Institutional quality and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: Can management effort and bribes compensate for low-quality institutions?

The industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps more affected by the quality of institutions than that of other regions. We investigate what alternatives managers have to secure what their firms need to function in case the institutional furniture they are confronted with is of low quality. We find that in high quality institutional environments management spending effort dealing with authorities and navigating regulations negates the effect of the institutional environment. Managers do not need to spend these efforts. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that the positive effect of high-quality institutional environments on firm performance is enhanced by making informal payments

Institutional Quality and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Can Management Effort and Bribes Compensate for Low-Quality Institutions?

Abstract: The industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps more affected by the quality of institutions than that of other regions. We investigate what alternatives managers may have and what their firms would need to function in case the institutional furniture they encounter is of low quality. We find that, in high quality institutional environments, management spending effort to deal with the authorities and to navigate regulations negates the effect of the institutional environment. Managers do not need to spend such efforts. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that the positive effect of high-quality institutional environments on firm performance is enhanced by making informal payments.</p

Leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata in a Nigerian woman

Leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata (LPD) is a rare condition. A 48‑year‑old multiparous woman was referred because of an incidental ultrasound finding suggestive of LPD. She had a 6‑year past history of use of combined oral contraceptive pills. LPD was also suspected at laparotomy and confirmed by histology. She had total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo ophorectomy and infracolic omentectomy. Patient was being followed‑up. LSD is a rare gynecological condition which can pose a diagnostic challenge. Removal of estrogen sources as was done for the patient is the mainstay of treatment. Patient follow‑up is very important because of the risk of malignant transformation.Keywords: Laparatomy, leiomyoma, leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata, Nigeria, ophorectomyNigerian Medical Journal | Vol. 53 | Issue 3 | July-September | 201

Evaluation of Olfactory and Gustatory Function of HIV Infected Women

Background. Compliance with medication requires good sense of smell and taste. Objective. To evaluate the olfactory and gustatory function of HIV infected women in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods. A case control study of women comprising 83 HIV infected women and 79 HIV uninfected women. Subjective self-rating of taste and smell function was by visual analogue scale. Olfactory function was measured via olfactory threshold (OT), olfactory discrimination (OD), olfactory identification (OI), and TDI using “Sniffin’ sticks” kits and taste function (Total Taste Strips (TTS) score) measurement was by taste strips. Results. The mean age of the HIV infected women was 43.67 years ± 10.72 and control was 41.48 years ± 10.99. There was no significant difference in the self-reported assessment of smell (p=0.67) and taste (p=0.84) of HIV infected and uninfected women. Although the mean OT, OD, OI, TDI, and TTS scores of HIV infected and uninfected women were within the normosmic and normogeusic values, the values were significantly higher in the controls (p<0.05). Hyposmia was in 39.7% of subjects and 12.6% of controls while hypogeusia was in 15.7% of subjects and 1.3% of controls. Conclusions. Hyposmia and hypogeusia are commoner among the HIV infected women than the HIV uninfected women and the risk increases with an increased duration of highly active antiretroviral therapy

Large Symptomatic Chorioangioma of Placenta; A Rare Complication of Pregnancy in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Chorioangioma is the most common non trophoblastic tumour of the placenta which can result to severe pregnancy complications with attendant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality [1]. Most cases of chorioangiomas are small, microscopic and of no clinical important [2,3]. We present the very first case of large symptomatic chorioangioma managed successfully in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu.&nbsp;The patient was referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu on account of suspected symptomatic chorioangioma, at a gestational age of 32 weeks. She was managed conservatively and had elective caesarean section at 36 weeks’ gestation with good outcome. There was a large solid and cystic lesion on the placenta measuring 8cm x10cm. Histological diagnosis of chorioangioma of capillary type was made.</p