Sub-Saharan Africa's economy grew rapidly from 2004 to 2008, largely driven by Asian investment and trade. While much investment has been in primary commodities, Asian-owned manufacturing and other businesses in Africa, despite growing rapidly, have received very little attention. Using survey...

How does an increase in food prices at the border impact poverty in Uganda given the strong spatial heterogeneity of the country and its limited domestic transportation and communication networks? Recently, a number of studies on the impact of international food prices on poverty in developing...

This paper analyses the poverty impacts of an economic partnership agreement (EPA) between Uganda and the EU. As Ugandan exports are also eligible for duty-free access to the EU under the Everything But Arms scheme the main EPA-induced change will be the requirement to liberalise EU exporters'...

There has been much debate about the possible negative effects of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) for food security in ACP signatories. This paper investigates whether the commitments undertaken by ACP governments when they signed EPAs are a threat to food security. Analysis of the tariff...

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of gold in the global financial system. We test the hypothesis that gold represents a safe haven against stocks of major emerging and developing countries. A descriptive and econometric analysis for a sample spanning a 30 year period from 1979-2009...

Most explanations of the crisis of 2007-2009 emphasize the role of the preceding boom in real estate and asset markets in a variety of advanced countries. As a result, an idea that is gaining support among various groups is how to make Basel II or any regulatory regime less procyclical. This...

This paper proposes and tests a mechanism through which the natural resource curse can operate. I posit that, in the presence of high natural resource rents, leaders lower the burden of taxation on citizens in order to reduce the demand for democratic accountability. The theory is tested using...

‘Policy Coherence for Development’ (PCD) seeks to ensure that non-aid public policies are consistent with a government’s international development goals. In the light of a number of years of PCD reviews and institutional reforms at both EU and member state level, this paper reflects on the...

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) proliferate in the developed and developing world. However, there is wide variation in both the institutional structure of these RTAs and the degree to which they achieve their goals. Particularly in the developing world, RTA dispute-settlement mechanisms are...

Lemass rejected Whitaker’s recommendations that direct taxes be reduced and public investment shifted from social to productive areas. This was arguably done for political reasons and because Lemass believed that it might be possible to establish a social partnership deal of the type that...