Zimbabwe's currency crisis may worsen

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Foreign Currency ◽  
Foreign Exchange Rate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Reserve Bank ◽  
Money Transfers ◽  
Initial Uncertainty

Subject Zimbabwe cash crisis. Significance New Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube implemented a 2% tax on money transfers and unveiled other proposed reforms in early October. Initial uncertainty surrounding the new measures led to panic-buying of supplies, cash shortages and a subsequent clampdown on public protests. Following modifications, the new measures have been endorsed by local industry, the IMF and the World Bank -- but public mistrust lingers. Impacts Foreign currency shortages may worsen as exporters face rising costs without a market-based foreign exchange rate for converting earnings. The Reserve Bank will struggle to gain the trust of the public, government and investors amid recent corruption scandals. Wasteful spending, corruption and public-sector wages (which account for 90% of budget spending) will persist as major deficit drivers.

Nigeria’s infrastructure backlog could worsen

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Internal Migration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Capital Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Additional Funding ◽  
Alternative Sources

Subject Infrastructure shortfalls. Significance Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun stated on December 11 that Nigeria will release an additional 750 billion naira (2.1 billion dollars) to federal ministries and agencies for implementation of capital projects. Adeosun has previously said the country must explore alternative sources of financing in the short term to deliver critical road, rail and power infrastructural projects. However, there are concerns about whether additional funding will lead to the delivery of such projects; the World Bank recently said that 50 infrastructure public-private partnership (PPP) projects have not met their objectives because they were hastily designed. Impacts Slow-burning conflict between farmers and herdsmen will cause more internal migration to cities, further straining infrastructure. Major infrastructure gaps will be worst in states such as Lagos and Abia, which are struggling to cope with new migrants and residents. Persistent corruption and a 'kickback' culture will result in higher infrastructure delivery and maintenance costs.

Infrastructure quality and firm productivity in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Bbaale
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Firm Productivity ◽  
Power Outages ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World

Purpose The World Bank (2017) ranks poor infrastructure, particularly electricity, as the second topmost obstacle (after access to finance) affecting enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of infrastructure quality on firm productivity in Africa. Design/methodology/approach The author used the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) for 26 African countries and employed both descriptive and ordinary least squares techniques during the analysis. The author circumvents the endogeneity of infrastructure in the productivity model by using firm-level measures of infrastructure quality rather than the stock of infrastructural capital. Findings On an average, 80 percent of manufacturing firms in Africa reported having experienced electricity outages in the financial year preceding the survey. Power outages are negatively associated with the productivity of small, medium, young, domestically owned firms and non-exporters. On the other hand, the author observes a substitution effect of generators for the unreliable power from the public grid and this effect positively influences the productivity of large, old, foreign-owned and exporting firms. Practical implications The author argues that in addition to infrastructure capital at an aggregate level, dealing with quality issues at firm level is required to enhance productivity. More attention needs to be put to the elimination of power outages so as to improve the productivity of all firms particularly those that cannot afford to use generators in the place of electricity from the public grid. Originality/value The author notes that there exists scanty empirical literature on the effect of infrastructure quality on productivity for the case of Africa despite the existence of WBES for at least two waves for both developed and developing countries. The uniqueness of this paper in comparison to the previous literature is that the author undertakes the analysis according to some important firm categories: size, age, ownership and export status. Additionally, the author uses the infrastructure quality to understand its effect on firm-level efficiency levels rather than the stock of infrastructural capital. The use of aggregate indicators of infrastructure introduces an endogeneity problem which the author circumvents in this study.

Egypt import controls will not prevent devaluation

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Foreign Currency ◽  
Development Bank ◽  
Foreign Reserves ◽  
Tariff Protection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
African Development Bank ◽  
The Government ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

Significance British Airways stopped selling tickets in Egyptian pounds because it could not convert earnings into dollars. At end of February, Egypt's foreign reserves stood 16.53 billion dollars -- down from 36.04 billion dollars at end-2010. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the government have introduced measures to curb imports to reduce the import bill, and have provided tariff protection to local industries, in order to address the chronic shortage of foreign exchange. Impacts The government will resort to more creative measures to ease its foreign currency problems. This will include requiring suppliers to agree to deferred payment, and holding up shipments by applying intrusive inspection criteria. Recent financing agreements with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, Saudi Arabia and China have given Egypt some leeway. However, if it finally accepts the case for devaluation it may seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Financial access and economic development: the moderating role of financial consumer protection

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Kriese ◽  
Joshua Yindenaba Abor ◽  
Elikplimi Agbloyor
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Compliance Monitoring ◽  
Financial Access ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of financial consumer protection (FCP) in the access–development nexus. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on cross-country data on 102 countries surveyed in the World Bank Global Survey on FCP and Financial Literacy (2013). The White heteroscedasticity adjusted regressions and Two-stage least squares regressions (2SLS) are used for the estimation. Findings Interactions between FCP regulations that foster fair treatment, disclosure, dispute resolution and recourse and financial access have positive net effects on economic development. However, there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that interactions between financial access and enforcement and compliance monitoring regulations have a significant effect on economic development. Practical implications First, policy makers should continue with efforts aimed at instituting FCP regimes as part of strategies aimed at broadening access to financial services for enhanced economic development. Second, instituting FCP regimes per se may not be enough. Policy makers need to consider possible intervening factors such as the provision of adequate resources and supervisory authority, for compliance monitoring and enforcement to achieve the expected positive effect on economic development. Originality/value This study extends evidence in the law–finance–growth literature by providing empirical evidence on the effect of legal institution specific to the protection of retail financial consumers on the access–development nexus using a nouvel data set, the World Bank Global survey on FCP and Financial Literacy (2013).

Society and Market in the Era of Globalization

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-355
Author(s):  
Dušan Pokorný
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Economic Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Many Sources ◽  
The Imf

AbstractThis chapter considers the meaning of the terms "society" and "market," and the need for markets to be institutionalized and legitimated. Obligatory norms and recommendatory guidelines today come from many sources: from states, from groupings of states, and from worldwide bodies such as the IMF, the WTO, and the World Bank. But when markets create profound inequalities both within and between societies, how do we determine what limits ought to be placed on markets? Since economic institutions are inseparable from culture, this is the "site" where the public will have to decide what is "society," what is the "market," and what will be the relation between them.

Angola mounting debt burden raises future default risk

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Default Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Currency Depreciation ◽  
Debt Burden ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
High Inflation ◽  
African Development Bank ◽  
Central Bank Autonomy ◽  
Domestic Banks

Significance The IMF's willingness to turn a blind eye may enable Angola to retain access to concessional finance over the next 18 months; however, Luanda needs a plan to address deferred principal payments and recapitalise a key escrow account in 2023. Impacts The IMF's latest funding review will unlock USD500mn from the World Bank and USD200mn from the African Development Bank. Persistent IMF pressure for greater central bank autonomy will help curb inflation, which recently reached 25%, pending new legislation. Domestic banks remain vulnerable to economic shocks amid a lengthy recession, persistent high inflation and continued currency depreciation.

The IMF, its mandate and influence in prevention of financial sector abuse

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 987-1011
Author(s):  
Norman Mugarura
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Secondary Data Sources ◽  
Work Done ◽  
The Imf

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to articulate the mandate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not least in promoting a sound legal regulatory environment for markets to operate globally and its inherent challenges. While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF in supporting countries to achieve their macro-economic stability, the paper articulates some of its shortcomings as a global institution. It is evident that the post-war climate in which the World Bank and IMF were created has drastically changed – which presupposes that these institutions now need to reposition themselves to reflect on contemporary global challenges accordingly. The author has argued in the past that a robust regulatory system should be devised taking into account the dynamic challenges in the market environment but also to prevent them from happening again. Design/methodology/approach The paper has utilized empirical evidence to evaluate the mandate of the IMF in addressing its dynamic challenges such as the global financial and debt crises in Europe and the USA and prevention of financial sector abuse globally. The IMF is one of the Bretton Woods Institutions charged with the oversight responsibility to enforce policies and enable countries to manage their macro-economic challenges efficiently. Findings The findings demonstrate that the IMF is as relevant and important as it was when it was created in 1945. However, there is a need for intrinsic and structural changes within this institution to continue discharging its mandate in a changed global regulatory landscape. The IMF is still crucial in fostering a fundamental stabilization function to fragile global economies in areas of financial and technical assistance, and developing requisite legal and supervisory infrastructure within fledging member countries. Research limitations/implications The paper was written by analysis of both theoretical and empirical data largely based on secondary data sources. It would have been better to first present the findings in an international conference to solicit wide views and internalize them accordingly. Practical implications While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF and its counterpart the World Bank in facilitating global financial markets regulation and prevention of financial sector abuse, as oversight institutions, they need to constantly review their mandate to respond robustly to their dynamic challenges such as the global and debt crises and financial sector abuse. Oversight institutions need to constantly review and adapt their mandate accordingly, if they are to discharge their varied responsibilities efficiently. They cannot stand still in the face of challenges because they will be superseded and kept at a back foot. Social implications Markets and states are embedded in each other, and the way they are regulated is of a significant importance to varied stakeholders and people. Originality/value This paper is one of its kind, is unique in its character and evaluates embedded issues using empirical evidence in a way not done in its context before. Secondary data sources have been evaluated to achieve a thoughtful analysis of the objectives of the paper.

Major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy: the case of Ghana using the World Bank Enterprise Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-487
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mohammed ◽  
Alhassan Bunyaminu
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Business Enterprises ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey

PurposeThis paper aims at identifying the major obstacles to business enterprise in an emerging economy and how these obstacles are associated with different characteristics of the enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe study relied on the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on Ghana and applied binary and ordinal probit regression techniques to estimate the associations between the characteristics of the enterprises and the identified obstacles. Significance testing of the associations is also conducted.FindingsThe five main obstacles perceived by most of the enterprises in the study are access to finance, electricity, access to land, customs and trade regulations and tax rates. These obstacles are associated in different ways to growth rate (high vs low growth), scale (small and medium vs large), age, size of employees, the experience of the top manager and ownership (wholly domestic vs foreign ownership).Research limitations/implicationsAs a cross-sectional study focusing on Ghana, the findings are informative about the major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy; however, the ecological validity of these findings may be limited to factors specific to Ghana.Originality/valueGiven the representativeness of the Enterprise Survey, policymakers can rely on these findings to formulate useful policies to promote the operations of business enterprises.

East and West will divide over new Bosnian viceroy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
East And West ◽  
Dayton Agreement ◽  
Negative Behaviour ◽  
Roll Out ◽  
The Eu

Significance The summit’s avowed aim was to renew the EU-US ‘Transatlantic partnership’, including committing to upholding the international rules-based order built around the UN. It called for cooperation with Russia in areas of common interest despite its repeated “negative behaviour”. Such strains include Russia’s opposition to appointing a new high representative for Bosnia. Impacts Vucic’s call for regular reports from the high representative recognises his legitimacy while asserting Serbian interest in BiH. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic’s support for the 1995 Dayton agreement weakens outside backing for Bosnian Croat separatism. The World Bank has left its growth forecast for BiH unchanged from January, provided vaccine roll-out accelerates.

Cognitive abilities and income: preliminary evidence from a developing country

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raufhon Salahodjaev ◽  
Ziyodakhon Malikova
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Standard Deviation Increase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Unconditional Model ◽  
The World

Purpose Related literature finds that human capital proxied by cognitive abilities is an important antecedent of numerous specific life outcomes. The purpose of this study is to extend existing evidence by investigating the link between cognitive skills and income in Tajikistan. Tajikistan is a landlocked low-income country situated in Central Asia. Its population is 9.1 million people and gross domestic product per capita of US$822. According to the World Bank, Tajikistan has made significant progress in decreasing poverty levels from 83% in 2000 to 29.5% in 2017. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study comes from the 2013 Jobs, Skills and Migration Survey conducted by the World Bank and the German Society for International Cooperation. The main explanatory variable of the study is the cognitive abilities index of the respondents. The survey used item response theory (IRT) approach to estimate the ability of respondents. IRT is a method or a set of statistical frameworks, used to explore assessment item data, such as cognitive abilities assessment data. The wage function was estimated using the ordinary least squares method because the results are easier to interpret (Jencks, 1979; Bowles et al., 2001; Groves, 2006). Findings The baseline results are reported in Table 2. The results in Column 1 demonstrated the link between cognitive abilities and income without control variables (unconditional model). As expected, cognitive abilities are positively and significantly related to income (a1 = 0.0715, p < 0.01). The results from the unconditional model suggest that one standard deviation increase in cognitive abilities is associated with a nearly 17% increase in income. Research limitations/implications However, the study has a number of limitations. First, the dependent variable measures the overall income of the respondent, which includes the profit from other businesses. The survey does not provide data on monthly wages of respondents. Second, the sample may not perfectly represent the overall population of Tajikistan. To partially resolve this issue, this paper re-estimated out results for various sub-samples. Another important limitation of this study is the lack of respondent’s family background, which is an important correlate of human capital and income. Practical implications The results in the study offer preliminary evidence on the link between cognitive abilities and income in Tajikistan. However, the results of the study also suggest that both measures of human capital are positively related to income. Therefore, policymakers in Tajikistan should invest greater resources to health care, education and training programs as cognitive skills can be built in particular in the early stages of the life cycle. Indeed, Tajikistan has a significant potential for economic growth model driven by human capital. According to the World Bank, the adult literacy rate in Tajikistan is 100%, which is significantly above of what is observed in other developing countries. This may imply that the human potential in this country is considerable, and further investment in soft and hard skills would have a positive impact on economic growth. Originality/value This paper offers new evidence on the link between cognitive abilities and income, using data from Tajikistan. First, this paper finds that cognitive abilities are positively and significantly correlated with income. Second, this paper finds that this link remains robust even when this paper control for a large set of personal and job-related characteristics. The results from the unconditional model suggest that one standard deviation increase in cognitive abilities is associated with nearly a 17% increase in income.

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