We use a new dataset from Burundi to analyze the role of local institutions as determinants of income, distinguishing between three distinct dimensions of the institutional framework: (i) property rights security, (ii) local political leadership and (iii) social capital. Using measures of...

Aiming at a better understanding of the extent to which Africa-focused research has helped develop context-bound, context-specific, and context-free knowledge, the authors present the findings from a literature review of journal articles with an African context. A systematic search resulted in...

Investors all too often assign a uniform broad - brush risk rating to Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, with over 40 nations and a landmass nearly twice that of Europe, there is clearly reason to suggest risk - return in Sub-Saharan Africa is unique across countries and specific to local experiences. In...

Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic performance in Arica was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, who suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize...

Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic performance in Arica was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, who suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize...

Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic performance in Arica was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, who suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize...

Epidemics are on the rise, yet the social disruption they engender is not well understood. This paper provides causal evidence of the impact of a rapidly spreading epidemic on civil violence and sheds light on its drivers. New data at high spatial and temporal resolution of the Ebola outbreak in...

Since the mid 1900’s, economist have come to recognize the role of innovative activity in firms productivity growth, particularly in the competitive market economies. However, the most conducive market environment for innovative activity has also become a subject of interest. Thus, a major...

This chapter reviews conceptual frameworks to understand and measure innovation, and then outlines links between innovation and the concepts of entrepreneurship, the informal economy (IE) and intellectual property (IP). The review suggests that the time is ripe for African policy-makers to seek...

Entrepreneurship and innovation are pivotal for Africa’s economic progress. However, the continent faces a dearth of investment, with the existing venture capital (VC) majorly channeled towards fintech, sidelining other sectors. Despite the growing VC interest, African entrepreneurs grapple...