African Successes

 

COMMISSIONED PROJECTS
updated November 18, 2009

 

1. “Agriculture in Africa: An Exploration of Macro Factors” (Uganda)

          Douglas Gollin, Williams College

          Richard Rogerson (NBER), Arizona State University

 

2. “Leapfrogging the neighbors: The penetration and socioeconomic effects of information communications technologies in landlocked Malawi”
          Taryn Dinkelman, Princeton University

          Angela Msosa, National Statistical Office, Malawi

          Emily Oster (NBER), University of Chicago

          Rebecca Thornton, University of Michigan

          Deric Zanera, National Statistical Office, Malawi

 

3. “Evaluating the Effects of Large Scale Health Interventions in Developing Countries: The Zambian Malaria Initiative”

          Nava Ashraf (NBER), Harvard University

          Günther Fink, Harvard University

          David N. Weil (NBER), Brown University

 

4. “The Brain Drain, Brain Circulation and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa”

          Yaw Nyarko, New York University

 

5. “Gender and Social Protection Programs in Developing Countries: A Randomized Evaluation of Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers in Rural Burkina Faso”

          Richard Akresh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

          Damien de Walque, The World Bank

          Harounan Kazianga, Oklahoma State University

 

6. “Healing the Wounds: Learning from Sierra Leone’s Post-war Institutional Reforms”

          Katherine Casey, Brown University

          Rachel Glennerster, MIT

          Edward Miguel (NBER), University of California, Berkeley

 

7. “Policy and Contractual Uncertainty and Firm Behavior in Africa”

          Mary Hallward-Driemeier, The World Bank

          Lant Pritchett, Harvard University

 

8. “Micro-economic evidence on a transition to democracy” (South Africa)

          Murray Leibbrandt, University of Cape Town

          James Levinsohn (NBER), University of Michigan

          Justin McCrary (NBER), University of California, Berkeley

 

9. “Exchange Rates and Market Integration: The Impact of the CFA Devaluation on Agricultural Markets in Niger”

          Jenny Aker, Tufts University

          Michael Klein (NBER), Tufts University

          Stephen O’Connell, Swarthmore College

 

10. “Can African countries move from agriculture directly to services (such as tourism)?: A cross-regional study including successes in Tanzania and the Seychelles”

          Diego Comin (NBER), Harvard University

 

11. “Demographic Pressure and Institutional Change: Village-Level Response to Rural Population Growth in Burkina Faso”

          Harounan Kazianga, Oklahoma State University

          William Masters, Purdue University

          Margaret McMillan (NBER), Tufts University

 

12. “Assessing African Successes, West and South: the Cases of Cape Verde and Mozambique”

          Manuel Caldeira Cabral, Universidade do Minho

          Jorge Braga de Macedo (NBER), Universidade Nova de Lisboa

          José Mário Guerreiro Lopes, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

          Luís Brites Pereira, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

 

13. “The Effects of Food Aid on Production and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda)

          Nathan Nunn (NBER), Harvard University

          Nancy Qian (NBER), Yale University

 

14. “The Return to Capital for Small Retailers in Kenya: Evidence from Inventories”

          Michael Kremer (NBER), Harvard University

          Jonathan Robinson, University of California, Santa Cruz

          Olga Rostapshova, Harvard University

 

15. “Family Ties, Inheritance Rights and Successful Poverty Alleviation” (Ghana)

          Edward Kutsoati, Tufts University

          Randall Morck (NBER), University of Alberta

 

16. “The Financial System in Burundi: An Investigation of its Efficiency in Resource Mobilization and Allocation”

          Léonce Ndikumana, African Development Bank

          Janvier Nkurunziza, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

          Prime Nyamoya, OGI Consulting Group, Burundi

 

17. "Lesotho and the Determinants of African Export Performance"

          Lawrence Edwards, University of Cape Town

          Robert Lawrence (NBER), Harvard University

 

18. "Mobile-Banking: The Impact of M-Pesa in Kenya"

          Isaac Mbiti, Southern Methodist University

          David N. Weil (NBER), Brown University

 

19. "Mauritius: African Success Story"

          Jeffrey Frankel (NBER), Harvard University

 

20. “Successful Macroeconomic Policies of Tanzania”

          Sebastian Edwards (NBER), University of California, Los Angeles

 

21. “Reducing Gender-Based Violence in Africa: Economic, Social and Legal Interventions” (Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia)

          Radha Iyengar (NBER), London School of Economics

 

22. “Informal Economy in Poor vs Middle Income Countries” (Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius)

          Rafael La Porta (NBER), Dartmouth College

          Andrei Shleifer (NBER), Harvard University

 

23. “What drives success in children’s educational outcomes in extremely poor villages in rural West Africa? Can we use the answer to design programs to mimic that success throughout the region?” (Guinea-Bissau)

          Peter Boone, London School of Economics

          Simon Johnson (NBER), MIT

 

24. “Schooling Quality and Quantity: What Impact Does It Have on Health in Malawi?”

          Sarah Baird, University of California, San Diego

          Ephraim Chirwa, University of Malawi

          Jacobus Joost de Hoop, Tinbergen Institute

          Craig McIntosh, University of California, San Diego

          Berk Özler, The World Bank

 

25. “State versus Consumer Regulation: The Case of Road Safety in Kenya”

          James Habyarimana, Georgetown University

          William Jack, Georgetown University

 

26. “Is capital allocated efficiently within the African countries?”

          Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan (NBER), University of Houston

          Bent Sorensen, University of Houston

 

27. “African Success: Nigerian Banks, the Economy, and the Poor”

          Lisa Cook, Michigan State University

 

28. “Fertility Responses to Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) Scale-Up in Zambia”

          Nicholas Wilson, Williams College

 

29. “Politics and Institutions in Sierra Leone”

          Daron Acemoglu (NBER), MIT

          James Robinson (NBER), Harvard University

 

30. “Measuring and Explaining Agricultural Productivity in Africa” (Ghana)

          Steven Block, Tufts University

 

31. “Enabling Microenterprise Development in Sub-Saharan Africa through the Provision of Financial Services” (Kenya)

          Pascaline Dupas (NBER), University of California, Los Angeles

          Jonathan Robinson, University of California, Santa Cruz

 

32. “African Export Successes: Surprises, Stylized Facts and Explanations”

          William Easterly (NBER), New York University

          Ariell Reshef, University of Virginia

 

33. “Stimulating Demand for AIDS Prevention” (Tanzania)

          William Dow (NBER), University of California, Berkeley

 

34. “Decentralization and Its Consequences in Africa: Fiscal Competition and Redistributive Politics in Benin”

          Martial Foucault, Université de Montréal

          Grégoire Rota-Graziosi, Université d'Auvergne

          Leonard Wantchekon, New York University

 

35. “Resolving the African Financial Development Gap” (Kenya)

          Franklin Allen, University of Pennsylvania

          Elena Carletti, European University Institute

          Robert Cull, The World Bank

          Jun “QJ” Qian, Boston College

          Lemma Senbet, University of Maryland

 

36. “The Political Economy of Government Revenues in Postwar Resource-Rich Africa” (Liberia and Sierra Leone)

          Victor Davies, African Development Bank

          Sylvain Dessy, Université Laval

 

37. “From subsistence to cash crop agriculture: The role of contract farming in sugar cane production in Kenya”

          Sendhil Mullainathan (NBER), Harvard University

 

38. “Impact of Nigerian Conditional Grant Initiative on the Health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs 4, 5 and 6)”

          Betsy Brainerd, Brandeis University

          Jens Hainmueller, MIT

          Michael Hiscox, Harvard University

          AK Nandakumar, Brandeis University

          Sandra Sequeira, London School of Economics

          Sara Sievers, Columbia and Brandeis Universities (author)

 

39. “The Sahel’s Silent Maize Revolution: A Case Study of Maize Productivity in Mali Using Farm-level Panel Data”

          Jeremy Foltz, University of Wisconsin - Madison

 

 

 

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The NBER Africa Project is commissioning 40 research projects in the following four groups. Approved projects to date are the ones listed above.

Macroeconomic aspects of growth

The macroeconomic part of our work will focus on understanding recent economic growth (measured in terms of GDP per capita as well as other components of living standards, including health, education, and poverty reduction), both in terms of its drivers and what can allow it to be sustained in key countries. We encourage this work to focus on positive recent experience in particular countries (or a pair of countries). A list of possible topics is:

·         When does aid add up to a large positive macro-level effect? How much of recent economic success can be attributed to aid?

·         Role of resources generally, and specifically differences in how governments deal with resource revenue. Will the money from the current commodities boom be handled differently than in the past? What are the effects of commodity booms on the real exchange rate, and non traditional exports? What are the political mechanisms that can prevent the money from being squandered? What fraction of recent growth on the continent can be attributed to resources?

·         Analysis of government revenue sources: what are the firms, regions, sectors, etc. that provide the bulk of revenue within a country? How are the sources of revenue linked politically to the distribution of spending? How have some countries managed to achieve fiscal stability?

·         Role of South Africa as a catalyst for regional development.

·         Is it possible to have development without manufacturing? Can African countries move from agriculture directly to services (such as tourism)?

·         How important are the constraints on economic activity imposed by poor infrastructure? Cost-benefit analysis of different infrastructure investments.

·         What is the adequate level of international reserves in poor countries with limited access to international capital markets? Should the accumulation of international reserves play the role of self insurance schemes?

·         What type of monetary policy framework – and monetary tools – are the most appropriate for low income countries? Is ‘inflation targeting,’ a framework that has become popular in the high and middle income countries, appropriate for the African nations?

 

Microeconomic aspects of growth

·         Evolution of firms. Are there countries in Africa where small, efficient firms have been able to grow larger and exhibit important productivity growth?

·         Success stories with the development of small-scale finance, both informal and more formal microfinance. Is this promoting private sector development more generally? Do users of micro credit “graduate” and become “subjects” of credit in the formal banking sector?

·         Recovering from and avoiding future civil conflict. Experiences where social capital has been rebuilt in what appears to be a sustained way.

·         Analysis on the reform of customs administration. There is anecdotal evidence of substantial progress in some African countries, but we need to have more systematic analysis on this important issue. Success stories in this area have positive implications for public finances, as well as governance and institution building.

·         Infrastructure investment: what works and why, particularly when governance is weak? Cases where collaboration between the private and public sectors seem to have worked.

·         Labor market interventions and outcomes. According to the World Bank’s “Doing Business” data, excessive labor market regulations and rigidities are one of the most distortive and costly policy interventions in emerging markets. Are there successful cases where labor markets have been made more efficient, while still protecting workers’ rights?

·         Issues related to the economics of “law and order.” In Africa, as in other parts of the world, most crime affects the poor segments of society. Improving security and safety is, indeed, one of the most important aspirations of the poor. We expect to document and analyze cases where progress has been achieved in this area.

·         Agricultural productivity: Successes in commercial agriculture. Low demand for productive inputs by small scale farmers.

 

Interaction of health and economic growth

·         Progress on key health issues (including treatment for HIV/AIDS): why has there been so much progress in some countries and how can this be replicated?

·         How do health interventions, through the channels of lives saved and induced changes in fertility, affect Africa’s demographic situation? How, in turn, does demographic change translate into economic outcomes? How quantitatively significant are the channels of capital dilution and pressure on fixed natural resources from a growing population? How will changes in the age structure of the population feed back to saving rates and growth rates over time?

·         What are the non-demographic channels through which health improvements lead to higher economic growth? Evidence on improved educational outcomes from healthier students, improvements in firm or farm output from healthier workers, etc.

·         What can be learned from health interventions elsewhere that would make interventions in Africa more effective? For example, to what extent has population control helped improvements in health lead to more growth?

 

Cross-regional comparisons

Focusing on cross country experiences will allow us to take advantage of the considerable expertise that some NBER researchers have on Asia and Latin America. We expect that these studies – which will specifically analyze African successful experiences through comparative lenses – will help disseminate lessons from successful experiences in both Africa and other parts of the emerging world.

·         Comparison of successful African experiences with current successes in Asia and Latin America (Vietnam, Chile, etc.). We expect to address questions related to growth sustainability.

·         The disappearing “pass-through” and the “taming of inflation”: Comparing countries in Africa and Latin America that have been able to virtually eliminate inflation.

·         For decades Africa was subject to recurrent and costly balance of payments crises. Recently, however, some nations have been able to achieve macroeconomic stability. How have they done it? How do their experiences differ from those of Asian and Latin American countries?

We will also encourage researchers to investigate and contrast economic policies and outcomes across countries with some similarities. Some possible examples include: Chile and Zambia and the management of the copper cycle, and Brazil and Angola and overall macroeconomic polices. As with the rest of the project, these analyses will be centered around African success stories.