Let’s Break the Law: Transaction Costs and Advance Rent Deposits in Ghana’s Housing Market

A feature of the Ghana private rental accommodation market is that landlords usually demand advance rent of, in some instances, up to 5 years before signing a tenancy agreement. This is in violation of the 1963 Rent Act and recent initiatives are in the direction of curing this problem in the interest of protecting prospective tenants. However while advance rent is a financial burden this is offset by transaction costs in the housing market. Hence, in this paper and influenced by New Institutional Economics, I argue that it is possible for tenants and landlords to continue to bargain outside the shadow of the law to secure mutually beneficial tenancy agreements

Institutional Quality and Economic Growth in Tanzania

In this paper, we use the ARDL method to find the Impact of institutional quality on economic growth in Tanzania from 1990 to 2021. The ARDL technique frees variables from residual correlation as all variables are assumed to be endogenous. They distinguish between dependent and explanatory variables in any long-run relationship, identify the co-integrating vectors with multiple co-integrating vectors, and derive the Error Correction Model (ECM) or Error Correction Model (ECM) Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) by integrating short-run adjustments with long-run equilibrium without losing extended-run information.Our results show all adjustment terms in the respective models that have a long-run relationship have correct (negative) signs and are more than one, implying there is convergence in the long run; that is, the models returned to their long-run equilibrium; the rate (or speed) at which this happened ranged between 15% to 106.6% annually. Institutional quality has a significant affirmative (0.047) causal long-run effect on economic grow

An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria

NoBayelsa, in the Niger Delta, in Southern Nigeria, is in the grip of a human and environmental catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. At one time, the area was home to one of the largest mangrove forests on the planet; an area of unrivalled ecological value. Today, it is one of the most polluted places on Earth. Oil extraction and its impact is the overwhelmingly evident cause of this disaster

LEARN: A multi-centre, cross-sectional evaluation of Urology teaching in UK medical schools.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the status of UK undergraduate urology teaching against the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Undergraduate Syllabus for Urology. Secondary objectives included evaluating the type and quantity of teaching provided, the reported performance rate of General Medical Council (GMC)-mandated urological procedures, and the proportion of undergraduates considering urology as a career. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LEARN was a national multicentre cross-sectional study. Year 2 to Year 5 medical students and FY1 doctors were invited to complete a survey between 3rd October and 20th December 2020, retrospectively assessing the urology teaching received to date. Results are reported according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). RESULTS: 7,063/8,346 (84.6%) responses from all 39 UK medical schools were included; 1,127/7,063 (16.0%) were from Foundation Year (FY) 1 doctors, who reported that the most frequently taught topics in undergraduate training were on urinary tract infection (96.5%), acute kidney injury (95.9%) and haematuria (94.4%). The most infrequently taught topics were male urinary incontinence (59.4%), male infertility (52.4%) and erectile dysfunction (43.8%). Male and female catheterisation on patients as undergraduates was performed by 92.1% and 73.0% of FY1 doctors respectively, and 16.9% had considered a career in urology. Theory based teaching was mainly prevalent in the early years of medical school, with clinical skills teaching, and clinical placements in the later years of medical school. 20.1% of FY1 doctors reported no undergraduate clinical attachment in urology. CONCLUSION: LEARN is the largest ever evaluation of undergraduate urology teaching. In the UK, teaching seemed satisfactory as evaluated by the BAUS undergraduate syllabus. However, many students report having no clinical attachments in Urology and some newly qualified doctors report never having inserted a catheter, which is a GMC mandated requirement. We recommend a greater emphasis on undergraduate clinical exposure to urology and stricter adherence to GMC mandated procedures

Institutions and Economic Fortunes in Comparative Perspectives

Why some countries are rich and other poor, unable to escape the poverty trap remains a problem that among other scholars, legal academics have sought to answer. This paper compares the economic fortunes of three former colonies – Haiti, Liberia and Botswana and points to the role institutions have played in their prosperity trajectories. At the heart of the paper is the claim that to ignore the institutional architecture of a society risks overlooking an essential ingredient for economic development. However, the paper also acknowledges the difficulties in “getting institutions right” as once a bad set of institutions takes root, they are difficult to overturn. The paper asserts that Botswana has the benefit of high-quality institutions that have helped propel it to upper middle-income status while Haiti and Liberia remain trapped in a matrix of bad institutions and these low-quality institutions prevent these two countries from breaking out of their poverty. The research methods for the paper are qualitative, relying on primary and secondary material to explore the question about economic transformation in developing countries. The paper is informed also by the New Institutional Economics methods of research - dissecting economic transformation in 3 developing countries by reference to law and histor

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: The Development of a Rules-Based Trading Order

In 2018 the members of the African Union adopted the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA). This book examines the AfCFTA, dissecting its key provisions. It stresses the importance of the AfCFTA against increasing episodes of trade protection in Africa, and it theorizes on the role of the Treaty organs. The book also examines the importance of citizen participation for the success of the AfCFTA as well as exploring the role sub-state actors can play. Ultimately, the study adds to the understanding of the array of problems that are associated with regional trade in Africa and the role law plays in resolving these problems. It will be of importance to academics and students of international law, especially those with an interest in African trade law, as well as legal professionals and policy-makers

Pathways to African Unification: The Four Riders of the Storm

Research on African unification has not yet explained the reason for the belief in the possibility of post-colonial African states swiftly unifying as a federal or strong, functioning, supranational entity. This contribution attempts to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the various paths towards African unification. Some states pressing for unification misconstrued the history of the successful models that they insisted Africa could follow. This led to the assumption that a near frictionless and workable legal edifice for African unification could be easily created. This contribution has a twofold purpose: First, it draws attention to the importance of the intersection between history and law in construing and explaining the law as it relates to African unification. This is an intersection that has largely been ignored by scholars. Secondly, this contribution adds to the literature that asserts that African unification enthusiasts should reconsider mimicking other models in the expectation that this will help propel their goal of a united Africa. This study examines the routes to African unification, namely the role of socio-cultural interactions of Africans as propounded by Edward Blyden; the romantic speedy path as espoused by more radical forces by which the elite should muster the political will to bring a united Africa into existence; the role of force in creating a supranational Africa out of its independent states; and the role of market integration as an essential ingredient for any deeper and stronger relations among African states