We investigate the question of whether firms in Africa's manufacturing sector are credit constrained. The fact that few firms obtain credit is not sufficient to prove constraints, since certain firms may not have a demand for credit while others may be refused credit as part of profit maximising...

The coffee boom of 1976-9 was an archetypal temporary external shock. Using counterfactuals, we find that much of the windfall was saved, due to the private sector. However, the control regime constrained private responses, leading to an inefficient use of the windfall. Rather than Dutch Disease...