Economic Development Of African Countries Research Articles

Green hydrogen in Africa: opportunities and limitations

Green hydrogen is globally seen as a universal fuel, feedstock or energy carrier and storage. The study aims to examine the role of the emerging green hydrogen market in developing countries in Africa. The goal is to indentify key factors that may either positively or negatively affect the development of green hydrogen energy in Africa. Several developing countries have been identified as potential key players in green hydrogen production: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Namibia. These countries are expected to play a vital part in the development of hydrogen technologies due to favourable climatic conditions for the production of low-cost renewable energy, the possibility of exporting hydrogen to EU countries, and the presence of various national policy initiatives (national hydrogen strategies) and international partnerships (the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance). The results showed that green hydrogen will boost economic development in African countries, stimulate investment and create new jobs. The study also identifies several barriers that could affect the development of green hydrogen in Africa: high investment costs for hydrogen infrastructure, financing, weak institutions, water scarcity and the imbalance between hydrogen for local use and for export.

Explore China-Africa Relations Through China-Africa Trade Exchanges

In recent years, with the deepening of economic globalization, the trade between China and African countries has become increasingly close. The trade between China and Africa has brought economic growth to China and African countries, consolidated the friendly relations between the two sides, and also led to some frictions and disputes. The economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries began as early as around the 1950s. On May 30,1956, Egypt and China established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. It was the first country in Africa to establish diplomatic relations with China, opening a new chapter in China-Africa relations. Since then, China has maintained increasingly close ties with African countries and has established diplomatic relations with more African countries. On this basis, China and African countries have also gradually started economic and trade cooperation. China has helped many African countries to carry out infrastructure construction, promoted the economic development of African countries, and also helped them to enhance their international status to a certain extent. The economic and trade relations between China and East African countries are generally improving, but there are still many problems and instability. Only by carrying out trade in the right way can the friendly relations between China and African countries be maintained.

Promoting Women’s Empowerment: Linkages Between Financial Development, Employment and Economic Growth in Selected African Economies

Women’s empowerment (WE) is one of the main challenges to economic development in African countries. Scholars have criticized national development initiatives to focus on well-being issues and treat women as the passive beneficiaries of welfare-enhancing assistance. This study uses panel fully modified least square and vector error correction model to investigate the impact of interactive effects of WE and financial development (FD) on employment and economic growth based on the World Bank income group as follows: upper-middle-income countries (UMIC), lower-middle-income countries (LMIC), and low-income countries (LIC). The findings show that the interactive effects of WE and FD on output and employment is not significant in the long run in LMIC and LIC. Despite the significance of these interactive effects in UMIC, the coefficient is less than one. Also, the causality result in the UMIC shows feedback between WE and economic growth. And that FD has a direct influence on growth in LMIC, while WE has a direct influence on employment in LIC.

Challenges related to the trade of Forests products in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The tropical forest products are among the important international goods which could bring revenues and support to the national economy of the tropical forest producing countries but unfortunately the tropical forests products do not contribute or facilitate the economic development of African countries like in the developed countries. This paper focuses on some of the challenges of the forests products trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to bring out the analysis we would like to make. The existing information on the forest exploitation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based mainly on the bibliographic review were considered. These data are time-series data of secondary source in the range of 2000 to 2015. Both of Ligneous and non-ligneous forest products are very important for the support of people and governments as income sources, food, construction, sports and art materials. These products need a sustainable management and best forest protection whereas they are gotten. Keywords: Forest, challenges, product

Public Capita and Growth: The Role of Institutions in Development

This study analyzes the links between public capital and growth using an econometric model of simultaneous equations, estimated on a panel of forty-three developing countries over the period 2003-2020. This growth model explains the determinants of GDP and public and private capital stocks. The accumulation of public, private and human capital generates externalities that are sources of endogenous growth. However, the formation of public capital generated a crowding out effect, to the detriment of that of private capital, because of differentiated budgetary constraints. Our results show that several developing countries have moved away from an optimal structure for the growth of sharing of available capital between the public and private sectors. In doing so, are institutions a prerequisite for the economic development of African countries.

Nigerian Transnational Companies and Economic Development across Sub-Saharan Africa

In examining how the private sector could be gainfully engaged in economic development of African countries, issues such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework, multinational enterprise and livelihood option suffice. These are some key elements of a credible policy package that will promote private sector development and boost intra-African trade. Another vital area that needs to be creatively addressed in the capacitation of African enterprises is access to financial resources, which studies suggest is one of the major constraints to private sector development in Africa. As one of the largest economies in Africa, Nigeria has played a leading role in private sector engagement in economic development. A number of Nigerian transnational companies have extended their operations and maintained active presence in some other Africa countries, particularly Sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to their primary business, they have invested heavily in some human development sectors such as health, workforce development and infrastructure—initiatives which not only benefitted them, but create richer economies and enhance human capital development of the host countries. The study is mainly focused on the capital investments of two Nigerian Transnational Companies— Globalcom, a Telecommunication company and the Dangote Group—a manufacturing and trading firm. The study uses their operations and investments across Sub-Saharan Africa as case studies of Nigeria’s private firms’ contribution to economic development in Africa. The study will look into published statistical records and other materials to generate information on trade and foreign investment within the study area. Keywords : Transnational Companies, Economic Development, Africa DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/83-05 Publication date: June 30 th 2020

Economic growth and prospects for economic development of African countries southward Sahara

This article is dedicated to analysis of the process of economic growth and development in African countries southward Sahara – the least industrializes region of the world. The main prerequisites for industrialization and economic growth in of African countries southward Sahara are the high urbanization ratios: the growing number of workforce, their qualification level, high portion of youth within the population structure, expanding domestic market, growing middle class, de-escalation of internal political confrontations and attenuation of cross-country armed conflicts, advancement of digital technologies. The information and empirical basis is comprised of the data of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the World Bank. The scientific novelty consists in determination of the points of growth in Africa southwards Sahara by means of application of the methods of statistical data analysis. The authors analyze the indicators of economic growth and industrialization of African countries southward Sahara, substantiate the increasing role of this region for the global economy. The article reveals spatial aspects of industrialization of African countries and allocation of the industrial production. The authorities of African countries must manage the industrialization processes, namely focus on the development of infrastructure, improvement of investment climate, transparency of legislation, reduction of administrative expenses for businesses, reduction of corruption, and prevention of armed conflicts. The regional integration would contribute to solution of the aforementioned issues. The key vectors in cooperation of African countries southward Sahara and Russia are the areas of oil extraction, energy sphere, information and communication technologies, and agriculture.

The Coordinated Relationship between Investment Potential and Economic Development and Its Driving Mechanism: A Case Study of the African Region

In order to analyze the coordination relationship between investment potential and economic development and its driving mechanisms, this study integrated the entropy weight method, coupling coordination degree model, exploratory spatial data analysis, geographic detector, and geographically weighted regression model. The developed approach was applied using data from 51 African countries from 2008 to 2016. The results showed that: (1) While the level of economic development in the African continent has increased steadily, the overall investment potential needs to be improved. The mean economic development index rose from 0.116 to 0.151, but the economic gap among countries was still highly evident. (2) Uncoordinated development and barely coordinated development level were the dominant types of relationship between investment potential and economic development in African countries. The spatial distribution showed significant agglomeration characteristics; the sub-hot spot and sub-cold point regions maintained strong dependence with their hot spot and cold point counterparts. The hot spot areas gradually formed an agglomeration in Southern Africa and highly fragmented distribution in other areas. The cold spot areas formed a spatial distribution pattern of “one core and one belt” with some countries in Western Africa forming the core, while some Central and East African countries constituting the belt. (3) The coordination relationship between investment potential and economic development was influenced mainly by factors including economic base, residents’ living standard, industrial construction level, information support level, and business friendliness. Using geographically weighted regression coefficient distribution of indicators, the driving mechanisms of spatial distribution could be divided into five types: economic base driven, industry-driven, information application-driven, business convenience-driven, and consumer market-driven.

Sino-African Relations: Economic Opportunities and Challenges for China

Africa is known for its massive labour force and natural resources. In terms of economic growth, African countries have faced prolonged phases of economic crises. China is a significant contributor in Africa’s economic stability. This paper analyses and evaluates the current opportunities and challenges related to China’s engagements in Africa and its policies for triggering economic development in African countries. China’s comprehensive approach is more concentrated on the sustainable development of the domestic infrastructure and job creation for the Africa communities. But there exists a gap in the current Chinese policies that have deepened the concerns of the locals about economic growth and progress. China needs to develop policies that would be mutually beneficial, these policies must ensure economic stability, job creation and growth. Various ongoing development projects initiated by the Chinese have in fact created insecurities amongst the Africans. This anxiety among the locals have become a major hurdle for China’s plans in the continent. Ongoing Chinese policies need to be innovative along with the integration of modern economic models. A reform in the current policies would ensure maximum benefits for both economic partners.

Policy to Prevent and Combat Cyber-crime in Africa

The global nature of the Internet has enabled extremely fast communication and transfer of most forms of human activity to the network, including those negatively received. Cyberspace is increasingly being spoken of as a new social space in which the same problems are reflected in the real world. Cybercrime is therefore a modern form of crime, exploiting the possibilities of digital techniques and the environment of computer networks. The research subject of this article is the policy of combating and preventing the phenomenon of cybercrime, while the research subject is Africa. At the beginning, the following research hypotheses were adopted: the slow pace of economic development of African countries is conditioned by the lack of appropriate legal regulations in the field of policy against cybercrime. This favors the development of economic cybercrime, which in turn testifies to the lack of measurement and control tools to limit and counter the very phenomenon of cybercrime in this area. Secondly, more importantly, the slow pace of ratification of international agreements also indicates that it will probably take longer than originally assumed that appropriate instruments of public international law could be legally binding within the African Union. Thirdly, the assumption was made that Africa is a potential for future economic development. In turn, the increase in the absorption and use of the Internet will contribute to its economic growth over time, which will continue to lead to the growth of cybercrime. The author, within the framework of this, publication, tries to show institutional and legal deficiencies on selected examples and indicate scenarios for preventing this phenomenon.

The Impact of Moroccan Banks on Economic Growth in African Countries: Analyzing the Synchronization between the Financial and Business Cycles in WAEMU

The strategic choice of Moroccan banks to conquer the African market has accelerated since the mid-2000s. According to the Banking Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Moroccan banks concentrate 29.6% of the market share in the WAEMU region in 2015, and more than 30% of the share of global net income in the region. The article is devoted to the research of the role of Moroccan banks in the economic development in African countries. Can Moroccan banks affect real economic activity and act as catalysts for financial and economic development in African countries? To answer this question, we examine the co-movements between loans granted by Moroccan banks in African countries and real activity in those countries. Therefore, we use the synchronization index proposed by Hading and Pagan (2002). The cycles were obtained with a Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter. The concordance index values, cross-correlation values were used to identify the characteristics of the relationships between the cyclical components. The study covers the period 2006-2015 and focuses on three Moroccan banking groups (Attijariwafabank, BMCE Bank of Africa and Banque Centrale Populaire BCP) set up in seven countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Niger. The empirical results revealed that the financial (credits granted by Moroccan banks) and business (real activity) cycles are highly synchronized in WAEMU. The study concluded that the bank credits have a positive impact on real activity in WAEMU countries within the period examined.

NON-ARMED CONFLICT RESOLUTION BY AFRICAN UNION

Africa is a continent devastated by conflicts and wars of all kinds. After being colonized for more than a century, African countries have sought solutions to solve the problems between them. They thus found their own organization which is the African Union with mixed commissions. The latter, besides dealing with the economic development of African countries, also deal with the management and resolution of armed and non- armed conflicts in the continent. Among these armed conflicts resolved by the African Union is the political crisis in Madagascar in 2009. The resolution of the conflict in Madagascar, despite its very successful appearance conceals some inconveniences for the Malagasy population and the Republic of Madagascar.
 This paper will demonstrate how the African Union regulates non-weapon conflicts in Africa, including the case of Madagascar, and explain the failures and successes of managing the crisis there. It aims to analyze the problems encountered in the resolution of a conflict, especially internal. Liberalism, more precisely, institutional liberalism is the theoretical framework of this study. To dig deeper into this paper, the research design utilized is the qualitative method with a deductive method. Data collection comes from primary data like books, reviews, reports, newspapers, etc.

State capitalism in construction: Staffing practices and labour relations of Chinese construction firms in Africa

A distinct feature of China’s involvement in the economic development of African countries in recent years has been the Chinese government’s financing and participation in infrastructure constructi...

Accounting, auditing and accountability research in Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss developments in governance in Africa and the opportunities this offers to accounting, auditing and accountability researchers. The paper also provides an overview of the other contributions in this accounting, auditing and accountability special issue.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides a contemporary literature review on governance and accountability in Africa, identifying the key developments in public sector reform and the research gaps that still need to be filled. While the paper focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa, the authors draw on examples from Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa – geographically representing east, west, and south of the continent.FindingsThe paper finds that governance has emerged as a crucial issue that has a significant effect on the economic development of African countries. This has been associated with a myriad of reforms which range from anti-corruption measures to public financial management reforms. The authors find that the implementation and effects of these reforms have not been adequately researched by accounting scholars.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a review of a limited literature. Empirical research and a more comprehensive review of the literature from public administration and other disciplines might provide other new insights for research on governance in Africa. A further limitation is that the study has focused on a review of the most recent reforms while earlier reforms should be of particular interest to accounting historians.Originality/valueThis paper and other contributions to this special issue of AAAJ provide a basis and an agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake interdisciplinary research on Africa.

Reconstructing African democracies for development in Africa through efficient communication and media engagement

This article describes pitfalls experienced by the population and governments of African countries in their struggle to build democratic institutions and improve their own wellbeing. It describes poor communication among groups, corruption in the ruling party and the ambiguous role of observer missions and the media among the obstacles to democratic promotion. It also examines the mitigating impact of expatriates and African Diasporans’ participation in the democratic processes of their country of origin, and shows the extent to which Western and American models of democracy and internal practices of the ruling party and observer missions during elections have become deterrents of ‘progressive democracy’ in the countries. The paper then offers suggestions for progressive democracy, arguing that the practice of traditional governing methods, the respect for global peace, protection of indigenes’ personal interest and ‘compensation’ to local prospective voters, not the hardcore capitalist doctrine, are required to foster progressive democracy and expedite socio economic development in African countries. Key words: poor communication, progressive, democracy, media, interventions

Appropriate Management in an African Culture: Implications for Education.

Following continued search for reasons on the inability of African nations to realize appreciable economic development through education, the researcher investigated the influence of cultural environment on management in industry. Because input/output measures of productivity are not easily measured in education, the industry was used, hoping that the results would safely apply to education since education has appreciable similarities to the profit-oriented industry. The researcher therefore studied employee/management values in two steel production companies in Nigeria. For comparison, a similar study was simultaneously done in a steel company in Italy. Because confidentiality was promised at data collection, the three companies were referred to in this study as P, Q, and R respectively. Italy, besides having the same steel production process like Nigeria, was chosen to eliminate influences on culture by British colonialism. A major aim was whether the results can help explain the disappointing economic development of African countries, with particular focus on Nigeria. Eight research questions guided the investigation. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using percentages. Results revealed almost same performance in X and Y (Nigeria) but comparison with Z (Italy) showed profound differences due to differences in cultural values especially with regard to motivation, satisfaction, and employee-management communication. Conclusion was that Western individualist and participative management models are unsuitable for African nations, and therefore, time for Africans to evolve suitable African management models which encompass African culture for use in Africa. The same can, by implication, apply to practices in education. Key words: Management culture, Africa, Nigeria, industry, education, development.

E-Commerce in Africa: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract Trade in Africa has the potential to be revolutionized by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), which have led to the development of e-commerce. These technologies have the capacity to boost intra-country and inter-country trade and subsequently promote economic development in African countries. However, many African States are yet to reap the full benefits of e-commerce, as it has not penetrated the continent to the extent experienced by Western countries. The lack of adequate ICT infrastructure, lack of basic ICT knowledge and threat of cybercrimes has created a significant barrier to the adoption and growth of e-commerce in many African countries. This article analyses the persisting digital divide barriers that have inhibited the penetration of e-commerce in Africa and suggests regulatory solutions to resolving them.

Poverty Alleviation in the People's Republic of China: The Implications for Sino–African Cooperation in Poverty Reduction

Abstract: In the last thirty years, remarkable achievements have been made in China's poverty reduction course. The dramatic fall in China's poor can be attributed mainly to a high rate of economic growth, government poverty reduction policies and targeted programmes and pro‐poor macroeconomic and industrial policies. This paper focuses on China's poverty reduction policies and programmes and their impact on the poor regions and poor households. Lessons are drawn for poverty reduction and economic development in African countries. The paper also explores the potential for collaboration in poverty reduction between China and African countries and recommendations are made for the governments and donor agencies.

Promoting women and minorities owned enterprises in African countries.

This paper attempts to examine the key issues relating to African women and minority owned enterprises development in the context of its relationship with economic development. The analysis is further broadened to underscore the determinants of women entrepreneurship development and the environment conducive for its operations. In addition, the policies that are necessary to make this environment favorable are discussed. The generic constraints faced are also listed out. The paper shows the need to accelerate economic development in African countries through promotion of women and majorities owned enterprises. Entrepreneurial orientations should be based on stimulating local entrepreneurial talent and subsequent growth of indigenous companies. This in turn would create jobs and add economic value to the region and at the same time keep scarce resources within the region. The paper recommends that African women and minority owned enterprises should be encouraged and taught to develop new entrepreneurial life styles, capacities, develop global sensitivity and strategic thinking capabilities. Therefore, greater gender equality, better institutions and more efficient economic functioning could possibly lead to access to opportunities, rights and voice.

Motivation-related values across cultures

There has been general upsurge in cultures and managerial research in the last decades or so. Despite this fact, empirical studies on culture dimensions to management practices across cultures have been limited in numbers and scope. In Africa, for example, we have very limited knowledge about its cultural values and the consequences it poses for motivation. In order to address this very crucial and important issue, motivation-related values were studied in four European countries (France, Italy, Netherlands and Scotland) and one African (Nigeria) country through survey questionnaire. A major research question was whether the results could help to explain the disappointing economic development of African countries, including Nigeria. The findings do confirm profound differences in cultural values for motivation among the five countries with collective interest playing a more important role in Africa-Nigeria. In view of these differences, untrimmed Western management models may not be very appropriate for adoption in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general without recourse to the prevailing local cultural values. The suggestion is made to look for appropriate and suitable African management models by studying the relatively more successful local companies and institutions. Key words: Motivation, management, cultures, values.