Using new data from 42 African countries, we investigate the effects of public and private credit registries on firms’ access to finance as well as the effect of public credit registries’ design on the severity of the financing constraint. Our results show that access to finance is on...

This paper describes how Africa’s wind energy markets have evolved over the years and the structural characteristics affecting the development of wind energy projects on the continent; providing what we believe is the first mapping of the continent’s wind energy market. Results from our...

This paper estimates the enrollment impact of a nation-wide scholarship program for female secondary students in The Gambia implemented to reduce gender disparity in education. In the regions where the scholarship program was implemented, all girls attending public middle and high schools were...

This paper investigates the maximization of economic returns from mining for African countries. We focus on gold mining, a significant sector in at least 34 African countries. Our point of departure in the paper is the well-documented reality that a large number of resource-rich African...

This paper analyzes the determinants of firms exiting the formal sector after registering at start-up. Using a unique and new dataset from four African countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal) with detailed information on firms that have transitioned between formal and informal...

Agricultural sector in Africa has increasingly been the recipient of significant amount of attention from investors, in the form of large scale agribusiness projects, and the concomitant demand for land. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) such as the African Development Bank (through its...

Using data from the Household Poverty Surveys in 2003 and 2010, this paper analyzes characteristics of immigrants in The Gambian labor market. The analysis indicates that immigrants are relatively young, low-skilled (though with skill levels comparable to Gambians) and mainly come from...

Financing Africa: through the crisis and beyond is a call to arms for a new approach to Africa's financial sector development. First, policy makers should focus on increasing competition within and outside the banking sector to foster innovation. This implies a more open regulatory mindset,...

We develop a theoretical model in which debt and hedging decisions are made simultaneously, and test its predictions empirically. To address inefficiencies in current estimation methods for simultaneous equations with censored dependent variables, we build an original estimation technique based...