Does Governance Matter In Infrastructure: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa

This study empirically examines the pattern of physical infrastructure that would unlock the productive potential of sub-Saharan Africa. The estimations were carried out in a panel of 21 selected sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000 to 2010 using the two-stage least squares (TSLS) estimation techniques. The infrastructure variable was constructed on the basis of three physical infrastructure stocks (roads, telecommunication and electricity) using the principal component analysis (PCA), and governance was measured using the worldwide governance indicators. The results conform to the findings of existing literature; namely, that real output, government capital expenditure, external balance and inflation are significant determinants of physical infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. The distinctive feature of the study is the significant role played by governance in explaining physical infrastructure. The results from the panel estimations reveal that investment in governance/institutional structures is a necessary first step in providing quality infrastructure stock and, hence, pro-poor, long-term economic growth for the region. Therefore, in modelling physical infrastructure, it is imperative to incorporate the important role played by governance.

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Composite Index of Inclusive Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Inclusion of the Informal Sector

South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics ◽

10.9734/sajsse/2020/v6i230161 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Omang Ombolo Messono ◽

Nsoga Nsoga Mermoz Homère III

Keyword(s):

Burkina Faso ◽

Informal Sector ◽

Composite Index ◽

Principal Component ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Inclusive Growth ◽

African Countries ◽

Positive Growth ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Growth Changes

This paper aims to provide a composite index of inclusive growth in 32 sub-Saharan African countries between 1995 and 2014 by taking into account the importance of the informal sector. Following the principal component analysis methods, we find specifically that except for countries such as Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, inclusive growth has trended upward over the study period. This trend is non-linear and is characterized by two sub periods. From 1995 to 2005, the composite index of inclusive growth is essentially negative. On the other hand, positive growth in value is recorded over the second sub-period from 2005 to 2014. Overall and on average, these countries have experienced inclusive growth. Moreover, we also note that in countries such as Burkina Faso, Mauritius and Nigeria, on the side-lines of the informal sector inclusive growth has a negative trend. However, when we integrate the informal sector, the trend of inclusive growth changes sign and becomes positive.

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African agriculture in the context of COVID-19: Finding salvation in the devil

African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics ◽

10.53936/afjare.2020.15(4).19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 302-310

Author(s):

Guy Blaise Nkamleu ◽

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Development ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Food System ◽

Free Trade Area ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Agriculture Sector ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

The world is facing unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, which is disrupting lives and livelihoods. The pandemic could profoundly affect the African continent and wipe out hard-won development gains, as sub-Saharan Africa heads into its first recession in 25 years. Beyond the multispatial impact of the coronavirus in Africa, its effects on the agriculture and food system is of particular interest, as food security could be the most affected area and, at the same time, agriculture could be the sector that could help African economies recover quicker from the impact of COVID19. This paper supports the view that COVID-19, as devilish as it may be, offers an opportunity to revive interest in the agricultural sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressures on African countries to raise additional resources, and consequently Africa’s growing public debt is again coming back to the centre stage of the global debate. The conversation on African debt sustainability has begun to dominate the scene and will flood the debate in the near term. While the observed, growing calls for debt relief for African countries are legitimate, we support in this paper that one should not divert attention from the long-term solutions needed to strengthen Africa’s resilience. These long-term solutions lie where they always have: in agriculture. With COVID-19, shipping agricultural inputs and food products from other continents to Africa has become disrupted and is accelerating the trend towards shortening supply chains. This will leave a potential market for inputs and food produced on the continent. COVID-19, together with the launching of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), have aligned the stars in favour of a decisive transformation of the agriculture sector on the continent. Agriculturalists and development experts need to be aware of their responsibility at this time, as they need to advocate for the topic of agricultural development to return to the centre and the heart of the agenda of discussions on how to respond to the consequences of Covid-19 in Africa. In this sense, and unexpectedly, COVID-19 is an opportunity for the agricultural sector.

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Institutions and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries: The Effect of Investment Climate Quality

International Journal of Scientific Research and Management ◽

10.18535/ijsrm/v8i04.em04 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (04) ◽

pp. 1706-1730

Author(s):

Nyemb Pagbe Rémi Degourmond

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Private Property ◽

Composite Index ◽

Principal Component ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Investment Climate ◽

African Countries ◽

Composite Indices ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

This paper assesses the impact of investment climate quality on economic growth for a sample of 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), over the period 1996-2014. The investment climate is measured simultaneously by individual components and composite indices, in order to capture both its global and specific effects, with a view to possibly identifying the most determining factors in the economic growth of SSA countries. In addition, in order to verify the robustness of our results, two composite indices of investment climate were constructed using the Principal Component Analysis method, with variables from two main databases (the World Governance Indicators database of World Bank and the International Country Risk Guide database).By using fixed and random effects models based on Hausman test results, we generally find that investment climate is a major determinant of economic growth in the countries of the SSA of the study sample. This result is valid regardless of the composite index or the individual component considered. Fight against corruption, protection of private property rights, efficiency of government, the quality of bureaucracy and regulation appear to be the most decisive components in accelerating economic growth for the sample of country considered.

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The mobile phone as an argument for good governance in sub-Saharan Africa

Information Technology and People ◽

10.1108/itp-01-2018-0011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 897-920 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Simplice Asongu ◽

Sara le Roux ◽

Jacinta C. Nwachukwu ◽

Chris Pyke

Keyword(s):

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Good Governance ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Content Type ◽

Empirical Inquiry ◽

Governance Indicators ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Mobile Phone Usage

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present theoretical and empirical arguments for the role of mobile telephony in promoting good governance in 47 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 2000–2012. Design/methodology/approach The empirical inquiry uses an endogeneity-robust GMM approach with forward orthogonal deviations to analyze the linkage between mobile phone usage and the variation in three broad governance categories – political, economic and institutional. Findings Three key findings are established: first, in terms of individual governance indicators, mobile phones consistently stimulated good governance by the same magnitude, with the exception of the effect on the regulation component of economic governance. Second, when indicators are combined, the effect of mobile phones on general governance is three times higher than that on the institutional governance category. Third, countries with lower levels of governance indicators are catching-up with their counterparts with more advanced dynamics. Originality/value The study makes both theoretical and empirical contributions by highlighting the importance of various combinations of governance indicators and their responsiveness to mobile phone usage.

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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 ◽

Ssa Countries

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)).

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Schistosomiasis in infants and pre-school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa: implication for control

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182012000029 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 139 (7) ◽

pp. 835-841 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

UWEM F. EKPO ◽

AKINOLA S. OLUWOLE ◽

ENIOLA M. ABE ◽

HANNAH E. ETTA ◽

FRANCISCA OLAMIJU ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Schistosomiasis Control ◽

School Aged Children ◽

Control Programmes ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Receive Treatment ◽

Available Information ◽

And Control

SUMMARYUntil recently, the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa have focused primarily on infections in school-aged children and to a lesser extent on adults. Now there is growing evidence and reports of infection in infants and pre-school-aged children (⩽6 years old) in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda, with reported prevalence from 14% to 86%. In this review, we provide available information on the epidemiology, transmission and control of schistosomiasis in this age group, generally not considered or included in national schistosomiasis control programmes that are being implemented in several sub-Saharan African countries. Contrary to previous assumptions, we show that schistosomiasis infection starts from early childhood in many endemic communities and factors associated with exposure of infants and pre-school-aged children to infection are yet to be determined. The development of morbidity early in childhood may contribute to long-term clinical impact and severity of schistosomiasis before they receive treatment. Consistently, these issues are overlooked in most schistosomiasis control programmes. It is, therefore, necessary to review current policy of schistosomiasis control programmes in sub-Saharan Africa to consider the treatment of infant and pre-school-aged children and the health education to mothers.

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Genetic characterization of G12P[6] and G12P[8] rotavirus strains in six African countries

10.21203/rs.3.rs-47541/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kebareng G. Rakau ◽

Martin M. Nyaga ◽

Maemu P. Gededzha ◽

Jason M. Mwenda ◽

M. Jeffrey Mphahlele ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid Level ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Vaccine Introduction ◽

Rotavirus Vaccination ◽

Human Rotavirus ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Stability ◽

Long Term Impact

Abstract Background: G12 rotaviruses were first observed in sub-Saharan Africa in 2004 and since then have continued to emerge and spread across the continent and are reported as a significant human rotavirus genotype in several African countries, both prior to and after rotavirus vaccine introduction. This study investigated the genetic variability of 15 G12 rotavirus strains with either P[6] or P[8] identified between 2010 and 2014 from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.Methods: The investigation was carried out by comparing VP7 and partial VP4 sequences of the African G12P[6] and G12P[8] strains with the available GenBank sequences and mapping the recognized neutralization epitopes of these strains.Results: The findings suggested that the VP7 and VP4 genes of the G12 strains circulating in African countries are homologous at the nucleotide and amino acid level, irrespective of country of origin and year of detection, although there was a unique clustering of the Ethiopian strains. The study strains shared a common ancestry with G12 strains circulating globally. Neutralization epitope mapping revealed that rotavirus VP4 P[8] genes associated with G12 had amino acids similar to those reported globally including the vaccines RotaTeq® P[8] and Rotarix®.Conclusions: It is unlikely that widespread vaccine use has driven the molecular evolution and sustainability of G12 strains in Africa. Furthermore, it is too early post vaccine introduction to indicate any effect of vaccine-induced pressure on maintaining the stability of these strains in circulation. Continuous monitoring of rotavirus genotypes is recommended to assess the long-term impact of rotavirus vaccination on the dynamic nature of rotavirus evolution on the continent.

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Genetic characterization of G12P[6] and G12P[8] rotavirus strains collected in six African countries between 2010 and 2014

10.21203/rs.3.rs-47541/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kebareng G. Rakau ◽

Martin M. Nyaga ◽

Maemu P. Gededzha ◽

Jason M. Mwenda ◽

M. Jeffrey Mphahlele ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid Level ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Vaccine Introduction ◽

Rotavirus Vaccination ◽

Human Rotavirus ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Long Term Impact

Abstract Background: G12 rotaviruses were first observed in sub-Saharan Africa in 2004 and since then have continued to emerge and spread across the continent and are reported as a significant human rotavirus genotype in several African countries, both prior to and after rotavirus vaccine introduction. This study investigated the genetic variability of 15 G12 rotavirus strains associated with either P[6] or P[8] identified between 2010 and 2014 from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia. Methods: The investigation was carried out by comparing partial VP7 and partial VP4 sequences of the African G12P[6] and G12P[8] strains with the available GenBank sequences and exploring the recognized neutralization epitopes of these strains. Results: The findings suggested that the VP7 and VP4 genes of the G12 strains circulating in African countries are closely related at the nucleotide and amino acid level, irrespective of country of origin and year of detection, although there was a unique clustering of the Ethiopian strains. Neutralization epitope screening revealed that rotavirus VP4 P[8] genes associated with G12 had amino acids similar to those reported globally including the vaccines RotaTeq and Rotarix. Conclusions: At present it appears to be unlikely that widespread vaccine use has driven the molecular evolution and sustainability of G12 strains in Africa. Continuous monitoring of rotavirus genotypes is recommended to assess the long-term impact of rotavirus vaccination on the dynamic nature of rotavirus evolution on the continent.

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Sovereign Wealth Funds and Long-Term Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

10.1596/1813-9450-7903 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Boubacar Diallo ◽

Fulbert Tchana Tchana ◽

Albert G. Zeufack

Keyword(s):

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽

Sub Saharan

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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 ◽

Sub Saharan

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.

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