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...

The increasing number of literatures investigating on the impact of trade openness on firm efficiency has not yet provided a definite prediction on the direction of causality (Rodrik, 1988, 1992, and Tybout 1992). We investigate the relation between exporting and productivity on the Senegalese...

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...

Structural vector autoregression (SVAR) models were used in this study to investigate how unexpected increases in euro area bond yields and monetary stimulus are transmitted to the South African economy using data from January 1999 to June 2008. Firstly, evidence is found that this is consistent...

The focus of microcredit for the bottomof the pyramid segment in urban areas isincreasingly becoming an area of focus asdevelopment policy-makers worktowards improving the lifestyles of urbanpoor. Previous research has had a keenfocus on the impacts of financial servicesto business...

An increasing amount of publicspending in Africa is allocated toper-diems as acore instrument ofthe incentive structure. These aremainly given to provide financialincentives to employees in order toincrease their motivation to attendmeetingsor travel for workmissions. Anecdotal as well...

This paper examines donor practices in the use of budgetary aid to promote economic and structural reforms in developing countries, notably those of Africa. It is based on an observation in recent literature to the effect that, despite its increased use since its advent in the 1980s, budgetary...

This paper examines the effect of marital status and household size, among other correlates, on poverty in Nigeria, using the Harmonized Nigeria Living Standard Survey (HNLSS) data of 2009/2010. Our results show that monogamous marriage, divorce/separation and widowhood are negatively and...

This paper describes the main findings of a survey of SME financing in four East African countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. We find that the SME segment is a strategic priority for the banks in the region. SMEs are considered a profitable business prospect and provide an...

Since the global financial and economic crisis, fiscal sustainability has increasingly become a topical issue for all countries. This is of particular concern to Lesotho given the permanent drop in the countries revenue receipts from the Southern African Customs Revenue(SACU) Pool which finances...