/ijse-01-2020-0008 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (12) ◽

pp. 1633-1649

Author(s):

Anand Sharma

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Economic Freedom ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Content Type ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.

What determines financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa?

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies ◽

10.1108/ajems-01-2016-0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 8-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Sydney Chikalipah

Keyword(s):

International Development ◽

World Bank ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Data Set ◽

Content Type ◽

The World Bank ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of financial inclusion (FI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach The paper uses the World Bank country-level data from 20 SSA countries for the year 2014. Findings The empirical findings in this study indicate that illiteracy is the major hindrance to FI in SSA. The findings provide useful information to government agencies and international development organisations. Also, the findings can help accelerate and strengthen FI strategies among SSA countries. Research limitations/implications Some countries were excluded from the final analysis due to lack of data. Practical implications In the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in fighting financial exclusion in Africa. Therefore, this study provide evidence which clearly shows that enhancing literacy levels in a country can immensely contribute towards building the financially inclusive societies in the SSA region. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to empirically test the determinants of FI in SSA using the World Bank FI data set. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to estimate the determinants of FI with a combined data of SSA countries.

Factors of Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current Trends

Outlines of global transformations politics economics law ◽

10.23932/2542-0240-2018-11-5-38-54 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 38-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

G. V. Podbiralina ◽

J. C. Asiagba

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

New Technologies ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Added Value ◽

African Countries ◽

The World ◽

Innovative Products ◽

The Status ◽

Despite the fact that the African continent is positioned as one of the fastest growing economies in the world (especially the sub-region of sub-Saharan Africa), the lack of industrialization and the use of modern technologies continues to be a brake on the development of the economies of African countries, which largely depend on agriculture and exports of raw goods that have a relatively low added value and account for more than 80% of their exports. This has a negative impact not only on the economic development of the region, but also on per capita incomes of the population. This article assesses the existing economic potential of African countries, which is one of the most important factors for overcoming economic backwardness, achieving the goals of sustainable development, raising the standard of living of the population and changing the status of SSA countries in the world economic system. It is shown that it is important for African states to attract new technologies and innovative products to the industrial and agricultural sectors, since knowledge and innovations are the locomotive of economic growth and are one of the most important factors in the reconstruction and modernization of their economies.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON HUMAN WELFARE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Polonia University Scientific Journal ◽

10.23856/3002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 25-42

Author(s):

Olukayode Emmanuel Maku ◽

Bolaji Adesola Adesoye ◽

Awoyemi Olayiwola Babasanya ◽

Oluwaseyi Adedayo Adelowokan

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Random Effects ◽

Trade Openness ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Human Welfare ◽

Fixed And Random Effects ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact ◽

The world has become more linked owing to the increased intensity of globalisation across regions. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become more relatively integrated into the world economy as shown by increasing degree of trade openness and foreign direct investment. Over the same period, quality of life of people in SSA in terms of access to basic necessity, monetary and non-monetary indices of poverty have been on the declining trend. This study adopted endogenous growth theory in analysing the comparative effects of globalisation between the highly and weakly globalised economies in SSA countries. Four channels of transmission of impact of globalisation were considered: trade openness, financial and capital flows labour mobility and access to telephone. Data for 16 SSA countries – 8 weakly globalised and 8 strongly globalised countries based on KOF globalisation index, were sourced from the world Development indicator for the period of 1980-2012. The feasible generalised least square (GLS) estimator was utilized to estimate the fixed and random effects panel regression models. Hausman test was used to determine the efficient estimator between fixed and random effects. All estimated coefficients were evaluated at 5% level of significance. The outcome of the comparative analysis revealed a mix result in some cases and unidirectional in some. In all, countries with higher intensity of globalisation have a greater improvement in their human welfare indicators compared to countries with weak globalisation indices. The study then recommended an improved reform in global integration to enable the region maximize the immense benefits inherent in global connections.

Angola - an Oil Dependant Country in Sub-Saharan Africa

Studia commercialia Bratislavensia ◽

10.1515/stcb-2016-0023 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (35) ◽

pp. 233-242

Author(s):

Boris Baumgartner

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

World Economy ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

The Third ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The One ◽

Rich Countries ◽

Essential Problem

Abstract The Sub-Saharan Africa belongs to the most underdeveloped regions in the world economy. This region consists of forty nine countries but it’s world GDP share is only a small percentage. There are some very resource rich countries in this region. One of them is Angola. This former Portuguese colony has one of the largest inventories of oil among all African countries. Angola recorded one of the highest growth of GDP between 2004-2008 from all countries in the world economy and nowadays is the third biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa. The essential problem of Angola is the one-way oriented economy on oil and general on natural resources. Angola will be forced to change their one-way oriented economy to be more diversified and competitive in the future.

Clusters of sub-Saharan African countries based on sociobehavioural characteristics and associated HIV incidence

10.1101/620450 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Aziza Merzouki ◽

Janne Estill ◽

Erol Orel ◽

Kali Tal ◽

Olivia Keiser

Keyword(s):

National Level ◽

Principal Component ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Demographic And Health Surveys ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Hiv Incidence ◽

African Countries ◽

Aggregated Data ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

AbstractIntroductionHIV incidence varies widely between sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. This variation coincides with a substantial sociobehavioural heterogeneity, which complicates the design of effective interventions. In this study, we investigated how sociobehavioural heterogeneity in sub-Saharan Africa could account for the variance of HIV incidence between countries.MethodsWe analysed aggregated data, at the national-level, from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of 29 SSA countries [2010-2017], which included 594’644 persons (183’310 men and 411’334 women). We preselected 48 demographic, socio-economic, behavioural and HIV-related attributes to describe each country. We used Principal Component Analysis to visualize sociobehavioural similarity between countries, and to identify the variables that accounted for most sociobehavioural variance in SSA. We used hierarchical clustering to identify groups of countries with similar sociobehavioural profiles, and we compared the distribution of HIV incidence (estimates from UNAIDS) and sociobehavioural variables within each cluster.ResultsThe most important characteristics, which explained 69% of sociobehavioural variance across SSA among the variables we assessed were: religion; male circumcision; number of sexual partners; literacy; uptake of HIV testing; women’s empowerment; accepting attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS; rurality; ART coverage; and, knowledge about AIDS. Our model revealed three groups of countries, each with characteristic sociobehavioural profiles. HIV incidence was mostly similar within each cluster and different between clusters (median(IQR); 0.5/1000(0.6/1000), 1.8/1000(1.3/1000) and 5.0/1000(4.2/1000)).