scholarly journals Glimpses of Fiscal States in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Moore
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Government Failure ◽  
Revenue Collection ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Generally True

There is a widespread perception that taxing in sub-Saharan Africa has been and remains fraught with problems or government failure. This is not generally true. For more than a century, colonial administrations and independent states have steadily developed the capacity to routinely collect more substantial revenues than one might expect in a low-income region. The two main historical dimensions of this collection capacity were (a) powerful, centralized bureaucracies focused on achieving revenue collection targets and (b) large, taxable international trade sectors. In recent decades, those centralized bureaucracies have to some extent been reformed such that in structure and procedure they resemble more closely tax administrations in OECD countries. More strikingly, nearly all states have adopted VAT and found it to be a very powerful revenue collection instrument. However, the tax share of GDP has been broadly constant for several decades, and it will be hard to increase it. It is difficult for African governments to effectively tax transnational corporations, especially in the mining and energy sectors, which are of growing importance. Tax administrations continue to approach richer Africans with a light touch, and to exaggerate the potential for taxing small-scale (‘informal’) enterprises. The revenue operations of sub-national governments are often opaque. Ordinary people often pay large sums in ‘informal taxes’ that are generally regressive in impact. And the standard direction of travel in the reform of tax policy and administration is not appropriate to those large areas, especially in the Sahel, that are afflicted by internal and cross-border armed conflicts.

Monetary Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Export Prices ◽  
Policy Work ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Policy Guidance

Having broadly stabilized inflation over the past two decades, many policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa are now asking more of their monetary policy frameworks. They are looking to avoid policy misalignments and respond appropriately to both domestic and external shocks, including swings in fiscal policy and spikes in food and export prices. In many cases they are finding current regimes—often characterized as ‘money targeting’—lacking, with opaque and sometimes inconsistent objectives, inadequate transmission of policy to the economy, and difficulties in responding to supply shocks. At the same time, little existing research on monetary policy is targeted to low-income countries. What do we know about the empirics of monetary transmission in low-income countries? (How) Does monetary policy work in countries characterized by a huge share of food in consumption, underdeveloped financial markets, and opaque policy regimes? (How) Can we use methods largely derived in advanced countries to answer these questions? And (how) can we use the results to guide policymakers? This book draws on years of research and practice at the IMF and in central banks from the region to shed empirical and theoretical light on these questions and to provide practical tools and policy guidance. A key feature of the book is the application of dynamic general equilibrium models, suitably adapted to reflect key features of low-income countries, for the analysis of monetary policy in sub-Saharan African countries.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: the implications of the natural history, challenges of diagnosis and management for care in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Omo-Aghoja ◽  
Emuesiri Goodies Moke ◽  
Kenneth Kelechi Anachuna ◽  
Adrian Itivere Omogbiya ◽  
Emuesiri Kohworho Umukoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ◽  
Identification Technique ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Policies And Programs

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality. Main content The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions. Conclusion COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.

scholarly journals Gestational weight gain in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling analysis using nationally representative data

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. e003423
Author(s):  
Dongqing Wang ◽  
Molin Wang ◽  
Anne Marie Darling ◽  
Nandita Perumal ◽  
Enju Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Latin America And Caribbean ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Sub Saharan

IntroductionGestational weight gain (GWG) has important implications for maternal and child health and is an ideal modifiable factor for preconceptional and antenatal care. However, the average levels of GWG across all low-income and middle-income countries of the world have not been characterised using nationally representative data.MethodsGWG estimates across time were computed using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program. A hierarchical model was developed to estimate the mean total GWG in the year 2015 for all countries to facilitate cross-country comparison. Year and country-level covariates were used as predictors, and variable selection was guided by the model fit. The final model included year (restricted cubic splines), geographical super-region (as defined by the Global Burden of Disease Study), mean adult female body mass index, gross domestic product per capita and total fertility rate. Uncertainty ranges (URs) were generated using non-parametric bootstrapping and a multiple imputation approach. Estimates were also computed for each super-region and region.ResultsLatin America and Caribbean (11.80 kg (95% UR: 6.18, 17.41)) and Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (11.19 kg (95% UR: 6.16, 16.21)) were the super-regions with the highest GWG estimates in 2015. Sub-Saharan Africa (6.64 kg (95% UR: 3.39, 9.88)) and North Africa and Middle East (6.80 kg (95% UR: 3.17, 10.43)) were the super-regions with the lowest estimates in 2015. With the exception of Latin America and Caribbean, all super-regions were below the minimum GWG recommendation for normal-weight women, with Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa and Middle East estimated to meet less than 60% of the minimum recommendation.ConclusionThe levels of GWG are inadequate in most low-income and middle-income countries and regions. Longitudinal monitoring systems and population-based interventions are crucial to combat inadequate GWG in low-income and middle-income countries.

Delivering water services during protracted armed conflicts: How development agencies can overcome barriers to collaboration with humanitarian actors

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (912) ◽  
pp. 1067-1089
Author(s):  
Edoardo Borgomeo
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Emergency Relief ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Development Agencies ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractThis note discusses the challenges of water service delivery before, during and after protracted armed conflict, focusing on barriers that may impede successful transition from emergency to development interventions. The barriers are grouped according to three major contributing factors (three “C”s): culture (organizational goals and procedures), cash (financing practices) and capacity (know-how). By way of examples, the note explores ways in which development agencies can overcome these barriers during the three phases of a protracted armed conflict, using examples of World Bank projects and experiences in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Before the crisis, development agencies need to work to prevent armed conflict. In a situation of active armed conflict or when conflict escalates, development agencies need to remain engaged as much as possible, as this will speed up post-conflict recovery. When conflict subsides, development agencies need to balance the relative effort placed on providing urgently needed emergency relief and water supply and sanitation services with the effort placed on re-establishing sector oversight roles and capacity of local institutions to oversee and manage service delivery in the long term.

scholarly journals Contrasting Monetary and Multidimensional Poverty Measures in a Low-Income Sub-Saharan African Country

2020 ◽  
Vol 151 (2) ◽  
pp. 547-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Salecker ◽  
Anar K. Ahmadov ◽  
Leyla Karimli
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Poverty Measurement ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Analytical Strategy ◽  
Poverty Risk ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Over Time

AbstractDespite significant progress in poverty measurement, few studies have undertaken an in-depth comparison of monetary and multidimensional measures in the context of low-income countries and fewer still in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the differences can be particularly consequential in these settings. We address this gap by applying a distinct analytical strategy to the case of Rwanda. Using data from two waves of the Rwandan Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey, we combine comparing poverty rates cross-sectionally and over time, examining the overlaps and differences in the two measures, investigating poverty rates within population sub-groups, and estimating several statistical models to assess the differences between the two measures in identifying poverty risk factors. We find that using a monetary measure alone does not capture high incidence of multidimensional poverty in both waves, that it is possible to be multidimensional poor without being monetary poor, and that using a monetary measure alone overlooks significant change in multidimensional poverty over time. The two measures also differ in which poverty risk factors they put emphasis on. Relying only on monetary measures in low-income sub-Saharan Africa can send inaccurate signals to policymakers regarding the optimal design of social policies as well as monitoring their effectiveness.

Cost determination and sustainable financing for rural water services in sub-Saharan Africa

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Cost ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Cost Determination ◽  
Sustainable Financing

Access to safe, sufficient and affordable water in rural Africa will not increase unless sustainable financing strategies are developed which ensure the sustainability of existing water services. There is a strong need for international donors and national governments to confront the true costs associated with sustained service provision in order to develop practicable long-term financing mechanisms. This paper presents a systematic approach that can be applied to determine the overall cost of service delivery based on respective cost estimates for operation and maintenance, institutional support, and rehabilitation and expansion. This can then be used to develop a tariff hierarchy which clearly indicates the cost to water users of different levels of cost recovery, and which can be used as a planning tool for implementing agencies. Community financing mechanisms to ensure sustained payment of tariffs must be matched to specific communities and their economic characteristics; a blanket approach is unlikely to function effectively. Innovative strategies are also needed to ensure that the rural poor are adequately served, for which a realistic, targeted and transparent approach to subsidy is required.

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