Covid-19 and Socioeconomic Crises in Africa: Overview of the Prevailing Incidents

The study gives an overview of the socio-economic consequences and implications of the COVID- 19 outbreak in Africa. While it is of common knowledge that the damage caused by the pandemic to the global economy is real, the existing socio-economic crises in Africa could further degenerate. What remains salient is that the huge economic costs would be borne by regions bereft of strong institutional regulatory setup and proactive approach to effectively ameliorate the impact of the outbreak, in both short-run and long-run, to bounce back in relation to the magnitude of the shocks suffered. It is indeed affirmed that in most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, such resilient measures seem to be absent or non-existent. Given the degree of behavioral responses and attendant vulnerabilities generated, African socio-economic problems may be potentially exacerbated with the majority of the population facing severe hardships in the continent

Capital inflows, financial development and poverty reduction in Nigeria

This paper examines the joint effect of capital inflows and financial development on poverty reduction in Nigeria between 1980 and 2017 using ARDL bound test and Granger causality test based on Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). As capital inflows involved three subcategories (FDI, portfolio investment and remittances), the paper assesses all three in turn. Empirical results indicate that the interaction term of capital inflows and financial development reflects a significant decrease in poverty headcount in the long run as well as in the short run, underlining that the indirect role of both capital inflows and financial deepening in poverty-reducing channel is paramount. The findings underscore the view that capital inflows and financial development could jointly strengthen the means to reinforce incentive and inclusive structures for the extension of credit to innovative small enterprises or individuals, and thereby accentuating poverty-reducing effect. Further evidence reveals that the causal direction between capital inflows, financial development and poverty alleviation is unidirectional, which runs from both foreign capital inflows and financial deepening to poverty level. Hence, the study suggests that ensuring that financial sector development coincides with rising inclusiveness and rates of capital inflows is critical for improved performance and poverty alleviation drive in Nigeria

West African Financial Sector Development: Empirical Evidence on the Role of Institutional Quality and Natural Resource Rents

The paper examines the effect of natural resource rents and institutional quality on financial sector development in West Africa. Using pooled OLS, fixed effect and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations with several robustness checks, the results indicate that natural resource rents have an adverse effect on financial development. Further evidence shows that institutional indicators, based on control of corruption, rule of law and government effectiveness, positively influence financial sector development. In contrast, the interaction of natural resource rents with various institutional measures consistently alters the relationship. Thus, findings show that the indirect effect of natural resource rents on financial development process is detrimental through the channel of institutional quality, as increased natural resource wealth could exacerbate the incidence of corruption and gross mismanagement in the public sector. In addition, natural resource windfalls encourage high tendencies for divestment in financial sector in the sub-region. Based on these findings, the paper argues that strong institutions could help enhance the performance of financial sector in West Africa. However, to achieve this aim, policy makers across countries should formulate policies anchored on effective governance system to enhance efficiency of the financial sector in West Africa. Also there should be right mix of policies that will mitigate the incidence of gross mismanagement of natural resource wealth, and thus infuse improved demand for financial credit and market services within the sub-region. Keywords: Financial Development, Institutional Quality, Natural Resource Rents and West Africa

Interconnections between Governance and Socioeconomic Conditions: Understanding Sub-Saharan African Challenges

Given that challenges facing sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries on the issue of socioeconomic development have been identified as critical to strengthening the inherent link between governance and socioeconomic conditions, this study examines the interconnections between governance and SSA socioeconomic conditions. With a focus on 25 countries between 2005 and 2019, the analysis is based on Panel-Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) and System-GMM estimations, and panel causality test. Results show that SSA seems not to have the means of effective governance to spur improved socioeconomic conditions. Findings indicate that the pervasiveness of institutional problems in many SSA countries has been responsible for the poor socioeconomic condition in the region. Furthermore, it is equally found that governance quality and socioeconomic conditions are mutually reinforcing, suggesting that they influence each other. An improvement in socioeconomic conditions could result in better governance. On the other hand, the quality of governance is viewed as a vital ingredient in achieving needed socioeconomic development outcomes. Thus, it is suggested that there is need for SSA countries to streamline governing system towards engendering improved well-being. The introduction and implementation of transformative policies through effective governance are also necessary for ensuring critical structural changes and increased social service provision. Overall, there should be a proactive identification of ineffective policies and procedures by policymakers to enhance meaningful impact in the region

The Moderating Role of Governance in the Globalisation-Life Expectancy Nexus: Implications for Socioeconomic Development

One of the most recent global aims is to increase life expectancy since healthy people are seen as human capital that may boost the economy. The study investigates the role of governance in the globalisation-life expectancy nexus using 39 African countries between 1996 and 2019

Climate-resilient development: An approach to sustainable food production in sub-Saharan Africa

Climate change is profoundly affecting many activities in the agricultural sector in almost all regions of the world. To adapt to the prevailing climatic conditions has translated into a cascade of risks for agro-ecosystems and agricultural production, ultimately impacting food security and nutrition. Hence, the study examines the effect of climate change on food production in 32 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries between 2005 and 2019 using Fixed Effects (FE) and Two-Step System-Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation. Findings help better understand the link resulting from climate change to adverse impacts on food production, as empirical analyses indicate that an increase in climate change (CO2 emissions) will result in a significant reduction in food production in SSA. This implies that climate change seems to have significantly contributed to the challenges associated with food insecurity in the region. Via changes in average temperature and rainfall patterns, climate change could be exacerbating existing threats and issues related to food production in the SSA region. It is therefore suggested that to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on food production, policy makers should aim at encouraging and adopting good adaptation approach, primarily at the production stage of food supply

Interconnections between governance and socioeconomic conditions: Understanding the challenges in sub-Saharan Africa

Given that challenges on the issue of socioeconomic development faced by countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been identified as critical to strengthening the inherent link between governance and socioeconomic conditions, this study examines the interconnections between governance and socioeconomic conditions in SSA. With a focus on 25 countries in SSA between 2005 and 2019, we conduct the analysis based on the Panel-Corrected Standard Error and System Generalized Method of Moments estimations and panel causality tests. The results show that SSA does not seem to have the means of effective governance to spur improved socioeconomic conditions. Moreover, the pervasiveness of institutional problems in many countries of SSA has been responsible for the poor socioeconomic conditions in the region. Likewise, governance quality and socioeconomic conditions are found to influence each other. An improvement in socioeconomic conditions could result in better governance quality. On the other hand, governance quality is viewed as a vital ingredient in achieving needed socioeconomic development outcomes. Thus, it is suggested that there is a need for countries in SSA to streamline governing systems toward engendering improved well-being. The introduction and implementation of transformative policies through effective governance are also necessary for ensuring critical structural changes and increasing social service provision. Overall, there should be a proactive identification of ineffective policies and procedures by policymakers to enhance meaningful impacts in the region