I analyze the length of the workweek of foreign-born workers in the U.S. I concentrate on workers supplying long hours of work − 50 or more weekly hours and document that immigrants are less likely than natives to work long hours. Surprisingly, these differences are greatest among highly...

This paper investigates the feasibility of creating a common-currency union consisting of 16 countries in Southern Africa. We estimate an augmented-gravity model that includes public deficit, public debt, public expenditure, inflation, and the foreign reserves position. We also integrate...

This study investigates the effect of infrastructure and trade openness on the evolution of manufacturing and services sector output using panel data from 14 selected COMESA member countries over the period 1993-2016. The Pooled Mean Group, Mean Group and Dynamic Fixed Effects were used to...

Limited access to finance is one of the major barriers for women entrepreneurs in Africa. This paper presents a model of start-ups in which firms' sales and profits depend on their productivity and access to credit. However, due to the lack of collateral assets such as land, female entrepreneurs...

Child well-being is inextricably linked to the performance of the macroeconomy. Although not always explicit, there are very clear and powerful channels that need to be understood, monitored and linked to decision-making processes, including economic growth, labour markets, price levels and the...

This working paper provides an overview of demographic trends that are upending the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region and the potential to capitalize on the demographic dividend. The demographic dividend is the time-bound opportunity to catalyze economic growth and poverty reduction as...

This study assesses the experience of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) based on available empirical evidence over the last two decades. It pays particular attention to member countries' adjustment to economic shocks in recent years and the inter-country linkages, including the spillover effects of...

New integration initiatives are flourishing in almost every part of the African continent. The latest initiative in this regard is the Cross-Border Initiative to promote trade, investment, and payments in Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region. In this paper the potential...

The paper examines developments in key markets and value chains in food production in southern Africa in order to evaluate the role of markets and the significance of market power. Rising incomes and urbanisation are driving demand for processed food across the continent and, without substantial...

This paper highlights the key strategies, both regional and domestic, that have led to the current structure of the poultry value chain in Southern Africa. While large firm strategies in poultry have been found to be regional in nature, and important regional developments in soybean production,...