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This article reviews Bram Büscher's book The Truth about Nature: Environmentalism in the Era of Post-truth Politics and Platform Capitalism (2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to income equality (IE) literature by examining four important issues. First, the study examines the effects of foreign bank presence (FBP) on IE. Second, the paper identifies the minimum threshold level of FBP which can lead to IE. Third, the effect of economic freedom on IE was investigated. Fourth, the paper determines whether economic freedom interacts with FBP to minimise IE. The findings are based on macro data for 33 African countries from 1995 to 2020. The findings from the two-stage system generalised method of moment indicate that unconditionally, FBP reduces income inequality. Also, results from the threshold effect reveal that whilst FBP reduces income inequality, if it exceeds 52%, it may contribute to it. Additionally, the study reveals that economic freedom dampens IIE. Furthermore, economic freedom conditions FBP to reduce IE. Based on these findings, policymakers are advised to exercise caution in attracting foreign banks and to promote local financial institutions. Policymakers are also advised to implement policies to promote economic freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first issue of the International Journal of Biometeorology in 1957, a total of 135 papers have reported on research in or of African countries. The majority of these have been on topics of animal biometeorology (36%), and the greatest proportion (24%) are situated in Nigeria. There has been a considerable increase in papers on African biometeorology since 2011, with those from this past decade accounting for 58% of all African papers in the journal. This occurs concurrent to an increase in the total number of papers published in the journal, driven by a move to the Editorial Manager system. While 66% of the papers on African biometeorology in the journal are authored by at least one person with an affiliation in the African continent, only 15 African countries are represented in the total authorship. As much of the African continent is projected to experience climatic changes exceeding the global mean, as much of the region is involved in animal and plant farming, and as seasonally-fluctuating and climatically affected diseases are common place, this low representation of work in Africa is surprising. This points to the need for greater awareness among African researchers of the discipline of biometeorology, greater involvement of African biometeorologists in International Society of Biometeorology and Commission meetings, and the inclusion of a greater number of African academics in the review process. This would be beneficial to the Society in increasing diversity and encouraging a more cosmopolitan engagement, and to the recognition of scientific development in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthrax is a zoonotic disease that is still regarded as a public health issue in developing nations. This paper aims to discuss the epidemiology of anthrax in Africa, the current outbreaks in Ghana and Nigeria, clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of anthrax, challenges associated with the transmission of the disease to both countries and recommendations to reduce this current outbreak and curb future outbreaks in Africa. Online databases (PubMed, and Google Scholar) and Nigeria Ministry of Agriculture report were used to provide detailed information on the paper. On June 1, 2023, two suspected human cases of anthrax were reported, via a letter sent to all stakeholders in the country, with one death in Binduri District, Upper East region of Ghana. The cases were due to the consumption of dead cattle. Four cattle were reported dead at the time, and eleven suspected human cases were identified through contact tracing. Afterward, on July 17, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria announced the first case of anthrax disease in Nigeria. The National Veterinary Research Institute confirmed the case from samples collected from a suspected livestock farm in Niger State, Nigeria. No human case has been reported. Short conclusion: Anthrax poses significant challenges to public health and requires cooperation between nations, especially in regions like Ghana and Nigeria, where animal movement and ecological changes can impact disease transmission. Challenges attributed to the spread of anthrax in both countries were discussed, focusing on the role of government and the general public in addressing this public health concern. Given the endemicity of certain transboundary animal diseases such as anthrax in sub-Saharan Africa, the control of animal movement across intra- and international borders in the region needs to be tightened. Regulations governing the transboundary movement of animals should be based on the World Organisation of Animal Health Terrestrial Code and should be strictly enforced to prevent ongoing and future outbreaks in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ports play a significant role in facilitating international trade and economic development, serving as vital gateways for the movement of goods across the continent and beyond. As global trade volumes continue to rise, efficient port operations hold the potential to not only enhance economic growth but also contribute significantly to job creation across various sectors of the economy. This paper examines the impact of container port throughput on employment in Africa and further tests whether causality runs from employment to container port throughput. To do so, we use a sample of 27 African countries with seaport and data spanning the period from 2010 to 2020 for the analysis. The system- Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) estimation technique is used as the estimation strategy. We use service, industrial, and total employment percentages of the total population as proxies for employment while annual container throughput measured in Twenty foots Equivalent Units (TEUs) is used as an indicator for port throughput. Based on the empirical results, we establish a positive significant effect of port throughput on employment in Africa. We further show that bidirectional causality exists between port throughput and employment in Africa. Following these findings, we recommend policies that increase port throughput in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the adoption of wastewater technologies in Africa with the view that wastewater reuse is one solution to the persistent problem of water stress and scarcity. The continent is straddled by a rising population and dwindling water supplies, compounded by climate change whose effect on agriculture would be highly consequential. We argue that this effect can be minimized by increasing wastewater reuse in agriculture for irrigation, as well as other uses that together serve to reduce water stress. However, for this to be achieved, constraints to household adoption of wastewater technologies need to be addressed. In this paper, we evaluate the relative importance of some these constraints in African countries. Using a proxy for household adoption of wastewater technologies in an empirical fractional response regression model, we find that the capacity constraints on the part of utilities to provide distributed wastewater technologies are not a crucial factor. Rather, affordability of such technologies, income, and utility level service quality are major obstacles to expanding wastewater technology adoption in the region. In addition to elucidating the dynamics of water innovation on the demand side in Africa, our results have practical and policy implications: They highlight the crucial role of institutional agents in the water innovation chain and provide insights to policy makers in water-stressed countries concerned about water management, especially in relation to potential interventions that promote and enhance improvements in waste water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdfunding in Africa is unique due to the unstable but budding macro-environment that enables offline backer contribution that fosters project success. This paper explores the reward-based crowdfunding macro-environment factors that motivate and demotivate backer contribution towards crowdfunding with a focus on Information Communication Technology Infrastructure, Social Capital, and Backer Identity fostered by the Geographical Location. We also offer solutions for improving rewards-based crowdfunding in Africa to ensure social and economic sustainability. The results of our predictive analysis reflect that creativity-oriented projects are the project categories with the highest success rate in Africa. The findings of this paper also shed light on the fact that the success of crowdfunding projects in Sub-Saharan Africa hinges on a type of hybrid model involving the "offline" community of backers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to obtain credit when credit ratings and collateral are used as criteria to assess their credit applications. In the context of Africa, the financial markets have gaping institutional voids, and contextual insights into SMEs' experiences remain underdeveloped. Drawing on the stakeholder-agency theory of debt financing, this paper advances the scholarly conversation by theorising about how collateral security, collateral security value and the gender of SME owners lead to the involuntary financial exclusion of many manufacturing businesses in Africa. Analysis of the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) dataset reveals that collateral security and collateral security value, together with gender biases in Africa's financial markets, reduce credit access potential. Consequently, SMEs' perceptions of the likelihood of obtaining credit for business purposes are reduced. Empirical results for 13,783 SMEs across 41 African countries indicate that the motivations to apply for credit also diminish. These observations contribute to entrepreneurial financing and SME research. Plain English Summary: Although the manufacturing sector is declining in the West, it remains important in Africa. For most African countries, it helps alleviate poverty by creating jobs that enable the economic and social development of citizens. However, manufacturing SMEs face involuntary financial exclusion, even though access to financial facilities helps them develop their ventures and enhance their role in community development. This study uses cross-country data on 13,783 manufacturing SMEs across 41 African countries. The aim is to understand the extent of this problem. This paper presents empirical analysis of how collateral security, collateral security value and the gender of SME owners influence the ability of SMEs to obtain credit in Africa. It provides an understanding of how lenders use collateral security, collateral security value and gender to evaluate the creditworthiness of SME owners. Factors affecting SMEs' ability to convince lenders in Africa to finance their businesses include their size, lack of assets or value of assets and owner's gender. This scenario affects their confidence to apply for credit. Consequently, their motivation is undermined, despite the economic and social importance of their businesses for Africans. This understanding has implications for policy institutions in Africa. They must reconcile the needs of SMEs with the available financial services. Moreover, they must do so in a way that alleviates involuntary financial exclusion whilst enhancing community development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of health burdens on labour productivity in Africa's middle and low-income economies in the advent of Covid-19 pandemic was investigated in this paper. It employed Common Correlated Effects (CCE) estimation of Heterogeneous Dynamic Panel data Models to estimate a sample of 45 African countries with 30-panel series from 1990 to 2020. The authors discovered that the Covid-19 epidemic has aggravated the catastrophic health burdens (morbidity and mortality rates) in the panel countries. It shows that health burden has dynamic negative long-term spilling effect on labour productivity, such that a 1% increase in health burden, ceteris paribus, would reduce labour productivity by 13% in the upper middle income economy, 17% in the lower middle income economy, and 19% in the low-income economy, respectively. The findings also show divergence effects; with low- and lower-middle-income nations bearing the highest brunt of health burden crises due to Covid-19 pandemic and its mitigation measures, even in the face of inadequate health systems, lowering their labour productivity. As a result of this finding, an increase in health burdens devalues these countries' labour assets and raises the health risk of overburdened economies. The paper proposes that Africa countries should develop a regional inclusive health scheme with a financing target to raise the health system with particular attention to the low and lower-income countries. A healthy child grows into a productive adult in the future; hence the African Union should enact and enforce a regional health program that provides free child healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unflinching upsurge in global warming has put the world into a state of disarray, and policymakers are not sure of what the future holds for the ecosystem. To get the global environment back on track of sustainability, efforts are relentlessly emanating from both developed and developing economies to identify the hindering and enhancing factors. Given the preceding narratives, this paper investigates the tripartite impacts of renewable and nonrenewable energy, trade openness, and institutions on sustainable environment in 54 African countries from 1996 to 2019. The study employs the two-step system generalized methods of moment (SYS-GMM) in estimating the effects of the regressors on four indicators of sustainable environment. Six findings are prominent from the study. First, nonrenewable energy (NRE) and trade openness (TO) hinder sustainable environment, while renewable energy enhances it. Second, the unconditional impacts of institutions drive the path to a sustainable environment. Third, the interaction of institutions with NRE and TO hinders sustainable environment. However, after conducting institutional enhancement estimations, the interactive terms became supportive of sustainable environment. Fourth, the thresholds are policy-relevant across the specifications. Specifically, a 31.11% utilization of nonrenewable energy and 43.75% openness to trade contribute to a sustainable environment. Sixth, the impacts of economic growth and its square empirically support the inverted U-shaped EKC. This study suggests the adoption of carbon-taxing on nonrenewable energy products, price-subsidization for renewable energy goods and services, and institutional quality reforms as pathways towards achieving a sustainable environment in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paying bribes to access public services is a common form of corruption faced by citizens worldwide. A standard policy recommendation to address this problem is to create secure channels and encourage citizens to report bribery to authorities. Bribery reporting tools aim to decrease the incidence of bribery, but they could also serve to bolster anti-corruption commitment. Can bribery reporting channels also inspire citizens to fight corruption? This paper tests the claim that institutional responsiveness to bribery reporting triggers a positive feedback mechanism. The positive feedback mechanism refers to the proposition that advertising successful cases of institutional responsiveness not only persuades citizens of institutional commitment to fighting corruption but also inspires them to uptake various anti-corruption activities. The empirical strategy relies on Afrobarometer survey data from 12 countries, specifically focusing on individuals reporting bribery incidents who also answer a survey question about the subsequent actions taken by authorities. The paper assesses the persuasion effect by examining whether institutional responsiveness correlates with more positive perceptions of public institutions. Additionally, the paper assesses the inspiration effect by investigating whether this responsiveness is associated with citizens' willingness to take part in anti-corruption activities. The findings show that, even though those who have observed responsiveness to bribery reporting tend to evaluate public institutions more positively, they do not seem more willing to engage against corruption than those who do not observe responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between external debt and economic growth has been extensively studied by researchers and policymakers. However, the link between external debt and domestic investment remains an underexplored area of research. Therefore, this paper investigates the nexus between external debt and domestic investment, using institutional quality as a moderator. The sample consists of 47 sub-Saharan African countries with data spanning from 1996 to 2021. The empirical findings from conventional and robust estimators indicate that external debt negatively and significantly hampers domestic investment, while institutional quality plays a significant moderating role in this relationship. Additionally, the benefits of debt can only be realized by the SSA region when the average quality of institutions is above − 1.174 on the scale of − 2.5 to 2.5. The in-depth analysis offers insights that high-quality institutions (above a certain threshold) can help countries leverage debt for positive outcomes by promoting efficient resource allocation and attracting further investment. Thus, policymakers are advised to uphold debt management strategies and institutional reforms, such as reducing corruption, improving property rights, and strengthening the rule of law, to ensure transparency in debt use and maintain a sustainable debt burden. This will create a more attractive environment for both domestic and foreign investment. The results remain robust to alternative methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role that humans played in the extinction of Pleistocene proboscideans is highly controversial. Ethnohistoric records of elephant hunting, in concert with theoretical rationales, are often used as proxy evidence to support the view that ancient humans regularly and efficiently targeted large-sized proboscideans to the point of extinction. This paper examines the socioeconomic and technological contexts of elephant hunting in contemporary and ethnohistoric records to show how these circumstances influenced the scale of harvest, productivity, and valuation of elephants. Quantitative and qualitative evidence derived from some of these records are used to analyze the efficiency of elephant capture using traditional hunting technologies (spears, poisoned projectiles, traps, and drives). This analytical framework provides a systematic method for evaluating the productivity of proboscidean predation. Results show that prior to the widespread use of firearms in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the acquisition of elephants, irrespective of the traditional hunting technology used, was a dangerous, high-cost activity often associated with a high-risk of hunting failure. In the ethnographic record, elephant hunting is consistently associated with prestige-seeking among egalitarian hunter-gatherers. Although the analysis presented here is derived from hunting episodes that involved modern elephants, the physical characteristics and abilities that make these animals expensive and risky to hunt were likely manifested by most Pleistocene proboscideans. Using ethnographic data, a framework for recognizing how prestige hunting is manifested under different ecological and sociopolitical circumstances is provided and offers an alternative and compelling explanation for zooarchaeological patterning of costly prey in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact that institutional quality exerts on the quality of life. Using the 2-step system Generalized Method of Moments technique on panel data covering 2006 through 2018 on 47 African countries, the empirical results indicate that institutional quality, proxied by Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Voice and Accountability, and Control of Corruption have a positive impact on the quality of life. While real income, CO2 emissions, internet, education and globalization were found to exert a statistically significant positive impact, government health expenditure, unemployment, urbanization and unemployment negatively affected the quality of life within the period under study. The paper recommends an improvement in the institutional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change. Climate and sustainability-linked bonds can provide funding to African governments and corporations for projects that help to mitigate climate change, combat biodiversity loss, and foster sustainable development. However, less than 0.3% of the global environmental, social, governance (ESG) bond issuance volume is devoted to projects in Africa. Based on the entire universe of 107 African ESG bonds from 42 governmental and corporate issuers over the period 2010–2023, this paper establishes that ESG bonds provide benefits to both issuers and investors in terms of lower spreads and volatility. Our econometric results highlight that greenwashing is a valid concern for investors in African ESG bonds and certification of ESG bonds makes a difference vis-à-vis the self-labeling of green bonds. Non-certified ESG bonds do not offer similar benefits compared to certified ones. Green macro-financial policy and suitable regulation to prevent greenwashing can foster African ESG-bond markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to empirically investigate the effect of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on access to improved water sources and sanitation services in Africa. ICT is measured through the number of mobile phone subscribers per 100 and the Internet penetration rate. The sample consists of 44 African countries with data spanning between the 2000 and 2018 periods. The results from the system GMM methodology reveal firstly that ICTs have a significant enhancing effect on access to improved water sources. Secondly, the effect on access to improved sanitation services is detrimental. These results are robust in both urban and rural areas. Thirdly, education is the main channel through which these effects are modulated producing positive net effects for water services and negative net effects for sanitation services. As policy implications, digital development towards water monitoring and follow-up is encouraged, and the educational system digitalised. Moreover, domestic finance should be developed towards providing funds for investment in water and sanitation projects instead of relying on external debts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operations Research and Management Science research has demonstrated considerable impact in developing countries, among them African Countries, since the Second World War. The aim of this paper is to study the contribution of African countries to this field of "research" through Scientometric analysis of 3186 Operations Research and Management Science papers published by African authors between 1990 and 2018 and indexed in the Web of Science. We derive general empirical results and the overall structure of the intellectual landscape with emerging trends and thematic concentrations of co-cited authors. The analysis demonstrates increased adoption of Operations Research and Management Science models and techniques by African Researchers in addressing diverse academic challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how THA contribute to the understanding and promotion of industrial sustainability in Africa. There is a growing interest in the promotion of industrial sustainability in African countries; however, this attention is without much theoretical understanding. The new development agenda for African economies is industrial sustainability. While the agenda is possible through well-managed interactions between industries, universities, and governments, an exploration of how this can happen remains less understood. Using a systematic review approach, a thematic analysis of the triple helix literature revealed that despite the current limitations, stakeholders can find common grounds to leverage available opportunities to improve innovation and knowledge-based industrialization towards industrial sustainability. This paper proposes a conceptual model and research propositions to guide future research that seeks to illustrate how key stakeholders in the triple helix framework can effectively contribute to social, economic, and environmental wellbeing through industrial sustainability. This paper concludes that maximizing enablers and minimizing barriers that confront possible interconnections and interrelationships between universities, industries, governments, and their intermediaries could be a useful starting point towards the understanding and promotion of industrial sustainability in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the need to fight corruption in developing economies to ensure a better allocation of public resources in a context of institutional failure with the discretionary power of budgetary authorities. The study uses a panel of 48 Sub-Saharan African countries by combining several databases (WDI, WGI, SPEED BASE DATA and PWT), estimate by generalized moment method in system, the bias-corrected estimation linear dynamic panel data [6] and the type of error correction (Driscoll–Kraay). The results indicate that the phenomenon of corruption in the form of rent capture has two effects on public resources. One effect is linked to the level of public spending and the other to the distribution of public resources. Thus, corruption leads to an increase in the overall level of public spending. Corruption reduces spending on education, mining and communications, but increases spending on the military, health and transport. The study recommends that political leaders in developing countries strengthen and rigorously enforce anti-corruption laws, and raise public awareness of the underground economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses faculty experiences tackling global knowledge asymmetries by examining the decolonisation of higher education in Africa in the aftermath of the 2015 'Rhodes Must Fall' student uprising. An overview of the literature reveals a rich debate on defining 'decolonisation', starting from a critique of Eurocentrism to propositions of alternate epistemologies. These debates are dominated by the Global North and South Africa and their experiences of curriculum reform. Our focus is on the experiences of political scientists in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. These countries share the same Anglophone political science traditions but represent different political trajectories that constitute a significant condition for the discipline. The 26 political scientists we interviewed acted toward increasing local content and perspectives in their teaching, as promoted in the official strategies of the universities. They noted that what was happening in lecture halls was most important. The academic decolonisation debate appeared overambitious or even as patronising to them in their own political context. National politics affected the thematic focus of the discipline both as far as research topics and students' employment opportunities were concerned. Although university bureaucracies were slow to respond to proposed curricula changes, new programmes were approved if there was a market-based demand for them. International programs tended to be approved fastest. Political economy of higher education plays a role: dependency on foreign funding, limited national resources to conduct research and produce publications vis-à-vis international competition, and national quality assurance standards appeared to be most critical constraints for decolonising the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is highly development-oriented and appeals to developing countries whose wish is to catch up with developed economies. China has called for co-construction of the BRI with all and sundry, particularly with African countries, which it has considered important and strategic in actualizing the BRI project. The call for co-construction echoes well with the African partners, who are keen on leveraging the BRI for their own development. Tied to China's status as a rising economic power, both partners have agreed to align the BRI with the African Union's development agenda for complementary and beneficial development. Our paper revealed that although the call for co-construction of the BRI is a welcomed initiative, there are potential setbacks that abound, and therefore offered strategies for responding to China's call for co-construction of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, through extreme weather events and slow onset climatic changes, disrupts the operation of transport networks, and those in low-income countries (LICs) across Africa and South Asia are particularly vulnerable to climate change. This paper explores the barriers that LICs face across Africa and South Asia regarding preparedness of transport infrastructure to climate change, with the intent of addressing the knowledge gaps and consequential needs of LICs to support the delivery of more climate-resilient transport. Literature on climate change adaptation and transport resilience among LICs is reviewed to identify the broad challenges and barriers regarding climate change adaptation. Semi-structured interviews with 13 transport stakeholders across Africa and South Asia were also conducted to understand the challenges specific to the transport sector in the regions. Several barriers were identified, including a lack of data and knowledge on climate change impacts, design and prioritisation of remedial actions, budgeting and planning for climate change, and identifying and engaging with stakeholders. Findings from this paper and the wider research project it comprises inform policy guidance that calls for greater national and international coordination to develop practical, relevant and usable data, tools, advice and support for some of the most at-risk transport networks to climate change in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines whether Africa's low corruption agenda can be achieved amid election cycles. We employ country-level data from 36 African countries covering the period 1998–2020. Using fixed effects, random effects and dynamic panel data regressions, our results suggest that in election years, increment in government expenditure is associated with higher corruption perception while increment in real GDP growth lowers corruption perception than in non-election years. On regional differences, the effect of election cycles on corruption perception was found to be greater in southern part of Africa than the rest of the sub-regions. These findings may have important implications for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the complex causal relationship between globalization, governance and development in African countries using a comparative approach. The sample comprises 51 countries in five groups over the period 1996–2018. The cointegration analysis shows that there is a long-run relationship between globalization, governance and human development in Africa as a whole sample. However, at regional level, such a relationship does not exist in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) bloc. In the long run, globalization and governance affect positively human development in all samples. The findings indicate also that there was unidirectional causality from globalization and governance to development at the continental level. At the regional level, there is unidirectional causality from globalization to development in East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). In these regions, there is also a bidirectional causality between governance and development. In the ECCAS, the causality runs from governance to development and from development to globalization in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The results support no evidence of causality between the variables in North Africa (Arab Maghreb Union, AMU). Finally, the overall globalization index does not Granger-cause governance. The main implication of our study is that improving governance and development is a very challenging issue, and the impact of globalization should not be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interacting effect of global shipping and trade on climate change in Africa using data on 31 countries for the period 2006–2016. We employ the system generalized method of moments estimation technique for our analysis. The results reveal that, in both the short run and long run, global shipping and trade contribute significantly to climate change in African countries. Furthermore, we document that the impact of shipping on climate change become larger through the aggregate trade channel. Based on these outcomes, policies designed to reduce emissions from global shipping are important in mitigating the menaces of climate change in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is vulnerable to a diverse range of climate change hazards that have significant impacts on food security, biodiversity loss, water crises and prevalence of infectious diseases. With much of the continent’s population reliant on ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods, degradation of ecosystems caused by both climatic and non-climatic stressors is increasing vulnerability, reducing adaptation potential and limiting progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) presents a critical opportunity to address complex climate change vulnerabilities and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across Africa. This study examines both the proposed extent of EbA actions across Africa and assesses alignment with existing research on EbA actions. A quantitative assessment of 52 Nationally Determined Contributions together with a review of available academic literature is undertaken. Results show that out of the 713 individual adaptation actions, 36.2% can be classified as EbA. The four sectors of agriculture, environment, forestry/land use and land use change, and water contribute ~ 82.5% of the total number of EbA actions identified across the continent. The meta-analysis revealed that 58% of EbA-focused research papers explicitly address or reference mitigation co-benefits. However, research on EbA actions focuses on mitigation and adaptation independently with little focus on integration of these outcomes. Understanding the current status of EbA and its integration of mitigation and adaptation provides a solid foundation for scaling up efforts to adapt to the current and impending impacts of climate change across Africa. Limited resources necessitate a structured and programmatic approach towards scaling up the implementation of EbA mitigation synergies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliographic data of publications indexed in Web of Science with at least one (co-)author affiliated to any of the 15 West African countries and published from 2001 to 2010 included are downloaded. Analyses focused one collaboration indicators especially intra regional collaboration, intra African collaboration and collaboration with the world. Results showed that the rate of papers with only one author is diminishing whereas the rate of papers with six and more authors is increasing. Nigeria is responsible for more than half the region's total scientific output. The main African partner countries are South Africa (in the Southern Africa, Cameroon (in the Central Africa), Kenya and Tanzania (in the Eastern Africa). The main non African partner countries are France, USA and United Kingdom, which on their own contributed to over 63 % of the papers with a non West African address. Individual countries have higher international collaboration rate, except Nigeria. West African countries cooperated less with each other and less with African and developing countries than they did with developed ones. The study suggests national authorities to express in actions their commitment to allot at least 1 % of their GDP to science and technology funding. It also suggests regional integration institutions to encourage and fund research activities that involve several institutions from different West African countries in order to increase intra regional scientific cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the successful adoption of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa, there is limited empirical evidence on how mobile money interacts with traditional financial services and the implications of this interaction for firm performance. In this paper, we investigate the effects of mobile money use and access to traditional financial services on labour productivity and test whether mobile money can accentuate the impact of traditional financial services on productivity. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey across 14 sub-Saharan African countries, we find a significant effect of access to traditional financial services on firm labour productivity but no robust significant direct effect of mobile money use on labour productivity. However, when access to traditional financial services, particularly access to bank capital, is combined with mobile money, there is a productivity improvement. We find similar evidence in the sample of small and medium-sized enterprises. The productivity gain from combining mobile money use with traditional financial service is also found within firms from East Africa and especially firms from other regions where mobile money is emerging, but uptake is relatively low. Overall, the evidence suggests that mobile money can heighten the effects of traditional finance, and we attribute this effect to a reduction in transaction costs. The findings in this paper support that both mobile money and traditional financial services should be promoted at the firm level. Plain English Summary: Mobile money heightens the effect of traditional finance on firm performance. Based on firm-level data across 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we find that mobile money has no statistically significant effect on labour productivity, but when it is used in combination with traditional financial services such as bank capital and accounts, then there is a productivity improvement, including in countries where mobile money adoption is relatively low. The evidence implies that mobile money can help formal firms derive maximum benefits from traditional financial services due to its potential to reduce transaction costs. Therefore, the use of both mobile money and traditional financial services should be encouraged among formal firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport energy use contributes to pollution, so it generates negative externalities. This paper analyzes the effect of urbanization on the transport final energy consumption in African countries. To that end, the paper applies the panel threshold regression (PTR) model for a panel of 25 African countries over the period 1992–2017. The findings show that there is a significant positive relationship between total and per capita transport energy consumption and the share of the urban population in the total population. Thus, urbanization fosters transport energy consumption, either per capita energy consumption or total energy consumption. Therefore, the results from this study suggest that African countries should promote sustainable urbanization in terms of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a cost-benefit analysis of alternative school networks that are otimized to cover the territory of the central part of Huambo Municipality in Angola. Benefits comes from increases in housing prices associated with changes in employment generated by schools, evaluated by variations in values of real estate estimated by the bid-rents of a spatial interaction model using hedonic regression methods. Costs are associated with construction and functioning of schools. The more advisable school networks alternatives are the ones that optimize the coverage of the region with education services while securing individual viability of each one of the schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a massive global challenge, and the past decade has seen a growing political attention to addressing malnutrition in different contexts. What has been largely missing so far, and is in growing demand from countries, is tangible, practical and rigorous insights and lessons (from other countries or contexts) on how to translate this burgeoning political momentum into effective policies and programme implementation strategies – and ultimately impact on the ground. This new climate of learning from experience and evidence led to the launch in 2015 of the Stories of Change initiative. This series presents a second wave of studies from six countries (Tanzania, Rwanda, Vietnam, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria,) and three Indian states (Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu). These provide clear evidence combined with compelling narratives on what drives success in addressing all forms of malnutrition – evidence that is necessary for turning global momentum into actual results on the ground. This introductory Opinion is published with the first set of papers. It will be followed by a thorough synthesis of papers as a conclusion of the Series. We hope that the lessons embedded in these Stories of Change will inform and inspire the deliberations and outcomes of the UN Food Systems Summit and the second Nutrition for Growth Summit to be held this year, and the actions of those in the global food and nutrition system working for positive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical competitions feature in most developed countries as a part of the secondary school experience, but to a lesser extent in developing countries. In this paper we investigate how widespread these competitions are in Africa, both historically as well as currently, focussing both on national Olympiads and on the participation of African countries in competitions beyond their borders, such as the continent-wide Pan African Mathematical Olympiad and the global International Mathematical Olympiad. Since we could not find a consolidated source of information on African competitions, we include many details and links, hoping that this paper will serve as a valuable starting point for future investigators. Next, we present some survey findings on the attitudes towards and experiences of mathematical competitions, both from the perspective of teachers in secondary schools as well as from secondary school students, and whether these experiences have served to improve or degrade their perceptions of mathematics in general. Among other results, we find that teachers view their students' participation in mathematics competitions as being important, with the biggest barrier to participation being that there are not enough competitions at appropriate levels available, and that students enjoy mathematics competitions and are more likely to pursue a STEM career because of them. Finally, we present some suggestions on how this research may be taken further, and on how the state of mathematical competition culture in Africa may be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the supply chain management of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, aiming to demonstrate the patterns of publication in this field. An extensive examination of bibliometric analysis has been conducted using 338 published works obtained from the Dimensions database over the last 20 years. The study was conducted based on publications, sources, authors, and institutions as the primary units of analysis. The study determined the leading journals, prolific authors, partnering countries, and organizations involved in research on supply chain management specifically focused on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa. Furthermore, it has been uncovered that the investigation of supply chain management in MSMEs in Africa needs to be revised in comparison to that of larger organizations. Moreover, publications in the field are not only insufficiently accessible, but also authored by scholars who are not of African descent. Given the crucial role of MSMEs in the African economy, scholars in this field are encouraged to prioritize research on the supply chain management of MSMEs as a critical issue for the twenty-first century. Furthermore, researchers are recommended to do additional analyses utilizing alternative databases such as Web of Sciences and Scopus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, the biofuel boom for climate mitigation, energy security, and socio-economic development has triggered large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) and land grabbing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, several of these LSLAs and land grab deals have failed, leading to large-scale land abandonments. In rural SSA, land is a primary asset for climate change adaptation because it enables income and livelihood generation thereby improving adaptive capacity. However, land abandonment raises critical issues for climate adaptation. Drawing on empirical data from household surveys and interviews, this paper explores the implications of land abandonment on local adaptation and ecological restoration in Ghana. It was found that land abandonment can positively influence climate mitigation through ecological restoration for carbon sequestration, and negatively influence adaptation through loss of employment and income by lowering the adaptive capacities of households. These mechanisms are embedded in broader socio-economic and political processes that can be addressed through policy instruments securing land rights to boost adaptive capacity for climate adaptation after land abandonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past couple of decades, the world has witnessed a rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and rising income inequality that threatens human well-being. Addressing these challenges and ensuring sustainable development become a pressing issue for policymakers. This paper investigates the impact of GHG emissions on income inequality in Africa. The study uses a panel data set from 49 countries from 1981 to 2015 and shows that GHG emission widens income inequality. The result is robust for alternative emission indicators. A direct implication is that climate change policy should be designed to narrow income inequality. It is emphasized that mitigation actions should focus on the agriculture sector. Hence, intervention towards energy-smart agriculture, land conservation practices, exploiting the job creation potential, and strengthening value addition in the agricultural sector is decisive. Reforming agriculture reduces emission, narrows income inequality, and realizes sustainable development on the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper employs a recently constructed consumption-based carbon dioxide emissions data in which emissions computations are made based on fossil fuel usage domestically, in addition to emissions emanating from imports minus exports. We contrast this measure with the commonly measured territory-based carbon dioxide emissions data and examine how trade performance (split into imports, exports, and total trade) impacts these two measures of carbon dioxide. We focus on 22 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1995–2014. Employing the system generalized method of moments, we find trade to generally have positive effect on emissions. The results are consistent across the different measures of trade and carbon dioxide emissions. The results of the paper allow us to give some policy suggestions regarding carbon dioxide emissions in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the linear and nonlinear relationship between institutional quality and renewable energy capital flows across 20 African countries between 2002 and 2017. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments estimation technique. The findings suggest that institutional quality has a significant and propelling effect on renewable energy capital flows, implying that strong institutions induce investments in renewable energy in Africa. From an extended analytical exercise, the study further shows a nonlinear inverted U-shaped relationship between institutional quality and energy capital flows. This indicates that the enhancing effect of institutional quality on energy capital flows is achieved at a certain threshold level. In the extreme case, the impact of institutional quality on energy capital flows diminishes. The study recommends that African countries initiate reforms to tame any adverse effect of institutional quality on renewable energy investments in its extreme case. Thus, African countries should develop strong institutions and reinforce their regulatory frameworks because strong institutions can improve societal welfare by reducing political, social and economic unpredictability while boosting trust and investment in renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime piracy is a serious worldwide challenge that affects the maritime industry. As a result, in the past years, the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region has seen a sharp upsurge in pirate attacks. To solve such criminal activities, diverse measures have been undertaken by both the coastal nations and regional organizations of GoG. So, this paper's purpose is to assess the effectiveness of the regional and national measures undertaken to address maritime piracy in the GoG region. To achieve this aim, the author provides the likely ways of combating maritime piracy in the GoG and presents an analysis of counter-maritime piracy responses that have been employed to tackle the maritime piracy problem in the GoG. Therefore, analysis of this study comprises an assessment of the steps employed by the GoG nations and the effectiveness of the executed tactics to counter the risk posed by maritime piracy in the GoG. Based on this, the author concludes that though the collaborative efforts intended to counter maritime piracy are laudable, nevertheless, it remains essentially insufficient to address the complete magnitude of the problem due to the present dearth of collaboration and coordination among the parties involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is being scaled-up in Zambia, but PrEP continuation data are limited by paper-based registers and aggregate reports. Utilization of Zambia's electronic health record (EHR) system, SmartCare, may address this gap. We analyzed individuals aged ≥ 15 years who initiated PrEP between October 2020 and September 2021 in four provinces in Zambia in SmartCare versus aggregate reports. We measured PrEP continuation using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. SmartCare captured 29% (16,791/58,010) of new PrEP clients; 49% of clients continued at one month, and 89% discontinued PrEP by February 2022. Women were less likely than men to discontinue PrEP (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.89, 95% CI 0.86–0.92, z = − 6.99, p < 0.001), and PrEP clients aged ≥ 50 years were less likely to discontinue PrEP compared to clients 15–19 years (aHR: 0.53, 95% CI 0.48–0.58, z = − 13.04, p < 0.001). Zambia's EHR is a valuable resource for measuring individual-level PrEP continuation over time and can be used to inform HIV prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income inequality has become an issue of significant concern in Africa. And to provide insights into the evolution of inequality in the region, this paper investigates the convergence in income inequality across African countries. We employed a balanced panel of 34 countries covering from 2000 to 2014 and used the Gini index to represent income inequality in the study. The empirical results show a lack of support for overall convergence in income inequality, which means dispersion in income inequality increased over time across countries in the region. However, because convergence might still be found within the groups of countries with similar characteristics when overall convergence cannot be achieved, we further employed the club clustering algorithm to check whether club convergence exists. Our results show that income inequality converges into five convergence clubs and a group of divergence countries. And the evidence of club convergence means disparities in income inequality declined over time across countries within the club. The implication is that specific interventions targeting countries within each convergence club might be required to address the region's inequality problem to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes employing direct taxes, transfers, or a combination to reduce African income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social cohesion has recently gained increasing attention in academic and policy circles. Apart from being a necessary feature of stable societies per se, social cohesion is also a key factor for sustainable economic development. One potential means through which social cohesion could foster economic development is by enhancing financial development. In this paper, I examine whether social cohesion is significantly associated with firms' access to finance in Africa. To this end, I use a recently constructed dataset on social cohesion in Africa, which contains indices for the three pillars of social cohesion – trust, inclusive identity and cooperation for the common good. Combining this dataset with that of the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, I build a sample which covers more than 12,600 firms and 27 African countries. The results show that all three components of social cohesion are positively associated with at least one measure of firms' access to external finance. In particular, trust – but not inclusive identity and cooperation for the common good – is significantly associated with the likelihood that firms have a checking or savings account, or are financially constrained. When we measure access to finance with respect to having a line of credit or a loan from a financial institution, all the three pillars of social cohesion, including inclusive identity and cooperation for the common good, are related to access to finance. The results are robust to addressing endogeneity concerns using a heteroskedasticity-based identification strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel modelling has become a popular analytical approach for many demographic and health outcomes. The objective of this paper is to systematically review studies which used multilevel modelling in demographic research in Africa in terms of the outcomes analysed, common findings, theoretical rationale, questions addressed, methodological approaches, study design and data sources. The review was conducted by searching electronic databases such as Ebsco hosts, Science Direct, ProQuest, Scopus, PubMed and Google scholar for articles published between 2010 and 2021. Search terms such as neighbourhood, social, ecological and environmental context were used. The systematic review consisted of 35 articles, with 34 being peer-reviewed journal articles and 1 technical report. Based on the systematic review community-level factors are important in explaining various demographic outcomes. The community-level factors such as distance to the health facility, geographical region, place of residence, high illiteracy rates and the availability of maternal antenatal care services influenced several child health outcomes. The interpretation of results in the reviewed studies mainly focused on fixed effects rather than random effects. It is observed that data on cultural practices, values and beliefs, are needed to enrich the robust evidence generated from multilevel models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural change is seen by development economics theorists as a driver of sustained and sustainable economic growth. African countries that have understood this prioritize structural change policies in their national development programs in order to reduce poverty and promote employment through commodity-based industrialization. How does infrastructure development contribute to this process? The purpose of this paper is to answer this question by examining empirically whether the state of infrastructure development in Africa stimulates structural change, understood as the development of the manufacturing sector. After outlining the state of infrastructure quality in the region, and discussing some theoretical channels through which this relationship might pass, we estimate fixed effects models from 52 African countries over the period 2003–2018. Results suggest that structural change in Africa is optimized with the development of infrastructure, particularly energy and information and communication technologies. These results are robust to the control of institutional dynamics, the natural resource curse hypothesis, the likely attrition bias, and the use of alternative measures of structural change and infrastructure quality. Among other policy implications arising from these findings, the establishment of partnership projects with other developed countries and the promotion of public–private partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several attempts have been made by the global public health efforts and national governments to contain the spread and vulnerabilities to COVID-19. Evidence, however, shows a disproportionate upsurge in COVID-19 cases in correctional facilities such as prisons, particularly, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive protocols in these settings has raised a serious "moral panic" among the public. There are public health concerns about the most effective and state-of-the-art approach to tackling the continuous spread of the virus in prisons. This paper discusses the feasibility of depopulation and vaccination rollouts in combating COVID-19 in correctional facilities with a particular focus on African prisons. The paper proposes selective and strategic depopulation of prisoners, effective prioritization of vaccination among prisoners, and general sensitization of prisoners toward vaccine disbursement in this total institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of different forms of malnutrition in young children is known to carry differential risks of morbity and mortality. Despite this, there are few, if any, systematic analyses of the prevalence of multiple anthropometric failures (or deficits) in young children under 5. This paper presents the results of the first such an analysis done on data from one of the poorest geographic regions of the world – West and Central Africa. Using data from the demographic and health surveys (DHS) and UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), the paper details the prevalence and patterning of child malnutrition using a combination of conventional measures and the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) for the period 1990–2015. It shows the advantages of the CIAF indicator for gauging the full extent of malnutrition and the ability of an indicator of 'Multiple Malnutrition' to identify children under 5 with higher risk of mortality. It also shows how relatively little progress has been made in reducing the extent of malnutrition and emphasises the importance of tracking progress by looking at both rates and total number of affected children. Malnutrition across the region remains strongly associated with household wealth and education. Poorer, rural households are much more likely to experience malnutition, but the widespread prevalence of poor living conditions in urban areas has the potential to undermine any gains made in reducing malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread food insecurity remains a daunting challenge in Africa, despite significant gains in global efforts to eliminate hunger over the last three decades. This paper examines the effects of easing trade across borders – through reductions in documents, time, and costs to export and import – on food security outcomes in Africa. To control for endogeneity, this paper employs the first-difference instrumental variable estimator based on panel data covering 45 African countries over the period 2006–2015. The results reveal that poor trade facilitation constitutes a significant driver of food insecurity in Africa. In particular, ineffective trade facilitation is associated with significant increments in the prevalence of undernourishment and depth of food deficit, as well as reductions in dietary energy supply adequacy and access to sanitation facilities. The results show that food availability and food access are significantly hampered by higher documentation requirements and lengthier export and import times. The results suggest that reductions in delays from documentary and border compliance promise to be the most effective trade facilitation reforms to enhance food security in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Health and nutrition in early childhood are essential for survival, growth and adult life outcomes. As such, a number of global and national interventions have been pursued to improve early childhood health and nutrition. However, child malnutrition is pervasive and endemic across the sub Saharan Africa. This paper therefore assesses the nature and trends of socioeconomic inequalities in child stunting. The paper proceeds to decompose the causes of such socioeconomic-related inequalities over the period covered. Subjects and methods: We used data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) for ten sub-Saharan African countries conducted between 2000 and 2016. The study employs an extension to the concentration index for binary health outcomes to measure socioeconomic inequalities in stunting and decompose the causes of inequalities in stunting using a generalized decomposition technique based on recentered influence function regressions. Results: The results show substantial pro-rich inequalities in child stunting across sub-Saharan Africa. The incidence of stunting are concentrated among children living in households with low socioeconomic status. In spite of persistent declines in the prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years across the study countries since 2000, trends in socioeconomic inequalities in stunting are mixed. We find significant contributions of child, maternal, and household characteristics to inequalities in child stunting. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is the need to design and target nutrition-based interventions at children in low socioeconomic households. In addition, promoting female education and improving access to health and nutrition information will be key to improving child nutrition across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a new approach to make predictions on the behaviour of farms in Africa related to soil fertility management. Not only sectorial factors, but also the larger socio-economic context including policies influence the behaviour of small-scale farms. Science does not yet understand this context due to its vast heterogeneity, contingencies and complexity. We collected and processed qualitative data and sociological parameters to transform them into numbers. The model we constructed is based on probabilistic estimates of behaviour of farm classes under two scenarios in Mali (Mafèya) and Zambia (Chipata). We propose seven distinct farm classes to simulate the likeliness for a change from one class to another under defined policy regimes and other social conditions. In real life, network of actors, institutions and other social formations couple and decouple farmer's identities and farms in highly dynamic social and ecological processes. We constructed a simplified model based on selected social theories, interpretative sociological inquiry and Markov chains in order to allow simulations under the two policy scenarios "as-is" and "to-be". Our simulations result in significantly different outcomes per locality and scenario. This approach allows practical simulations of farm, food and agriculture systems and comparative research. We expect a better understanding of the dynamics of farms, faster adoption of innovations and a better base for a research-led dialogue of practitioners and policy makers. The paper demonstrates the primordial role of policies, influencing directly farmers' behaviour, rural and labour markets as well as food systems and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that foreign aid undermines tax compliance, and examines three causal mechanisms that may undergird this relationship: By leading the recipient state to under-invest in tax enforcement, substituting for the state in terms of service provision, or reducing state legitimacy. To test these arguments, the paper takes advantage of cross-national surveys on individual tax compliance. The results suggest that higher levels of foreign aid are associated with higher levels of refusals to pay taxes. The paper finds evidence that the causal mechanism is aid leading the state to reduce its enforcement of taxation, but not through the substitution of state services or decreasing state legitimacy. The results suggest that aid can have counter-productive effects for the long-term development of recipient countries by lowering the state's enforcement of taxation, but not by weakening the relationship between state and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]