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The use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as a measure of economic growth has been recently subject to wide criticism by many economists. It has been observed that although some countries have experienced economic growth in recent years, income inequality and poverty continue to be exacerbated. Recently, sustainable development goal 8 has been geared to promote inclusive growth. Considering this fact, this study expands the literature by examining the relationship between tourism development and inclusive growth for a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000–2020. Further, the study also adds to the literature by examining the moderation of governance quality on the tourism‐inclusive growth nexus. The investigation is made using the generalized method of moments as an estimation technique. The result indicates that tourism and governance quality appear to promote inclusive growth. Moreover, the results indicate that good quality of institutions or governance could complement tourism development to promote inclusive growth, as positive synergies are apparent from the role of governance in moderating the incidence of tourism on inclusive growth. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to investigate the legitimacy of the African Union by examining the socio‐demographic determinants of citizens' support of African integration. To do this, we use Rounds 4, 5, 6, and 8 of the Afrobarometer survey data corresponding to more than 110,000 respondents. Using logistics regressions, we find that individual characteristics such as living area, education, employment status, political membership, freedom, living conditions, and Living Poverty Index (LPI) are significantly related to the probability of supporting African integration. The findings are largely robust to dynamics of regional integration, the African Union, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Thus, since African citizens' trust in the unification could be considered a condition of legitimacy in the process, our results suggest that more efforts should be made to gain credibility, especially as it pertains to the benefits of African integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to assess how some governance dynamics, such as political stability and the rule of law, moderate the incidence of some macroeconomic factors (i.e., domestic investment and trade openness) on tourism development. The focus of this study is on 47 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa with data from 2002 to 2018, and the Generalized Method of Moments is employed as the empirical strategy. From the findings, synergy effects are apparent in the role of the rule of law in moderating domestic investment for tourism development in terms of tourism receipts. It follows that, for the sampled countries, promoting tourism development can be most effective if policies for enhancing domestic investment and promoting the rule of law are implemented simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nexuses between governance and trade performance in terms of natural resource rents are assessed in 44 Sub‐Saharan African countries. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. The findings show that political governance (entailing "voice and accountability" and political stability) and institutional governance (consisting of the rule of law and corruption control) have a negative effect on trade performance. The findings are consistent with the perspective that resource rents are linked to inefficiencies in governance which are further detrimental to trade performance within the remit of natural resource rents on the one hand and, on the other, the premise of the prevailing weak institutions in the region less likely to boost trade performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the difficulty of ensuring gender equality and the chaotic state of democracy, we analyze the effects of gender political inclusion and democracy on environmental policy performance. The study uses a panel of 45 African countries over the period 2012–2018 and employs the method of moments by quantile regression. The results show that gender political inclusion and democracy positively affect environmental performance in all quantiles. These positive effects tend to be stronger at higher quantiles. The magnitude is larger for gender political inclusion. When performance is decomposed into the sub‐indices of environmental health and ecosystem vitality, positive effects of gender political inclusion and democracy are observed in all quantiles. The effects are larger for the gender dimension than for the democracy dimension, regardless of the sub‐index used. Related Articles: Bingham, Natasha. 2016. "Fighting for Our Cause: The Impact of Women's NGOs on Gender Policy Adoption in Four Former Soviet Republics." Politics & Policy 44(2): 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12155. Hankivsky, Olena. 2013. "Gender Mainstreaming: A Five‐Country Examination." Politics & Policy 41(5): 629–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12037. Nchofoung, Tii, Simplice Asongu, Vanessa Tchamyou, and Ofeh Edoh. 2022. "Gender, Political Inclusion, and Democracy in Africa: Some Empirical Evidence." Politics & Policy 51(1): 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12505. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption remains a major challenge to sustainable economic growth, good governance, peace, and stability in both developed and developing countries. However, in developing countries, and particularly in Africa, hunger is another big challenge to inclusive economic development. To date, no empirical study has examined the effects of different types of corruption on hunger. Using three types of corruption (executive, legislative, and judicial corruption dynamics) and a panel of 45 African countries, this study contributes to the literature on the effects of corruption by examining, as a first attempt, the impact of types of corruption on hunger. We address the weak time-variance of our main regressors by using the most recent sequential linear panel dynamic estimator. The results show that countries with higher levels of executive, legislative, and judicial corruption are associated with a higher level of hunger. Moreover, the results show that executive corruption is the most disastrous for hunger in Africa, followed by legislative corruption. Our results remain valid even after using alternative measures of the key variables (hunger and corruption) and after controlling for the dynamic endogeneity using the generalized method of moments. Further analysis provides strong evidence that the political distribution of power across social groups mitigates the effect of corruption on hunger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the economic impact of severe natural disasters in Africa using the generalised synthetic control method. In other words, it assesses how gross domestic product (GDP) would have been affected, had severe natural disasters not occurred. Moreover, it explores the determinants of the destructiveness of the impact of natural disasters, focusing on the role played by capital. We find that severe natural disasters induce a significant and continuous reduction of GDP many years after the event. Indeed, economic losses caused by disasters depend on the level of capital (human capital, employment and capital stock) and aspects of governance quality (political stability and absence of violence). In other words, negative synergies are apparent because while capital stock, employment and human capital unconditionally reduce the macroeconomic impact of natural disasters, the corresponding conditional or interactive effects with political stability are also negative. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses, from the perspective of financial stability, how business/financial sustainability, moderates the influence of information technology on female economic participation in 49 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2008e2018. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regression, which accounted for the censored nature of the outcome variables. The following important findings were obtained: First, ICT (information and communications technology) dynamics (mobile phone penetration, internet penetration, and fixed broadband subscriptions) are consistently moderated by business sustainability to positively affect female employment. Second, business sustainability scores must exceed certain thresholds before moderating fixed broadband subscriptions to induce favorable overall effects on female employment, female labor force participation, and female unemployment rates. The positive effects on female employment and labor force participation is ascertained by the thresholds of 18.742 and 19.505 Zscores, respectively and a Z-score of 17.300 for the negative impact on female unemployment. The thresholds that should be exceeded are within policy reach, make economic sense, and are policy-relevant. This study contributes to the extant literature by providing actionable thresholds for business sustainability that can be employed by policy makers such that information technology positively influences female economic inclusion in Sub- Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study contributes to the extant literature by assessing how financial and human developments moderate the incidence of vulnerable female employment on female labour force participation in Cameroon for the period 1987 to 2020 using the generalised least squares (GLS) estimation approach. It is apparent from the findings that human development in the perspective of the human development index (HDI) and broad money supply are necessary and sufficient conditions to moderate vulnerable female employment for female labour force participation. Accordingly, HDI thresholds of between 0.591 and 0.634 are needed to reverse the negative incidence of female vulnerable employment on female labour force participation. Furthermore, a threshold of 30.294 (% of GDP) of broad money supply is also needed to reverse the negative incidence of vulnerable female employment on female labour force participation. Other implications for policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the incidence of financial institutions' dynamics of depth and access in the effect of income inequality on poverty and the severity of poverty in 42 sub‐Saharan African countries from 1980 to 2019. The Gini index is used to measure income inequality while poverty is measured as the poverty headcount ratio, and the severity of poverty is generated as the square of the poverty gap index. An interactive quantile regression approach is used as an empirical strategy. Income inequality unconditionally increases poverty dynamics while the financial institutions' depth and access mitigate the adverse effects of income inequality on poverty dynamics. Financial institutions' policy thresholds or minimum financial institution levels needed to completely dampen the adverse effects of income inequality on poverty dynamics are provided. The findings are contingent on existing levels of poverty, poverty measurement, and proxies for financial institutions. Policy implications are discussed. Related Articles: Abdulai, Abdul‐Gafaru, Justice Nyigmah Bawole, and Emmanuel Kojo Sakyi. 2018. "Rethinking Persistent Poverty in Northern Ghana: The Primacy of Policy and Politics over Geography." Politics & Policy 46(2): 233–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12250. Adegboye, Alex, Kofo Adegboye, Uwalomwa Uwuigbe, Stephen Ojeka, and Eyitemi Fasanu. 2023. "Taxation, Democracy, and Inequality in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Relevant Linkages for Sustainable Development Goals." Politics & Policy 51(4): 696–722. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12547. Nchofoung, Tii, Simplice Asongu, Vanessa Tchamyou, and Ofeh Edoh. 2022. "Gender, Political Inclusion, and Democracy in Africa: Some Empirical Evidence." Politics & Policy 51(1): 137–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12505. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to finance is perceived as one of the major problems facing businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the structures that support them in their development. This paper aims to measure the probability that a support structure with given characteristics, specific services to entrepreneurs and some technical capacities will face large-scale financial problems. We estimate a multinomial logistic model using a pool of disaggregated data collected by the Nkafu Policy Institute in a survey of 80 business support structures in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Ghana in 2021. Our results show that the financial health of a business support structure is not fundamentally dependent on the duration of support, but rather on other factors related to the quality of services offered to entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study assesses the non-linear nexus between fixed broadband and economic growth. The study focuses on data from 33 African countries for the period 2010 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical evidence is based on unit root tests, panel smooth transition regression and the generalized method of moments. Findings: The following findings are established in this study. (1) The proportion of the population with access to electricity above and below which the relationship between fixed broadband and economic growth changes in sign is about 60%. (2) Below this threshold, each 1% increase in fixed broadband subscriptions induces a decline in economic growth of about 2.58%. Above the threshold, economic growth would increase by 2.43% when fixed broadband subscriptions increase by 1%. Sensitivity analyses and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation show that these results are robust. Practical implications: Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which requires countries to take adequate measures to curb the spread of the pandemic, especially by means of virtual economic activities, any national policy aiming at improving the access of populations to high levels of fixed broadband services should be preceded by the implementation of an electrification program for at least 60% of the total population. Otherwise, providing a good quality internet connection for the benefit of the population would not produce the expected effects on economic growth and would, therefore, be counterproductive. Originality/value: This study complements the extant literature by providing thresholds at which fixed broadband affects economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates how increasing bank accounts and bank concentration affect mobile money innovations in 148 countries. It builds on scholarly and policy concerns in the literature that increasing bank accounts may not be having the desired effects on financial inclusion on the one hand and on the other, that bank concentration which is a proxy for market power is a relevant mobile money innovation demand factor. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. From the findings, it is apparent that boosting bank accounts is positively related to the three mobile money innovations (i.e. mobile bank accounts and the mobile phone used to send money). Moreover, some critical levels of bank account penetration require complementary policies in order to maintain the positive relationship between boosting bank accounts and positive outcomes in terms of money mobile innovations. Conversely, financial inclusion in terms of the three mobile money innovations is not significantly apparent upon enhancing bank concentration. Policy implications are discussed in the light of the provided thresholds for complementary policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential for information technology penetration in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is very high compared to other regions. Unfortunately, productivity levels in the area are also deficient. This study investigates the importance of information technology in influencing the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on total factor productivity (TFP) dynamics. The focus is on 25 countries in SSA. Information technology is measured with mobile phone and internet penetration, while the engaged TFP productivity dynamics are TFP, real TFP, welfare TFP, and real welfare TFP. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method of Moments. The findings show that except regressions about real TFP growth for which the estimations do not pass post-estimation diagnostic tests, it is apparent that information technology modulates FDI to positively influence TFP dynamics (i.e., TFP, welfare TFP, and welfare real TFP). Policy and theoretical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the nexus between governance and human development in Africa. It uses data for the period 2010–2019 and takes into account the existence of spatial dependence and controls for the endogeneity problem through a Generalized Spatial Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) technique. The exploratory spatial data analysis reveals the existence of spatial dependence on human development and governance quality. Our empirical findings support that in Africa, "good fences make good neighbors," or proximity matters in the distribution of human development. Implications are discussed. This study complements the extant literature by using more updated data and employing an alternative and more robust estimation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of political inclusion on democracy in Africa. The results of the analyses through ordinary least squares, system generalized method of moments, IV Tobit and instrumental variables two stage least squares show that gender political inclusion enhances democracy in Africa. This result is robust across alternative specifications of political inclusion and democracy. The results equally stood when controlled for colonization and internal conflicts. In terms of policy implications, policy makers in Africa should enhance their fight for political inclusion as one of the gateways to promoting democracy. In this respect, national laws could be put in place which impose gender quotas in political positions in every country. Equally, the African Union could sign a convention on these quotas for respective countries to ratify. Related Articles: Bingham, Natasha. 2016. "Fighting for Our Cause: The Impact of Women's NGOs on Gender Policy Adoption in Four Former Soviet Republics." Politics & Policy 44(2): 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12155. Hankivsky, Olena. 2013. "Gender Mainstreaming: A Five‐Country Examination." Politics & Policy 41(5): 629–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12037. Herrick, Rebekah. 2008. "Gender Gap in Early Congressional Retirement." Politics & Policy 32(3): 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2004.tb00189.x. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the worsening levels of food insecurity globally, studies exploring the link between financial inclusion and food insecurity have become imperative. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the effect of financial inclusion on food insecurity using a multidimensional index of financial inclusion and a food insecurity construct obtained from the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. Based on data extracted from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, our preferred endogeneity‐corrected results indicate that improvements in financial inclusion is associated with a reduction in food insecurity. This finding is consistent across different conceptualisations of food insecurity, alternative weighting schemes and cut‐offs for the financial inclusion index and different quasi‐experimental methods. Financial inclusion is mainly effective in reducing food insecurity in male‐headed and rural‐located households. Our findings reveal that entrepreneurship is an important pathway through which financial inclusion influences food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to contribute to the research on life satisfaction by investigating the link between commuting time and life satisfaction in Russia. Using data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, we find that commuting is negatively and significantly associated with life satisfaction. Moreover, we document that the effect of commuting is stronger for married couples and respondents living in rural areas. An extended analysis based on interactive regressions shows that the negative incidence of commute time on life satisfaction is potentially fueled by income and marital status and mitigated by age and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, taxation is perceived as a brake on economic growth. Indeed, taxes in most of these countries are not sufficiently adapted to the specificity of the taxpayer and often do not consider the weak administrative capacity of the countries in the region. In this context, reforms have been initiated over the last decade to create tax environments that encourage savings, investment, entrepreneurship, and social innovation. This study provides an overview of research on the effects of taxation on social innovation and the corresponding implications for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries, taking three approaches: thematic, chronological, and methodological. Most studies agree that high taxes in business undermine social innovation and thus the achievement of SDGs, as social innovation is known to be a driver of most SDGs and business the vehicle. The majority of the selected studies used primary data collected from samples whose representativeness with respect to the population concerned (notably businesses) is still not explicitly justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether knowledge causes economic growth in Africa's two leading economies, Nigeria and South Africa. Using the Vector Autoregressive and Vector Error Correction approaches, the findings show cointegration among the variables. The speed of convergence of the variables to their long‐term mean values is relatively higher for South Africa than for Nigeria. In the short run, it is observed that knowledge unidirectionally Granger causes growth for Nigeria, whereas bidirectional causality is observed for South Africa. The higher correlation between knowledge and growth in South Africa reflects the success of greater investment in education. Nigeria must increase investment in education and modern infrastructure to converge to South Africa's growth trajectory. Moreover, for Nigeria, (1) knowledge unidirectionally Granger cause growth, (2) evidence of bidirectional causality flow is apparent between trade, the economic incentive, and growth, and (3) health unidirectionally Granger cause knowledge. As for South Africa (1) there is bidirectional causality between knowledge, trade openness, and growth, whereas investment and economic incentive, unidirectionally Granger causes growth, (2) investment, trade openness, and health unidirectionally Granger cause knowledge, and (3) economic incentive unidirectionally Granger cause trade openness. In conclusion, this paper argues that a transformed education system can provide the knowledge base essential for promoting and sustaining economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper explores the dark side of economic openness by examining empirically the nexus between the globalization process and human trafficking. Specifically, it is about showing in a global perspective how the growing process of free movement of people, goods, capital, services and information technology make the globe a connected web of activity for the sale and exploitation of human beings. Design/methodology/approach: After discussing some transmission channels through which globalization could increase this practice based on the lessons from the literature, an empirical analysis is done by employing ordinary least squares (OLS) and Probit regressions on a cross-sectional model covering 130 countries worldwide. Findings: Findings, robust to the consideration of the sub-regional specificities and controlling for social, cultural and historical factors, suggest that globalization, particularly financial and cultural, favors human trafficking. In the light of these results, some policy recommendations are discussed. Originality/value: This study complements the extant literature by assessing dynamics of globalization in human trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to analyze the effect of the political empowerment of women on vulnerability to climate change in 169 countries for the period 1995–2017. The empirical evidence which is based on panel fixed effects regressions shows that (i) the political empowerment of women as well as its components (i.e., civil liberties of women, participation of women in civil society and participation of women in political debates) reduce vulnerability to climate change. (ii) The underlying effect is most pronounced in upper middle income, Latin American, small and fragile countries. (iii) Public spending on education, the effectiveness of governance and education are the real transmission channels through which vulnerability to climate change is affected by women’s political empowerment. The findings are robust to alternative estimation methods such as the Tobit, dynamic fixed effects, and generalized method of moments regressions. Policy implications are discussed, inter alia, the need for sampled countries to encourage women’s political empowerment in order to reduce risks linked to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study establishes economic growth needed for supply-side mobile money drivers in developing countries to be positively related to mobile money innovations in the perspectives of mobile money accounts, the mobile phone used to send money, and the mobile phone used to receive money. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. For the negative net relationships that are computed, minimum economic growth thresholds are established above which the net negative relationships become net positive relationships. The following minimum economic growth rates are required for nexuses between supply-side mobile money drivers and mobile money innovations to be positive: (i) 6.109 percent (6.193%) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for mobile connectivity performance to be positively associated with the mobile phone used to send (receive) money and (ii) 4.590 percent (4.259%) of GDP growth for mobile connectivity coverage to be positively associated with the mobile phone used to send (receive) money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects of aid grants on inclusive growth in 37 Sub‐Saharan African countries for the period 1984–2018. Grant aid is decomposed into aid grants and technical cooperation grants. Two inclusive growth indicators are used, namely gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth and unemployment rate. The dynamic panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach, which is employed comprises three different estimators; the pooled mean group (PMG); mean group (MG) and dynamic fixed effect (DFE). The Hausman diagnostics were used to assess the efficiency and consistency of the estimators. Based on the PMG estimator, our findings show that aid grants and technical cooperation grants exert a positive influence on GDP per capita growth in the long run. However, while the observed influence of aid grants is found to be significant, technical cooperation grants display insignificant effects. In the short run, however, the PMG estimates show that aid grants and technical cooperation grants have negative and insignificant effects on GDP per capita growth. On the other hand, results based on the DFE estimators reveal that neither of the aid grants has influenced the unemployment rate positively in the short run. However, whereas aid grants contribute significantly to the reduction of the unemployment rate in the long run, technical cooperation grants do not. This study complements the attendant literature by assessing how aid grants versus technical cooperation grants affect inclusive growth. The findings are relevant to international policy coordination for the attainment of sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research assesses the importance of financial access on value added in three economic sectors in 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa using data for the period 1980–2014. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method Moments. Financial access is measured with private domestic credit, while three outcome variables are: value added in the agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors, respectively. Enhancing financial access does not significantly improve value added in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, while enhancing financial access improves value added in the service sector. An extended analysis shows that, in order for the positive net incidence of enhancing credit access value added to the service sector to be maintained, complementary policies required when domestic credit to the private sector is between 77.50 percent and 98.50 percent of GDP. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adds to the body of existing literature on the relationship between democracy and terrorism by investigating the impact of democracy on terrorism in 26 African countries. The study utilises a robust measure of democracy known as the varieties of democracy index, which has been observed in literature to be more superior to conventional measures of democracy. A composite index of terrorism was derived from the number of terrorism incidents, the number of terrorist fatalities, and the number of terrorist injuries utilising the principal component analysis. The study utilises a fixed effects regression with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors and accounts for simultaneity utilising the first lags of the regressors as instruments. The results reveal an inverted U‐shaped relationship between democracy and terrorism in the selected African countries. In particular, early stages of democracy are associated with higher levels of terrorism while later stages of democracy are associated with lower levels of terrorism. These findings are robust when the negative binomial regression suitable for count data dependent variables is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Africa has witnessed an upsurge in its infrastructure endowments mostly attributed to developments in the ICT sector. At the same time, while CO2 emission is reducing in other regions such as Europe, Africa is rather witnessing an upsurge. The objective of this study is to evaluate: (i) the effects of infrastructures on CO2 emission and (ii) how trade openness and governance contribute to mitigating these effects. The results from the system GMM methodology for 36 African countries between the 2003-2019 period show that infrastructural development exacerbates CO2 emission in Africa. This result is robust across different types of infrastructural development indexes. When the indirect effect regressions are carried out by interacting governance and trade openness with the different infrastructural development variables, the following results are obtained. Firstly, infrastructural development interacts with governance producing a positive net effect, up to a governance threshold estimate of 0.532 when the positive net effect is nullified. Secondly, infrastructures interact with trade openness producing a negative net effect up to a trade openness threshold of 78.066914 (% of GDP) when the negative net effect is nullified. Positive and negative synergy effects are also apparent. Practical policy implications are discussed based on the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this paper are to verify the linear and the non‐linear effects of infrastructural development on inclusive human development in Africa. The results of the system generalized method of moments (system GMM) estimations show a positive effect of infrastructural development on inclusive development across all the infrastructural development indexes employed, except the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructural composite index, which presents an insignificant negative effect. Besides, a non‐linear effect of infrastructures on inclusive development is established across all the infrastructure indicators except for the ICT indicator. Negative thresholds for complementary policies are established for the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) and the transport index whereas positive thresholds are apparent for the electricity index and the water and sanitation infrastructure index (WSS). Accordingly, in order to sustain the positive incidence of the AIDI and transport index on human development, complementary policies should be engaged to avoid an overall negative effect on human development when the indexes are, respectively, 31.12 and 25.56. In the same vein, the electricity index and WSSI should exceed critical levels of, respectively, 49.79 and 41.92, to engender an overall positive effect on inclusive human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study uses machine machine learning techniques to assess industrial development in Africa. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses nightlight time data and machine learning techniques to assess industrial development in Africa. Findings: This study provides evidence on how machine learning techniques and nightlight data can be used to assess economic development in places where subnational data are missing or not precise. Taken together, the research confirms four groups of important determinants of industrial growth: natural resources, agriculture growth, institutions and manufacturing imports. Our findings indicate that Africa should follow a more multisector approach for development, putting natural resources and agriculture productivity growth at the forefront. Originality/value: Studies on the use of machine learning (with insights from nightlight satellite images) to assess industrial development in Africa are sparse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand how countries have leveraged on their economic resilience to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on a global sample of 150 countries. The study develops a health vulnerability index (HVI) and leverages on an existing economic resilience index (ERI) to provide four main scenarios from which to understand the problem statement, namely 'low HVI-low ERI,' 'high HVI-low ERI,' 'high HVI-high ERI,' and 'low HVI-high ERI' quadrants. Countries that have robustly fought the pandemic are those in the 'low HVI-high ERI' quadrant and, to a lesser extent, countries in the 'low HVI-low ERI' quadrant. Most European countries, namely one African country (Rwanda), four Asian countries (e.g., Japan, China, South Korea, and Thailand), and six American countries (e.g., United States, Canada, Uruguay, Panama, Argentina, and Costa Rica) are apparent in the ideal quadrant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the effect of globalization on female economic participation (FEP) in MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries between 2004 and 2018. Design/methodology/approach: Four measures of globalization are employed and sourced from KOF globalization index, 2018, while the female labour force participation rate is a proxy for FEP. The empirical evidence is based on the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator. Findings: The findings of the PMG estimator from the Panel ARDL method reveal that political and overall globalization in MINT and BRICS countries have a positive impact on FEP, whereas social globalization exerts a negative impact on FEP in the long-run. It is observed that economic globalization has no long-run effect on FEP. Contrarily, all the measures of globalization reflect no short-run effect on FEP. This supports the argument that globalization has no immediate effect on FEP. Thus, it is recommended that both MINT and BRICS countries should find a way of improving the process of globalization generally to empower women to be involved in economic activities. Originality/value: This study complements the extant literature by focusing on how globalization dynamics influence FEP in the MINT and BRICS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study complements the extant literature by constructing COVID‐19 economic vulnerability and resilience indexes using a global sample of 150 countries categorised into four principal regions: Africa, Asia‐Pacific and the Middle East, America, and Europe. Seven variables are used for the vulnerability index and nine for the resilience index. Both regions and sampled countries are classified in terms of the two proposed and computed indexes. The classification of countries is also provided in terms of four scenarios pertaining to vulnerability and resilience characteristics: low vulnerability‐low resilience, high vulnerability‐low resilience, high vulnerability‐high resilience, and low vulnerability‐high resilience to illustrate sensitive, severe, asymptomatic, and best cases, respectively. The findings are relevant to policy makers, especially as they pertain to decision‐making in resource allocation in the fight against the global pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has: (a) analysed the economic impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic, (b) evaluated the effectiveness and relevance of different measures against the pandemic and (c) examined nexuses between the corresponding measures and economic outcomes. The study uses a sample of 186 countries divided into four main regions, notably: Asia‐Pacific and the Middle East, Europe, Africa and America. Thirty four preventing and mitigating measures against the Covid‐19 pandemic are classified into five main categories: lockdown, movement restrictions, governance and economic, social distancing, and public health measures. The empirical evidence is based on comparative difference in means tests and correlation analyses. The findings show how the effectiveness and consequences of the Covid‐19 measures are different across regions. In adopting the relevant policies to fight the ongoing pandemic, the comparative insights from the findings in the study are worthwhile. Inter alia: (a) from a holistic perspective, only European countries have favorably benefited from the Covid‐19 measures; (b) lockdown measures at the global level have not been significant in reducing the pandemic; (c) the restriction of movement measure has been relevant in curbing the spread in the American continent; (d) the enforcement of the social distancing measures has been productive in Europe and counter‐productive in Africa; (e) governance and economic measures have exclusively been relevant in Europe and (f) overall public health measures have not had the desired outcomes in flattening the infection curve probably because most of the underlying measures are awareness decisions or oriented toward people already infected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines complementarities between inclusive development, military expenditure and political stability in the fight against terrorism in 53 African countries for the period 1998–2012. Hence the policy variables employed in the study are inclusive development, military expenditure and political stability. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) with forward orthogonal deviations. The paper reports three main findings. Firstly, military expenditure and inclusive development are substitutes and not complements. Secondly, it is more relevant to use political stability as a complement of inclusive development than to use inclusive development as a complement of political stability. Thirdly, it can be broadly established that military expenditure and political stability are complementary. In the light of the sequencing, complementarity and substitutability, when the three policy variables are viewed within the same framework, it is more feasible to first pursue political stability and then complement it with military expenditure and inclusive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we assess the relevance of decreasing information asymmetry on life and non-life insurance consumption, by using data from 48 African countries during the period 2004–2014. Reduced information asymmetry is proxied by information sharing offices, namely: public credit registries and private credit bureaus. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method of Moments. The findings show that information sharing offices increase insurance consumption with a comparatively higher magnitude in life insurance penetration, relative to non-life insurance penetration. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses how globalization modulates the effect of governance on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in sub-Saharan African countries. The empirical evidence is based on Generalized Method of Moments. The minimum level (or negative threshold) of Foreign Direct Investment required for it to interact with political stability and contribute toward the green economy is 45 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), while 90 percent of GDP is the maximum level (or positive threshold) required for trade to complement "voice and accountability" in mitigating CO2 emissions. Seventy-six percent of GDP and 80 percent of GDP are, respectively, negative trade thresholds for government effectiveness and economic governance. The corresponding negative trade thresholds for the rule of law, corruption-control, and institutional governance are, respectively, 230 percent of GDP, 63.5 percent of GDP, and 106.5 percent of GDP. Actionable openness policy thresholds are provided to inform policy makers on how governance interacts with globalization to promote the green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends the debate on finance versus institutions and measurement of property rights institutions (PRI). We assess the relationships between various components of PRI and private investment, notably: political, economic, and institutional governances. Comparative concurrent relationships of financial dynamics of depth, efficiency, activity, and size are also investigated. The findings provide support for the quality of institutions as a better positive correlate of private investment than financial intermediary development. The interaction of finance and governance is not significant in potentially promoting private investment, perhaps due to substantially documented surplus liquidity issues in African financial institutions. The empirical evidence is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996‐2010. Policy measures are discussed for reducing financial deposits, increasing financial activity, and hence, improving financial efficiency. Related Articles: Aideyan, Osaore. 2016. "Political and Institutional Prerequisites for Monetary Union: Assessing Progress in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)." Politics & Policy 44 (6): 1192‐1212. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12183 Asongu, Simplice A., and Joseph Nnanna. 2019. "Foreign aid, Instability, and Governance in Africa." Politics & Policy 47 (4): 807‐848. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12320 Scarlato, Margherita, and Giorgio d'Agostino. 2019. "The Political Dimension of Cash Transfers in Latin America and Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Comparative Perspective." Politics & Policy 47 (6): 1125‐1155. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12332 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates linkages between financial development, income inequality and renewable energy consumption from 39 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical evidence is based on data for the period 2004–2014, Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and Quantile Regressions (QR). The GMM results show that financial development unconditionally promotes renewable energy consumption while income inequality counteracts the underlying positive effect. The QR results reveal that the GMM findings only withstand empirical validity in bottom quantiles of the renewable energy consumption distribution. In order to increase room for policy implications for the promotion of renewable energy consumption, critical masses of income inequality that should not be exceeded are computed for bottom quantiles of the renewable energy consumption distribution while income inequality thresholds that should be exceeded are computed for top quantiles of the renewable energy consumption distribution. The study reconciles two strands of the literature. Theoretical, practical and policy implications are discussed. • Linkages between finance, inequality and renewable energy consumption are examined. • The focus is on 39 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. • The Generalized Method of Moments and Quantile Regressions are employed. • Thresholds of inequality for the promotion of renewable energy consumption are provided. • Theoretical, practical and policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates conclusions from the scholarly literature that for low and middle-income countries, higher income inequality is linked with lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Using a sample of 39 sub-Saharan countries consisting of lower- and middle-income countries, this study investigates how increasing inequality affects renewable energy consumption. The empirical evidence is based on quadratic Tobit regressions. The investigated assumption is only partially valid because a net positive impact is apparent only in one of the three income inequality variables used in the study. It is difficult to establish whether the inequality or equality hypothesis underpinning the nexus between income inequality and renewable energy consumption hold for Sub-Saharan Africa. However, based on the significant results in terms of the threshold, the equality hypothesis is valid when the Atkinson index is below a threshold of 0.6180 while the inequality hypothesis becomes valid when the Atkinson index exceeds the threshold of 0.6180. Hence, as the main policy implication, for the equitable redistribution of income to be promoted and, therefore, for policies that favor income inequality for renewable energy consumption not to be encouraged, policy makers should keep the Atkinson index below a threshold of 0.6180. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate persistence and determinants of deaths from conflicts in a sample of 163 countries for the period 2010–2015. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method of Moments. First, the findings are contingent on income levels, religious domination, landlockedness, regional proximity, and legal origins. We find that the persistence of deaths in internal conflict is more apparent in coastal, French civil law, and Islam-oriented countries, compared to landlocked, English common law, Christian-oriented countries, respectively. Second, the following factors are generally responsible for driving deaths from internal conflicts: homicides, conflict intensity, and conflicts fought. Furthermore, incarcerations have negative effects on internal conflicts. Justifications for the established tendencies and policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relevance of enhancing information and communication technology (ICT) on dynamics of total factor productivity (TFP) in 25 sub-Saharan African countries using data covering the period 1980–2014. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments. The following main findings are established. First, while enhancing ICT overwhelmingly has net positive effects on productivity, the corresponding marginal effects are negative. Second, an extended analysis is performed to establish thresholds for complementary policies. These thresholds are: 100% mobile phone penetration for TFP; between 101.214% and 101.419% mobile phone penetration for welfare TFP and 15% internet penetration for welfare real TFP. It follows that approximately 100% mobile penetration and 15% internet penetration are thresholds at which ICT should be complemented with other macroeconomic policies for favorable outcomes on productivity dynamics. Other policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide theoretical and practical perspectives on children, women, and sex trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Process tracing is employed as a primary research instrument. It is an analytical technique used for either theory-building or theory-testing purposes that is employed to elucidate causation and change as well as to develop and evaluate extant theories in social sciences. We illustrate that a policy is needed that will strengthen the capacity of existing structures in the fight against the underlying trafficking so that these attendant structures are efficiently used to stop the trafficking and avoid the corresponding threats to public health safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, we test the so-called "Quiet Life Hypothesis" (QLH), which postulates that banks with market power are less efficient. Design/methodology/approach: We employ instrumental variable Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed Effects, Tobit and Logistic regressions. The empirical evidence is based on a panel of 162 banks consisting of 42 African countries for the period 2001–2011. There is a two-step analytical procedure. First, we estimate Lerner indices and cost efficiency scores. Then, we regress cost efficiency scores on Lerner indices contingent on bank characteristics, market features and the unobserved heterogeneity. Findings: The empirical evidence does not support the QLH because market power is positively associated with cost efficiency. Originality/value: Owing to data availability constraints, this is one of the few studies to test the QLH in African banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study complements existing literature by assessing how various types of foreign aid complement each other in boosting inclusive human development in Africa. (a) When 'aid to social infrastructure' is moderated with other aid types, 'action on debts' is substitutive whereas 'aid to the production sector', 'aid for program assistance' and humanitarian assistance are complementary. (b) 'Aid to the production sector' ('action on debt') is complementary (substitutive) to 'aid for economic infrastructure'. (c) Whereas 'action on debt' is a substitute to 'aid to the production sector', 'aid for social infrastructure' and 'aid for economic infrastructure' are complementary. (d) 'Action on debt' is a substitute for 'aid to the multi-sector'. (e) While 'aid for social infrastructure' and 'action on debt' are substitutive to 'aid for program assistance'; humanitarian assistance is complementary. (f) The following are substitutes to 'action on debt': 'aid for economic infrastructure', 'aid to the production sector', 'aid to the multi-sector' and 'program assistance'. (g) 'Aid for social infrastructure' and 'program assistance' are complementary to humanitarian assistance. The findings reveal various patterns that inform policy makers on the relevance of sequencing aid types to enhance inclusive development. Future research should focus on country-specific studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between governance and education quality in a panel of 49 sub‐Saharan African countries over the 2000–2012 period. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression (QR) are employed as estimation strategies. The following findings are established. First, from the OLS, governance variables are negatively correlated with poor education quality. Second, with regards to QR, about half of the governance dynamics are not significantly correlated with poor education quality in the lowest quantile of poor education quality. With the exception of corruption control, the other governance dynamics are negatively correlated with poor education quality in a non‐monotonic pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test the hypotheses that fundamental characteristics in regional proximity, landlockedness, religious‐domination, legal origin, and income levels affect cross‐country differences in the persistence in political terror and political instability in 163 countries for the period 2010–2015. The empirical evidence is based on generalised method of moments. The hypotheses are that the following are associated with comparatively higher levels of persistence in political terror and political instability: regions with predominantly low income countries (Hypothesis 1); landlockedness (Hypothesis 2); Christian‐orientation (Hypothesis 3); French civil law (Hypothesis 4); and Low income (Hypothesis 5). The tested hypotheses are largely invalid. Only Hypotheses 5 and 2 are robustly investigated in the light of concerns about instrument proliferation. Hypothesis 2 is valid for political terror but not for political instability while Hypothesis 5 is neither valid for political instability nor for political terror. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of insurance in economic growth on a panel of 48 countries in Africa for the period 2004–2014. The research question the study seeks to answer is: what thresholds of insurance penetration positively affect economic growth in Africa? The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method of Moments. Life insurance increases economic growth while the effect of non-life insurance is not significant. Increasing both life insurance and non-life insurance has negative net effects on economic growth. From an extended analytical exercise, 4.149% of life insurance premium (% of GDP) is the minimum critical mass required for life insurance to positively affect economic prosperity, while 1.805% of non-life insurance premium (% of GDP) is the minimum threshold required for non-life insurance to positively affect economic prosperity. Thresholds are also provided from the Hansen (J Econom 93(2):345–368, 1999) Panel Threshold Regression technique using a balanced sample of 28 countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the role of financial access in moderating the effect of governance on insurance consumption in 42 sub-Saharan African countries using data for the period 2004–2014. Design/methodology/approach: Two life insurance indicators are used, notably: life insurance and non-life insurance. Six governance measurements are also used, namely: political stability, 'voice and accountability', government effectiveness, regulation quality, corruption-control and the rule of law. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) and Least Squares Dummy Variable Corrected (LSDVC) estimators. Findings: Estimations from the LSDVC are not significant while the following main findings are established from the GMM. First, financial access promotes life insurance through channels of political stability, 'voice and accountability', government effectiveness, the rule of law and corruption-control. Second, financial access also stimulates non-life insurance via governance mechanisms of political stability, 'voice and accountability', government effectiveness, regulation quality, the rule of law and corruption-control. Originality/value: This research complements the sparse literature on insurance promotion in Africa by engaging the hitherto unexplored role of financial access through governance channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the nexus between tourism development and house prices in the Republic of Cyprus over the period spanning from 2005Q1 to 2016Q4. Tourism indicators vis‐à‐vis tourism arrivals along with other explanatory variables (the domestic credit, the land area per person, and the consumer price index) are employed in a multivariate autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL)‐bound test model. The empirical results indicate a significant evidence of cointegration. Indicatively, an observed adjustment of about 44% from short‐run to long‐run implies that the model is not relatively slow to adjust to disequilibrium. Importantly, a percent increase in tourism arrivals is observed to cause a rise in house price by about 37%. Expectedly, it is statistically observed that as the land area per person decreases, it is accompanied by a hike in house price. Also, the impacts of domestic credit offered to private enterprises and the consumer price index are different from the results in previous studies. As a policy guide, the government of Cyprus and stakeholder in the tourism and housing sectors should outline a strategy that will ensure the social welfare of people such that housing availability is not hampered by tourism activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses how globalization modulates the effect of environmental degradation on inclusive human development in 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. First, a trade openness (imports + exports) threshold of between 80 and 120% of GDP is the maximum level required for trade openness to effectively modulate CO2 emissions (metric tonnes per capita) and induce a positive effect on inclusive human development. Second, a minimum threshold required for trade openness to modulate CO2 intensity (kg per kg of oil-equivalent energy use) and induce a positive effect on inclusive human development is 200% of GDP. Third, there is a net positive effect on inclusive human development from the relevance of trade openness in modulating the effect of CO2 emissions per capita on inclusive human development and a negative net effect on inclusive human development from the importance of trade openness in moderating the effect of CO2 intensity on inclusive human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]