A dozen countries had weak institutions in 1960 and yet sustained high rates of growth subsequently. We use data on their characteristics early in the growth process to create benchmarks with which to evaluate potential constraints on sustained growth for sub-Saharan Africa. This analysis...

Using panel data from 39 countries, this paper examines the effects of financial deepening and openness to trade and foreign capital (FDI) on rural-urban inequality in Africa. Four estimations were performed - OLS pooled cross-section, GLS pooled cross section, fixed-effects model and an...

Rapid urbanization is an important characteristic of African development and yet the structural transformation debate focuses on agriculture's relative merits without also considering the benefits from urban agglomeration. As a result, African governments are often provided conflicting...

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa,...

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa,...

Is rural to urban migration in developing countries a viable way to improve the opportunities available to children? And does growing up in a city affect educational attainment? Using census data for 14 African countries combined with an age-at-move design, I show that childhood exposure to...

Using rich geospatial data analyzed with 'causal' and explainable machine learning methods, this paper studies Africa’s spatial economy and maps potential benefits from public infrastructure investments. Results imply that infrastructure in Africa is spatially concentrated and often...

The CuveWaters project relates the alignment and implementation of innovative water technologies to an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Cuvelai-Etosha-Basin, which lies in Central Northern Namibia. The aim here is to improve inhabitants’ living conditions by means of...

Rapid urbanization is a fact of live even in the least developed countries (LDCs) where the lion’s share of the population presently lives in rural areas and will continue to do so for decades to come. At the turn of the millennium 75% of the LDCs’ population still lived in rural areas and...

This dissertation consists of four essays in the economics of digital transformation and specifically considers the link between geography and digitalization in the know-ledge economy.