Category Archives: ECONOMY
Africa Niger : Literacy classes for farmers
Niger has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Nationwide almost 3 million people live in severe food insecurity. Farmers need to be literate in order to be able to manage harvests, access services, check prices, negotiate with buyers and keep records.
With US$30,000 from the Spanish government, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched 26 village literacy classes in March 2009 with hundreds of farmers in the central Tahoua and south-eastern Zinder regions.[IRIN NEWS]
Half of these literacy classes are exclusively for women. The role of women in agricultural production needs to be an important focus for agencies because although they are responsible for half of the food production in sub-Sahara Africa they receive very little help.
Read the BBC Country Profile for Niger
Suggested Books
Hillary Clinton in Africa discussion
Over the last few days Hillary Clinton‘s visit to Africa as US Secretary of State has dominated the news channels and Twitter streams. Yesterday, I watched a twitterfriend of mine, Ida Horner from @ethnicsupplies, in an hour long TV programme, Shoot the Messenger. It’s a thought-provoking, wide ranging discussion involving a studio panel and several radio interviews.
Hillary Clinton’s eleven-day tour of seven countries shows just how high the continent seems to be on the American foreign policy agenda. The question is why? Ostensibly, Clinton’s trip is to promote better trade relations between the US and Africa, and between African countries themselves. But what’s the true basis of US interest in Africa?
Studio guests: IDA HORNER, Ethnic Supplies Ltd, ALEC VAN GELDER, International Policy Network and RICHARD GIBSON, journalist and writer. Also featuring Professor JAMES SMALL and historian ANTHONY T. BROWER.
- Why is Mrs Clinton really in Africa?
- Is the US African Growth Opportunity ACt helping African women?
Mozambique : Monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction policies
Studies on Mozambique poverty
Paulo,M.; Ros rio,C.; Tvedten,I. Monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction policies in Mozambique, study 1: social relations of rural poverty, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway (2008)
In Mozambique, the government and the donors have invested considerable resources and effort in economic and social development. Nevertheless, Mozambique is still one of the poorest countries in the world. This short brief presents the first in a series of three participatory and qualitative studies on poverty in Mozambique. The studies will be used as baselines for monitoring and evaluating Mozambique’s poverty alleviation efforts, by following the implications of government policies and interventions at the local level and ascertaining changes in the conditions, perceptions and relations of poverty after periods of three years.
The authors present a set of broad policy implications arising from the baseline study that they believe are important to follow up for alleviating poverty in remote rural areas like Murrupula.
How to get a copy of the report
Download a pdf of the report here
Source: ELDIS Poverty Reporter
Suggested Books
Rebuilding After War: Micro-Level Determinants of Poverty Reduction in Mozambique (Research Report 132 – International Food Policy Research Institute -IFPRI) … Food Policy Research Institute))
Migration and Development in Mozambique: Poverty, Inequality and Survival (Migration Policy Series)
Africa Competitiveness Report 2009
Enhancing competitiveness in Africa
A new report from the World Bank, African Development Bank and World Economic Forum, highlights how African economies can best enhance competitiveness in the current economic environment.
Download the report from here
Source: World Bank Press Release
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA, June 10, 2009 – African businesses can become far more competitive, but African governments and their international partners will need to improve access to finance, resist pressure to erect trade barriers, upgrade infrastructure, improve healthcare and educational systems and strengthen institutions.
The conclusions, released today at the launch of a major new report, The Africa Competitiveness Report 2009, reflect research efforts of three institutions – the World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank and the World Bank. Limited access to financial services remains a major obstacle for African enterprises, but underdeveloped infrastructure, limited healthcare and educational services, and poor institutional frameworks also make African countries less competitive in the global marketplace. The report also points to a number of success stories in the region that highlight steps countries can take to improve the business environment.
The jointly produced report was released ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa, taking place from 10 to 12 June in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the second report on the region’s business environment to leverage knowledge and expertise within the three organizations. The report also presents an integrated vision of the policy challenges African nations face as they build a foundation for sustainable growth and prosperity.
The report highlights two short-term and three longer-term policy themes for improving the competitiveness of African economies. The two short-term themes are:
- Increasing access to finance through market-enabling policies. Africa’s financial systems have been deepening and broadening in recent years, but the current global crisis threatens to reverse this trend and undermine recent progress. It is now even more important to upgrade the necessary frameworks for sound, efficient and inclusive financial systems.
- Keeping markets open to trade. Protectionist forces are emerging in response to the global economic crisis. Yet, such measures will further reduce demand and restrict growth. Africa’s leaders must resist domestic political pressures to erect trade barriers that would make the region’s recovery even more difficult.
The three longer-term themes are:
- Infrastructure remains one of the top constraints to businesses in Africa. Energy and transportation are among the main bottlenecks to productivity growth and competitiveness in Africa. Investment in upgrading infrastructure would both place Africa on a higher growth trajectory as well as serve as a fiscal stimulus at a critical time.
- Inefficient basic education and healthcare systems constrain Africa’s productive potential. This is perhaps the most urgent area in need of attention. Unless educational and healthcare systems are upgraded in Africa, firms will continue to be constrained in their move up the value chain, and economic development will be hindered.
- More examples of good governance and strong and visionary leadership are needed. Strong and transparent institutional environments have contributed to the success of Africa’s most competitive economies. Much has been done in recent years to improve these structures, yet in many parts of the region, institutions need to be more business-friendly to foster competitiveness. This is particularly important at present when the current global economic crisis threatens to induce reversals in governance reform.
“This year’s Africa Competitiveness Report is the second comprehensive effort by our three organizations to place the continent in a broader international context and to shed light on the important aspects of development in the region, which are so critical particularly at this time of global economic crisis,†said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
“Investment in infrastructure with a regional focus would help cushion the impact of the crisis and position Africa to take advantage of the rebound of the global economy when it occurs,†said Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Vice-President of the Africa Region at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. “The countries that will reap the most benefit and limit the adverse impact of the crisis would be those that sustain reforms, strengthen governance, modernize local capital markets and make the investments needed to tap the immense resourcefulness and creativity of their people.”
“The most critical issue for us at this stage is how we strike the balance between short-term crisis response, while remaining focused on the long-term issues, key for sustaining Africa’s growth, such as the development of infrastructure, and a skilled labour force, as well as economic integration,†said Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank.
In addition to assessments of the competitiveness and costs of doing business on the continent, the report also includes an analysis of the depth and sophistication of the region’s financial markets, the effective measures that the relatively smaller economies on the continent have introduced to promote their competitiveness, and the extent to which African countries have put in place factors facilitating cross-border trade.
Also included in the report are detailed competitiveness and investment climate profiles, providing a comprehensive summary of the drivers of competitiveness in each of the countries covered by the report.
The Africa Competitiveness Report 2009 is an invaluable tool for policy-makers, business strategists and other key stakeholders, as well as essential reading for all those with an interest in the region.
Further information on this study is available at http://www.worldbank.org/acr09
For more on the World Bank in Africa, visit http://www.worldbank.org/afr
For more on the World Bank, visit http://www.worldbank.org/
Suggested Books (US)
- Industrial Competitiveness in Africa: Lessons from East Asia (Viewpoint)
- Building Competitiveness in Africa’s Agriculture: A Guide to Value Chain Concepts and Applications (Agriculture and Rural Development)
New focus on Africa as LSE creates first chair in African development
Professor Thandika Mkandawire at the LSE
An idea first planted by Nelson Mandela has borne fruit with the appointment of a leading African scholar to a new Chair in African Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Professor Thandika Mkandawire, currently Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, will take up the post in September.
Of Malawian origin, he is an economist with particular expertise on development issues. He was formerly Director of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Research in Copenhagen and has taught at the Universities of Stockholm and Zimbabwe .
The Chair in African Development is a new position which will be situated in LSE’s Development Studies Institute (DESTIN). It is being funded initially not only by DESTIN but by generous contributors to LSE’s Annual Fund, many of them alumni.
Its creation follows a powerful speech made by Nelson Mandela at LSE in 2000, in which he recognised the connections between LSE and Africa and pointed to the potential for education to help deliver a renaissance on the continent. The new post will play an integral role in LSE’s African Initiative, a programme designed not only to reinvigorate African research at LSE but to put Africa at the centre of the social sciences and in the global public spotlight.
Professor Mkandawire said: ‘To my mind there is a big hole in our knowledge of Africa , one that African scholars are seeking to fill. By placing the chair in DESTIN, the holder is in a strong position to work with partners in Africa and around the world to increase the visibility of Africa within teaching and research across the social sciences and within the global political and policy arenas.’
It is expected the new post will open the way for more Africa-based scholars to bring their expertise to LSE to help broaden and sharpen its research into the region. LSE is also developing plans to take summer schools to African students in partnership with other universities, extend scholarships for African students and to develop more research projects which are a partnership between LSE and African scholars.
It is hoped the arrival of Professor Mkandawire will also coincide with a series of public events at LSE and in Africa .
Jo Beall, Professor of Development Studies at LSE, said: ‘There has been growing interest and excitement in recent months about the possibilities for LSE and Africa – especially since the climate change conference we organised in Rwanda in September 2008.
‘We are lucky to have Thandika joining us and his appointment will give a new momentum to our work on Africa and to the sense of potential that President Mandela first envisaged..’
Professor Beall will champion the African Initiative from South Africa , where she is beginning a three-year secondment as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town .
For more information contact LSE Press Office on 020 7955 7060
Press release from LSE
Innovative Sustainable Development Model In Africa Website
Sustainable growth and development
NEW YORK, NY (March 30, 2009) – All for Africa announces the release of it’s newly developed website – a conduit for interactive communication between All for Africa, its’ Beneficiaries and the numerous organizations and businesses working on the ground in Africa to create long term sustainable growth and development.
The launch of the website, www.allforafrica.org, is a milestone for the organization as they set out to forge an ongoing partnership and collaboration with external stakeholders. “I believe the future of not for profit success lies in collaboration and models which emphasize and deliver long-term sustainability. All for Africa resides at the cutting edge of designing and implementing sustainable, high impact development initiatives. We envision allforafrica.org providing service as an educational and networking location for individuals, schools, organizations, and businesses seeking to learn more about All for Africa’s endeavors, and pooling resources to create the most effective models for successful, sustainable growth and development throughout the continent,†said Diane Burstein, Director of Operations.
In September 2008 All for Africa launched it’s HELP AFRICA KNOCK OUT POVERTY Campaign with an extraordinary boxing and entertainment event held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. The new website now highlights the two focused initiatives of that campaign: Palm Out Poverty (POP) and Million Watts. The POP Initiative will plant 1 million Oil Palm Trees in Africa, which will in turn provide close to $600,000,000 in revenues for over 700 organizations and communities on the continent, and absorb more than 28,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. The Million Watts initiative will bring one million watts of renewable energy to rural Africa through the installation of photovoltaic solar systems and micro-hydro-electric installations.
The SHOP FOR SUSTAINABILITY website component sources items from fair trade community cooperatives and vocational training programs in Africa. These programs are focused on providing people with a tangible skill, a workplace, and either permanent employment or the potential for successful entrepreneurship.  Purchase of these products not only help to empower individuals with the needed skills for success, but will also provide funding to the HELP AFRICA KNOCK OUT POVERTY Campaign.
Dr. Djibrill Diallo, Senior Advisor to the Executive UNAIDS opens the allforafrica.org BLOG with an article addressing the need to overcome HIV/AIDS as a key to African Development. Discussions with Experts from the Field, charities and communities experiencing success on the ground, and the progress of All for Africa initiatives, will provide the cornerstone for education, networking and collaboration among various organizations, communities and businesses all with a mission toward successful creation and implementation of long term sustainable growth and development.
For further information contact Diane L. Burstein, Director of Operations at 212- 351-0055.
About All for Africa
The mission of All For Africa, a 501-©(3) non-profit organization, is to help secure the long-term sustainability of important community level initiatives in health, education, clean water, micro-financing, community development and skills training on the continent of Africa.
This mission is achieved primarily through:
- Project development aimed at creating sustainable funding to cover operational expenses for community based programs and charities.
- The creation of valuable collaborative models between for profit companies and not for profit organizations.
- Provide service as the coordinating hub for networking, education and support for all stakeholders delivering programs for the relief and development of Africa on a sustainable basis.
Tanzania : Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers
Effect of commodity prices
The Centre for Development Policy and Research draws on the broad range of development expertise at the School of Oriental and African Studies to engage in innovative policy-oriented research and training on crucial development issues.
The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #27, “Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers in Low-Income Countries†Drawing in part on a study of  Tanzania, the author, Hannah Bargawi, Research Officer of CDPR, explains how local producers of agro-commodities in poorer countries have not benefited proportionately from the rise in commodity prices in recent years, and are also likely to suffer disproportionately from their recent decline.
How to get a copy
Download a PDF of the paper Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers in Low-Income Countries
Suggested Book
Rwanda Rising: A New Model of Economic Development
The ‘brand’ of Rwanda
Fast Company magazine has a thought provoking article by Jeff Chou on Rwanda.
Rwanda Rising: A New Model of Economic Development
Fifteen years after the genocide, the small African country has embraced a new model of economic development. Its strategy: Build a global network of powerful friends to lure private investment — and market the brand of Rwanda.
Africa Development Indicators 2008/9
Development data
Adaptation in Africa – the global failure to deliver funding
African climate change
Will Africa be steamrollered by climate change? The continent harbours 33 of the Least Developed Countries, is heavily reliant on agriculture and has limited economic resources to finance adaptation. Its geographic position and high sensitivity to climatic variability make it vulnerable. Large swathes of Africa already see more frequent and severe flooding and droughts, shrinking agricultural production, the spread of diseases and the rise of conflict over scarce resources. meanwhile, African governments are poorly equipped to respond. Overcoming these challenges demands concerted international effort – yet a huge gap yawns between the global promises, and timely action on them.
http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=17047IIED
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) publications can be downloaded along with over 4,000 other resources, from thewebsite www.iied.org/pubs
(IIED, December 2008)
Poverty data : A supplement to World Development Indicators 2008
Country-level estimates of poverty
This booklet looks like it could be very useful.
This booklet, published by the World Bank, provides the country-level estimates of poverty that were first released in October 2008. Using the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, estimates of the extent and depth of poverty are presented for 115 developing countries, along with poverty measurements based on their national poverty lines. The report includes explanatory text and tables on national poverty estimates, international poverty estimates, and purchasing power parities (PPPs).
Download the supplement to the World Development Indicators 2008 booklet
Suggested Books
- World Development Indicators 2008
- World Development Indicators 2009
- World Development Indicators 2010
World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography
Transformations along the dimensions of economic geography
Report available from: http://go.worldbank.org/RBDWKOYC90
Places do well when they promote transformations along the dimensions of economic geography: higher densities as cities grow; shorter distances as workers and businesses migrate closer to density; and fewer divisions as nations lower their economic borders and enter world markets to take advantage of scale and trade in specialized products. The World Bank’s World Development Report 2009 concludes that the transformations along these three dimensions–density, distance, and division–are essential for development and should be encouraged.
The conclusion is controversial. Slum-dwellers now number a billion, but the rush to cities continues. A billion people live in lagging areas of developing nations, remote from globalization’s many benefits. And poverty and high mortality persist among the world’s “bottom billion,” trapped without access to global markets, even as others grow more prosperous and live ever longer lives. Concern for these three intersecting billions often comes with the prescription that growth must be spatially balanced.
This report has a different message: economic growth will be unbalanced. To try to spread it out is to discourage it–to fight prosperity, not poverty. But development can still be inclusive, even for people who start their lives distant from dense economic activity. For growth to be rapid and shared, governments must promote economic integration, the pivotal concept, as this report argues, in the policy debates on urbanization, territorial development, and regional integration. Instead, all three debates overemphasize place-based interventions.
Reshaping Economic Geography reframes these debates to include all the instruments of integration–spatially blind institutions, spatially connective infrastructure, and spatially targeted interventions. By calibrating the blend of these instruments, today’s developers can reshape their economic geography. If they do this well, their growth will still be unbalanced, but their development will be inclusive.
Go here for more information: http://go.worldbank.org/RBDWKOYC90