This paper assesses the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa using hitherto unexplored variables in the literature. The previously missing dimension of nation building is integrated and the hypothesis of state fragility being a function of rent seeking and/or lobbying by de...

This paper develops an empirically-relevant framework (a) to examine whether or not the African business environment hinders or promotes the knowledge economy (KE), (b) to determine how the KE which emerges from such an environment affects economic growth, and (c) how growth in turn relates to...

Is China-Africa economic relation instrumental for capital flight and poverty reduction in FZ? Does it matter in the improvement of external debt’s impact on GDP per capita and capital flight reduction in particular? This paper extends and assesses the Asongu and Aminkeng (2013) conclusions...

The paper examines whether the Arab Spring phenomenon was predictable by complete elimination in the dispersion of core demands for better governance, more jobs and stable consumer prices. A methodological innovation of the Generalized Methods of Moments is employed to assess the feasibility and...

In examining some big questions on African development, we provide evidence that dynamics of some development indicators could support both endogenous and neoclassical growth theories in the convergence debate. This paper investigates convergence in real per capita GDP and inequality adjusted...

Purpose – This paper examines whether initial levels in GDP growth, GDP per capita growth and inequality adjusted human development matter in the impact of aid on development. In substance its object is to assess if threshold development conditions are necessary for the effectiveness of...

The August 15th 2013 Shanghai Academic Rankings of World Universities (ARWU) should leave policy makers wondering about whether the impressive growth experienced by ‘latecomers in the industry\' has moved hand-in-hand with contribution to knowledge by means of scientific publications. Against...

This study dissects with great acuteness some of the big questions on China-Africa relations in order to debunk burgeoning myths surrounding the nexus. It reviews a wealth of recent literature and presents the debate in three schools of thought. No substantial empirical evidence is found to...

Purpose – The issue of which financial initial conditions are necessary to materialize the benefits of financial globalization remains open to debate in the literature. In this paper, we try to put some empirical structure on the concept of financial threshold conditions in order to give...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of policy options in financial dynamics (of money, credit, efficiency and size) on consumer prices. Soaring food prices have marked the geopolitical landscape of African countries in the past decade. Design/methodology/approach –...