Purpose- This paper has put a demand-side empirical structure to the hypothesis that foreign aid volatility adversely affects choices to lifelong learning in recipient countries Design/methodology/approach- Lifelong learning is measured as the combined knowledge acquired during primary,...

This study assesses the relationship between tribalism (the tribalism index) and government effectiveness (per the World Bank) in 65 countries using cross-sectional data averages from 2000-2010. This study finds that countries with high-tribal populations generally enjoy bad governance in terms...

This paper models the feasibility of common policy initiatives against global terrorism, as well as timelines for their enforcement. The empirical evidence is based on 78 developing countries for the period 1984-2008. Employed terrorism dynamics are domestic, transnational, unclear and total...

We survey about 110 recently published studies on Sino-African relations; put some structure on the documented issues before suggesting some solutions and strategies to the identified policy syndromes. The documented issues classified into eight main strands include, China: targeting nations...

The paper complements the scarce literature on knowledge economy (KE) in Africa by comparing KE dynamics within Africa in order to assess best and worst performers based on fundamental characteristics of the continent's development. The five dimensions of the World Bank's knowledge economy index...

A recent publication by the World Bank on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has established that extreme poverty has been decreasing in all regions of the world with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), in spite of over two decades of growth resurgence. This chapter explores the role of...

We assemble more pieces on the puzzle of the aid-corruption nexus. In essence, we extend the debate on the effect of foreign aid on corruption by providing evidence on dynamic effects of wealth, legal origin, religious-domination, regional proximity, openness to sea, natural resources and...

This paper explores the determinants of intelligence by focusing on the role played by barriers to the diffusion of competence and human capital. The results based on cross-sectional data from 167 countries consisting of 1996-2009 averages suggest that, genetic distance to global frontiers has a...

We assess the correlations between tribalism and financial development in 123 countries using data averages from 2000-2010. The tribalism index is used to measure tribalism whereas financial development is measured from perspectives of financial intermediary and stock market developments. The...

A 2015 World Bank report on attainment of Millennium Development Goals concludes that the number of extremely poor has dropped substantially in all regions with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa. We assess if poverty is in the African gene by revisiting the findings of Ashraf and Galor (2013,...