Predecessors of Adam Smith: The Growth of British Economic Thought, by E. A. J. Johnson

Kodila‐Tedika

2015

A 2015 World Bank report on attainment of Millennium Development Goals concludes that the number of extremely poor has dropped substantially in all regions with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa. We assess if poverty is in the African gene by revisiting the findings of Ashraf and Galor (2013, AER) and reformulating the 'Out of Africa Hypothesis' into a 'Genetic Diversity Hypothesis' for a 'Within Africa Analysis'. We motivate this reformulation with five shortcomings arising for the most part from the 2015 findings of the African Gerome Variation Project, notably: limitations in the concept of space, African dummy in genetic diversity, linearity in migratory patterns, migratory origins and underpinnings of genetic diversity in Africa. Ashraf and Galor have concluded that crosscountry differences in development can be explained by genetic diversity in a Kuznets pattern. Our results from an exclusive African perspective confirm the underlying hypothesis in a contemporary context, but not in the historical analysis. From a historical context, the nexus is U-shaped for migratory distance, mobility index and predicted diversity while for the contemporary analysis; it is hump-shaped for ancestry-adjusted predicted diversity. Hence, poverty is not in the African gene from a within-Africa comparative standpoint. Policy implications are discussed.

Section: Figure 1: Comparative Regional Poverty Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that some natural resources are finite (Lewis, 1955;Dorfman, 1939), failing (or refusing) to recognise a resource as both an opportunity and a constraint may be detrimental for the economy in the long-run. Ultimately, the use of resources depends on inter alia: leadership (America, 2013).…”

Section: Causes Of African Povertymentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Poverty in the African DNA (Gene)?

Kodila‐Tedika

2015

“…Some of the documented causes of poverty have centred on social obstacles to economic growth and technological improvements (see Amavilah, 2016). Other established causes of poverty have included: (i) deinstitutionalization (Nunn & Puga, 2012;Nunn, 2008Nunn, , 2009) and loss of traditional institutions (Lewis, 1955;Amavilah, 2006); (ii) juxtaposition of 'private property rights' with 'private use rights (Amavilah, 2016); (iii) undervaluation of local know-how and overvaluation of foreign know-how (Tchamyou, 2015;Asongu, 2016a;Lwoga et al, 2010;Raseroka, 2008;Brush &Stabinsky, 1996); (iv) the roles of institutions, policy and destiny in comparative cross-country development (Acemoglu et al, 2012ab;Acemoglu & Robinson, 2010;Austin, 2008;Collier & Gunning, 1999); over emphasis on the idleness of natural resources (Lewis, 1955;Doftman, 1939); (vi) less or no acknowledgement of scarcity (Dorfman, 1939;Lewis, 1955;Lucas, 1993;Fosu, 2013b;America, 2013;Looney, 2013;Drine, 2013;Asongu, 2014bc); (vii) "surplus consumption" of luxurious goods and services by the wealthy (Efobi et al, 2013: Adewole & Osabuohien, 2007; (viii) issues surrounding colonialism and neo-colonialism (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2013);…”

Section: Figure 1: Comparative Regional Poverty Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unjust Enrichment from Official Corruption in Africa: Theory and Model on How Lenders Have Benefited

Nwachukwu

2016

A 2015 World Bank report on the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) revealed that since the 1990s, extreme poverty has been decreasing in all regions of the world with the exception of Africa where about 50 percent of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa did not achieve the MDG extreme poverty target despite the sub-region enjoying more than two decades of GDP growth resurgence. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First to understand the interconnections between the large pool of capital transferred to the OECD countries and the corrupt deposits of stolen public funds. Second, to illustrate how such diversion of funds overseas are related to the spread of poverty in the African economies. We enunciate a 'poverty multiplier theory' and propose a model for its application within an African context. The 'poverty multiplier theory' postulates that: (i) one unit of currency deposited abroad represents a loss in financial development at home (ii) a fraction of the unit currency placed in foreign bank accounts is redirected to the domestic economy in the form of external debt. This external debt is further siphoned overseas through interest and loan principal repayment. Policy implications of these processes are discussed.JEL Classification: B20; F35; F50; O19; O55

“…Consistent with Asongu and Kodila-Tedika (2015), Africa's development tragedy can be discussed in fifteen main streams, namely: (1) loss of traditional institutions (Lewis, 1955;Amavilah, 2006Amavilah, , 2014 and/or African deinstitutionalization (Nunn, 2008(Nunn, , 2009Nunn & Puga, 2012); (2) the neglect of art as an expression of technological know-how (Amavilah, 2014); (3) juxtaposition between 'private property rights' and 'private use rights' (Amavilah, 2015); (4) idleness of natural resources (Doftman, 1939;Lewis, 1955;Amavilah, 2014); (5) overvaluation of foreign knowledge and devaluation of local knowledge Amavilah et al, 2014;Tchamyou, 2015;Lwoga et al, 2010;Raseroka, 2008;Brush & Stabinsky, 1996); (6) the inability to acknowledge scarcity (Dorfman, 1939;Lucas, 1993;Drine, 2013;Fosu, 2013;America, 2013;Asongu, 2014ab;Looney, 2013); (7) excessive consumption of luxurious goods by the rich elite a (Efobi et al, 2013;Adewole & Osabuohien, 2007); (8) the false economics of pre-conditions (Monga, 2014) and the lost decades with the Washington Consensus (Lin, 2015); (9) issues surrounding colonialism, neo-colonialism and Western imperialism (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2013); (10) over reliance on Western policies (Fofack, 2014) and development assistance (Asongu, 2014c;Obeng-Odoom, 2013;Moyo, 2009); (11) failure to integrate qualitative development measurements in development paradigms (Obeng-Odoom, 2013) and the 'Africa rising' narrative (ObengOdoom, 2015)...…”

Section: Historical and Contemporary Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciliation of the Washington Consensus with the Beijing Model in Africa

Nwachukwu

2016

In this study, we argue that an approach which will reconcile the two opposing camps in SinoAfrican relations and bring the most progress is a "middle passage" that greases contradictions and offers an accommodative, balanced and pragmatic vision on which Africans can unite. We present a case under which countries can substantially enhance the prospect of development if an African consensus builds on a merger between the Western and Chinese models. We balance national interest with human rights, sovereign authority with individual rights and economic goals with political rights. The chapter presents arguments on the need for a development paradigm in Africa that reconciles the Washington Consensus with the Beijing Model. The analytical framework is organised in three main strands, notably: