Governance in Developing Countries: Sri Lanka and South Africa Compared

In this article, we investigate the main features of the governance model in two developing democracies, Sri Lanka and South Africa. We believe that these two countries are interesting test cases for a comparative study. Both countries are former British colonies and have inherited a similar administrative system heavily influenced by the British colonial model and have experienced an ethnic conflict to different extents in the past.

This comparison allows us to examine the determining factors for and against the level of effectiveness of governance in both countries. The findings suggest that the socio-political system within which they operate is dynamic and is an important influence for integrated governance. The study concludes that the outcomes of governance in both countries are better explained by taking into account the features described in an integrated governance model. This provides a better understanding of the dynamics of governance in developing countries.     

The Myth of Female Credit Discrimination in African Manufacturing

Abstract

We examine credit constraint differentials between male and female manufacturing entrepreneurs using firm data from 16 sub-Saharan Africa countries. Small enterprises owned by female entrepreneurs are less likely to be credit constrained compared to their male counterparts, while this is reversed for medium-sized enterprises. A generalised Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition shows that the gap is predominantly a pure gender effect. We argue that this finding is mainly due to female favouritism in loans to micro and small firms because the gap is reversed for medium-sized enterprises and because we find no sign of superior female entrepreneurial performance in observable indicators.     

Managerial attitudes of public sector managers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa, and more specifically Sub-Saharan Africa, is faced with severe economic problems. The public sector, both the political and the managerial, is under severe attack to change its approach to the organization and management of society and its administrative System.

There is today, external, and to some extent internal, pressure to downsize the administrative system, to privatize, and to generally give up the prominent role played by the administrative system in the production and distribution of the general welfare.

This study attempts to assess the attitudes of public sector managers in Sub-Saharan Africa to what may be called universal managerial concerns such as problem-solving, leadership, job challenge, change, and organizational culture. It also assesses the level of satisfaction with career and particular positions of Sub- Saharan African mangers. In assessing attitudes and levels of satisfaction, we compare managers' attitudes with managers from other third world countries. The study concludes with the findings that routineness of work generates negative attitudes while bureaucratization and experience initiate positive attitudes towards universal managerial concerns.     

China in Africa: challenging US global hegemony

In the first decade of the 21st century China has been able to enter political, military and commercial deals with countries of the asean community, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the countries and observers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (sco). In November 2006 China sealed this circle with a strategic partnership with Africa at a major feast of leaders celebrating the friendship and co-operation between the two. The emergence of China as a force in Africa complicated the tussle between the EU and the USA over the ‘who controls Africa’. The new relations between Africa and China could be described in the words of Gramsci, as, ‘the old is dying yet the new is yet to be born’. Chinese relations with Africa combine elements of the old (extraction of raw materials), yet the experience of transformation in China ensures that there are many positive and negative lessons to be learnt. What is new is the prospect for the consolidation of African independence and the challenge to the hegemony of the dollar and US imperialism. I argue in this paper that, in the short term, one of China's most important roles will be to break the disarticulation between the financial and productive sectors of the economy and to stem the outflow of capital from Africa. In the long run the experience of linking new ideas of science and technology to a home grown path of reconstruction can be an important lesson for Africa. State-to-state relations are usually opportunistic and it is for this reason that transnational civil society linkages between the Chinese and African people will be more important than relations between leaders.     

State Business Relations and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa by examining the effect of effective state-business relations on economic growth for a panel of 19 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1970–2004. We propose a measure that we argue captures the various dimensions of effective state–business relations in sub-Saharan Africa. We then estimate standard growth regressions using dynamic panel data methods with this measure, along with the more conventionally used measures of institutional quality such as degree of executive constraints, the rule of law, the degree of corruption and the quality of the bureaucracy. Our results show that effective state–business relations contribute significantly to economic growth – countries which have shown improvements in state–business relations have witnessed higher economic growth, controlling for other determinants of economic growth and independent of other measures of institutional quality.     

Do Governments in Developing Countries Pursue Sustainable Debt Policies? Empirical Evidence for Selected Countries in Africa and Latin America

In this paper we test for sustainability of public debt in selected low- and middle-income developing countries of Africa and Latin-America. We do this by analysing how the primary surplus to GDP reacts to variations in the debt to GDP ratio where we allow for a time-varying reaction coefficient. Moreover, we test for stationarity of the overall budget deficit of the selected countries. The results show that, despite rising debt ratios, there is empirical evidence for some of the countries that public debt is sustainable, independent of whether they belong to the low-income or middle-income group of countries.     

Exports,growth and threshold effects in Africa

Abstract

The relationship between openness and growth remains a controversial issue in development economics with many studies focusing on the export–growth relationship. This paper examines whether the relationship between exports and growth found in large cross-section studies also holds in the context of African economies. The paper employs threshold regression techniques to examine whether African countries benefit more from exports when they reach a certain level of development or openness. Our results suggest that there is indeed a positive relationship between exports and growth in Africa. The threshold regression analysis also suggests that it is not necessary for a country to reach a certain level of development or to have an existing export base for this relationship to hold, though it is found that the relationship is stronger for countries that experience higher rates of export growth.     

The Returns to Education in Africa: Some New Estimates

Abstract

We estimate the rate of return to education for 12 African countries using recent data and a range of methodologies, which we apply consistently across all countries. Our findings confirm that the return to basic education is the lowest (7–10%). The returns to upper secondary and tertiary education are similar to one another (25–30%). Accounting for the risk of joblessness increases these rates of return, particularly for basic education and for women at tertiary level. Our results at the country level suggest that great care should be taken in choosing the appropriate methodology to estimate rates of return.     

Foreign patent monopolies in developing countries: An empirical analysis

This paper presents data on the patenting practice of patent holders resident in industrialized countries in Africa. It is confined to such patents taken out by Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tanzania, and the states whose patent legislation is administered by the Office Africain et Malgache de la Propriété Indus‐trielle (OAMPI): Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dahomey, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malagasy Republic, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Upper Volta. These countries account for nearly four‐fifths of the total patents in force andlor applied for in Africa (excluding Rhodesia and South Africa).¹

In particular, the paper tries to throw some light on the importance of developing countries for foreign patenting, the motivation of foreign patent‐holders to take out patents in these countries, the actual transfer of patented technology, and the reasons for the lack of such a transfer. The paper complements the extensive work on foreign technology and foreign patents in Latin America, especially by C. V. Vaitsos [1972] and the Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena [1971]. It also seeks to test the theoretical assumption that patents in developing countries support the transfer of technology.²     

Culture,Contiguity and Conflict: On the Measurement of Ethnolinguistic Effects in Spatial Spillovers

Research on ethnolinguistic heterogeneity has so far mostly focused on domestic measures, while little attention has been paid to ethnolinguistic relations between nations. In this paper, I propose a way of measuring ethnolinguistic affinity between nations. This index measures the degree of similarity two randomly drawn individuals from two different populations are expected to display. I show that this measure has several attractive theoretical characteristics, which make it particularly useful. Subsequently, I construct the measure for all countries in Africa and use it to show that civil conflict in Africa is likely to spill over between contiguous ethnolinguistically similar countries.     

Accumulation by Dispossession and Its Limits: The Southern Africa Paradigm Revisited

The dispossession of agricultural producers from the land has long been considered a condition of successful capitalist development. The main contention of this paper is that such dispossession has in fact become the source of major developmental handicaps for at least some and possibly many countries of the global South. We develop our argument by focusing on the South(ern) African experience as a paradigmatic outlier case of accumulation by dispossession—that is, as one of its extreme instances capable of highlighting in almost ideo-typical fashion its nature and limits. After reconstructing interpretations of capitalist development in Southern Africa that in the early 1970s established the region as a paradigm of accumulation by dispossession, we discuss how useful these interpretations are for understanding the more recent developmental trajectory of South Africa. We then suggest ways in which these interpretations from the 1970s should be reformulated in light of subsequent developments. We conclude by briefly examining the theoretical and policy implications of the analysis.     

Reconciliation through Sports? The case of South Africa

Abstract

Can sports—and if so how—serve as a vehicle for reconciliation and increased social cohesion in countries wrecked by civil conflict? This article analyses the case of South Africa and its experiences in the sports sector since the fall of apartheid, in an effort to explore the processes necessary to understand the potential sports may hold for peace building. By identifying initiatives in South Africa employed at the national, community and individual level of analysis, the article outlines the possible effects of sports on reconciliation in divided states. Through linking experiences from state policies, ngo activities and donor projects with social identity and reconciliation theory, the article outlines the possible positive and negative aspects of sports. Finally, important avenues for further research to uncover how to turn sports into effective political tools for post-conflict peace building are suggested.     

Public Service Motivation Scholarship in Africa: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Although several literature reviews have been published on public service motivation (PSM), none of them focused solely on Africa. Adopting a systematic review of the literature, we analyse articles on PSM scholarship in Africa published between 2005 and 2017. We found that authors in African PSM is consistently increasing with their research published in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals. The antecedents and consequences of African PSM are similar to those of Western countries. Finally, respondents of African PSM scholarship are skewed towards “managerist” and students’ perspective. We proposed agenda for African PSM research with four key interest areas.     

The Making of the Middle-Class in Africa: Evidence from DHS Data

Abstract

This article examines the size and profile of the middle class in Africa using alternative definitions based on pooled unit record data from the Demographic and Health Survey for 37 African countries covering the period 1990–2011. Results suggest that size of the middle class has grown modestly in many countries in the 2000 decade as compared with the 1990s. The article approached the making of the middle class in Africa from institutional and policy perspectives. Quality of institutions, ethnic fractionalisation and education play a significant role in determining the rise of the middle class.     

Tax Innovations and Public Revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

We study the effect of two tax innovations – value added taxes (VAT) and autonomous revenue authorities (ARA) – on tax revenues in sub-Saharan Africa. The dataset consists of 47 countries over 1980–2010. We find that VATs have no effect on total tax revenues, neither in the short- nor in the long-run. ARAs lead to higher tax revenues in the short- and medium-run, but the effect dissipates over time. The main conclusion is that tax innovations are not a panacea to overcome the revenue shortages in African countries, but they are helpful in the short- and medium-run.     

Aid Absorption and Spending in Africa: A Panel Cointegration Approach

This article focuses on the macroeconomic management of large inflows of foreign aid. It investigates the extent to which African countries have coordinated fiscal and macroeconomic responses to aid surges. In practice, we construct a panel dataset to assess the level of aid ‘absorption’ and ‘spending’. This article departs from the recent empirical literature by utilising better measures for aid inflows and by employing cointegration analysis. The empirical short-run results indicate that, on average, Africa's low-income countries have absorbed two-thirds of (grant) aid receipts. This suggests that most of the foreign exchange provided by the aid inflows has been used to finance imports. The other third has been used to build up international reserves, perhaps to protect economies from future external shocks. In the long run, absorption increases but remains below its maximum. Moreover, we also show that aid resources have been fully spent, especially in support of public investment. There is only weak evidence that a share of aid flows have been ‘saved’. Overall, these findings suggest that the macroeconomic management of aid inflows in Africa has been significantly better than often portrayed in comparable exercises. The implication is that African countries will be able to efficiently manage a gradual scaling up in aid resources.     

China's provincial diplomacy to Africa: applications to health cooperation

There is a prevailing view of China as a unitary actor in its relationships with African countries. This view is incomplete: on the contrary, China is a collection of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities with myriad strategic ties to African countries, with decentralization shaping the current form of Chinese government and its level of efficiency. In this paper, factors have been explored for why Chinese provinces have played a role in foreign cooperation in health of African countries, in addition to trade and foreign direct investment. Incentives and disincentives for Chinese provinces to engage internationally in foreign cooperation and health assistance have been identified. The concept of paradiplomacy for health has been presented and this typology has been applied to the example of Chinese medical teams. Finally, we draw linkages between China and other members of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.     

Transnational public goods provision: the increasing role of rising powers and the case of South Africa

The paper delineates three debates, which will be conflated. One line of discussion relates to public goods at a transnational level. Here, the referencing of debates regarding the characteristics of ‘a common good’ will be of significance. A second strand addresses the group of countries known as the ‘rising powers’ and the role these countries could play towards a globalised common good. A third discussion thread analyses South Africa as a case study for the main rising power on the African continent. By creating connections between the lines of discussion, this paper drives forward the debates on how the role of rising powers can be conceptually repositioned in the light of a changing global context, and explores how these countries can respond to global challenges.     

Place-Shaping by Local Government in Developing Countries: Lessons for the Developed World

The Lyons Inquiry into local government in Britain represented a significant contribution to the debate on local government reform, with policy ramifications well beyond contemporary Britain. This article considers the Inquiry's concept of “place-shaping” as a mode of local government reform which captures the experience of a number of developing countries in recent years. By way of illustrative examples, we examine these processes in the specific contexts of South Africa and Indonesia. In particular, we consider whether the devolution of functions to municipalities in developmental settings constitutes place-shaping, and how this bears on processes of local government reform in developed nations.     

Openness and the International allocation of foreign direct investment

This paper develops an ordinal index to measure the openness of FDI policy regimes for individual countries. There has been a generalised increase in the index between 1990 and 2002. The most important determinants of variations in FDI flows across countries and over time are country size, the level of educational achievement, and growth. The openness index is positively associated with FDI flows, but its explanatory power is low. Liberalising approval procedures and lifting requirements that foreign companies enter into joint ventures with domestic firms encourage FDI. We conclude that the openness of the FDI regime operates as a factor enabling FDI, but that location advantages are paramount in determining the international allocation of FDI. We also turn the question around and ask what countries are more likely to impose restrictions on FDI. We find that lower levels of education and larger domestic markets are associated with greater restrictions on FDI. In addition, there is some evidence that better institutions are associated with lower FDI restrictions.