Informality, growth, and development in Africa

The informal sector makes up an overwhelming share of both gross domestic product and total employment in Africa. In this paper, we lay out some of the basic characteristics of the informal sector in sub-Saharan Africa, relevant institutions, and development issues. Proposed policy approaches recognize both that the great capacity of the informal sector is not easily harnessed into formal systems, and that development is problematic when the bulk of economic activity operates outside of the formal regulatory regime

Impact of land security on household’s agricultural productivity in Benin

This paper studies the impact of land tenure on household agricultural productivity in Benin. Compared to households without land ownership or right to land (squatters), results show that land certificate ownership increases by 0.238 the likelihood of investing in agricultural equipment, whereas customary law ownership increases this likelihood by 0.374. The study suggests that public authorities recognise customary rights and reinforce legal land institutions. In Benin, the agricultural sector contributes 32.7 percent on average of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and by 75 percent to government revenues. It provides approximately 70 percent of employment (2013)

Quitter ou réformer la zone Franc?

Depuis un certain temps, le débat sur l’opportunité pour les pays africains de rester dans la zone Franc ou d’en sortir refait surface, drainant beaucoup de passion et débouchant presque sur une opposition frontale entre les partisans et les détracteurs de la zone Franc. Notre point de vue sur cette question éminemment technique, largement présenté dans une contribution récente (Mbaye et al. 2017) est que, dans leur forme actuelle, comme au début des indépendances, les arguments politiques à ..

Senegal’s international competitiveness and employment creation for women and youth : the product space analysis and fieldwork findings

By improving product quality and cost-competitiveness, Senegal can foster increasing economic complexity and employment growth within existing product lines with strong comparative advantage. Product complexity refers to technological sophistication, and can be used to identify possible diversification opportunities that will spur growth. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space/product complexity framework

La zone Franc, d'hier à aujourd’hui : Enjeux et perspectives pour le développement et l'intégration de l'Afrique

Le Franc CFA a été créé en 1945 et avait pour signification le « Franc des Colonies Françaises d’Afrique » avant de devenir plus tard en 1958, le « Franc de la Communauté Française d’Afrique ». Après les indépendances des colonies françaises d’Afrique, il devient le « Franc de la Communauté Financière d’Afrique » et le « Franc de la Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale » sur le territoire d’Afrique du Centre. Il est émis par deux instituts : la Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de ..

Foresight Africa: Top Priorities for the Continent 2020-2030

The new year 2020 marks the beginning of a promising decade for Africa. Through at least the first half of the decade, economic growth across Africa will continue to outperform that of other regions, with the continent continuing to be home to seven of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. Collective action among African and global policymakers to improve the livelihoods of all under the blueprint of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union's Agenda 2063 is representative of the shared energy and excitement around Africa's potential. With business environments improving, regional integration centered around the African Continental Free Trade Agreement progressing, and the transformational technologies of Fourth Industrial Revolution spreading, never before has the region been better primed for trade, investment, and mutually beneficial partnerships. The recent, unprecedented interest of an increasingly diversified group of external partners for engagement with Africa highlights this potential. Despite the continent's promise, though, obstacles to success linger, as job creation still has not caught up with the growing youth labor force, gaps in good and inclusive governance remain, and climate change as well as state fragility threaten to reverse the hard-fought-for gains of recent decades.This special edition of Foresight Africa highlights the triumphs of past years as well as strategies from our experts to tackle forthcoming, but surmountable, obstacles to a prosperous continent by 2030

Entrepreneuriat social et performance économique : le cas des organisations de producteurs de la vallée du fleuve Sénégal

Dans cet article, nous partons d’une étude de cas sur les modèles d’organisation de la production de riz dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal pour montrer comment les performances productives des riziculteurs sont influencées par le modèle coopératif en vigueur dans la vallée. Le modèle d’entrepreneuriat social que nous préconisons correspond à un arrangement institutionnel offrant plus de résilience aux producteurs vis-à-vis des chocs climatiques et sanitaire que ceux en vigueur dans les autres zones de production.In this paper, we start with a case study of rice production organization models in the Senegal River Valley to show how the productive performance of rice farmers is influenced by the cooperative model in force in the valley. The model of social entrepreneurship that we recommend corresponds to an institutional arrangement that offers greater resilience to and climate and sanitary shocks to producers than those in other production areas

Creating jobs for women and youth through export-led growth in Senegal : an economic complexity approach

This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space framework. Product-space analysis enables computation of the economic complexity or implied technological sophistication of exports. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. Senegal’s manufacturing exports have risen over time as a share of total exports, but the preponderance of manufactured exports consists of capital-intensive products like chemicals and cement. Exports of labor-intensive manufacturing such as textiles, clothing and shoes have declined sharply over time. Weaknesses in the business climate consist of deficient public services, corruption, and restrictive labor market regulations

National Trade Policies and Smuggling in Africa: The Case of The Gambia and Senegal

Summary Much of inter-regional trade in Africa is unrecorded and consists of smuggling. The Gambia is almost wholly enclosed within Senegal, yet official trade statistics show almost no trade between the two countries, failing to capture large-scale smuggling. Smuggling reflects pre-colonial traditional trading relationships, the artificial nature of borders created in the colonial era, and the disparities in trade policies between the two countries following independence, inducing large cross-border price differentials for goods. This paper documents the magnitude of trade protection in the two countries, the resulting price differences, and estimates the volume of smuggling.smuggling international trade re-exports Africa Senegal The Gambia