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Blog post
Protecting the unprotected: How can social protection reduce the vulnerability of informal workers?
Many countries like Pakistan need innovative solutions to mitigate the risks faced by its labour force, especially those engaged in informal work. A comprehensive social protection system that targets this vulnerable segment - not qualified as extremely poor nor employed in the formal sector - of the workforce can be one way to approach this. Most informal workers...
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Blog post
The Chinese are here: An analysis of import penetration and firm performance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Imports from China are an opportunity for firms in Sub-Saharan Africa to boost productivity and can serve as a stimulus for skill upgrading and development. In the early 1990s, most of the imports into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) originated mainly from Western economies such as the US, UK, France, and Germany. 25 years later, the share of imports from the UK had decreased to...
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Blog post
The costs of building exporter-buyer relationships in Myanmar
Despite Myanmar’s recent economic and political liberalisation, the country’s exports remain low. One reason could be the costly search process between foreign buyers and local exporters. Alleviating such costs should be a priority for the government of Myanmar to boost exports. Since 2010, Myanmar has implemented political and economic reforms aimed at spurring growth...
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Blog post
Incentives in support of agriculture in the East African Community
Since the East African Community (EAC) common market protocol was ratified in 2009, tremendous progress has been made in reducing transport and logistics costs as well as barriers to trade. However, that pace of regional cooperation appears to have slowed. To achieve regional objectives in the EAC, a more concerted effort could instil trust in the benefits of integration....
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Blog post
The current state of artisanal and small-scale mining in Zambia
Zambia’s development trajectory has been shaped by mining. For close to a hundred years, the extraction of copper has dominated the economy. Without exception, the firms that have controlled the sector have been large-scale, mostly foreign – albeit with periods of national ownership – had access to huge capital outlays, and have focused on copper mining. Relatively...
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Blog post
Climate change: won or lost in cities or by cities?
Extinction Rebellion disrupted London and brought many transport routes to a standstill on Easter Weekend in 2019. A key demand for the direct action group was for the government to declare a climate emergency. This demand has since been met - by the UK parliament, as well as the Argentinian senate, the French parliament and the Canadian House of Commons. In fact,...
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Blog post
Urbanisation and structural transformation in Africa
Urbanisation is central to Africa’s development, yet the basic facts of the process remain a puzzle to social scientists and policymakers alike. Economists typically explain urbanisation through the combination of two forces: agricultural push and industrial pull. Agricultural gains provide the initial impetus to urbanisation because they allow food requirements to be...
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Blog post
Treedistribution: Combatting environmental inequality in cities
Inequality is not a recent phenomenon. One root of inequality can be traced back to pre-historic urban civilisations, where grain stores varied in size and the grain-wealthy clustered together in particular locations. But with the increasing importance of inequality across and within countries over time, governments have often first turned their attention to addressing the...
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Blog post
The economic figures behind the protests in the Middle East
Though they might seem unconnected, the underlying root causes of protests in many countries in the Middle East are similar. Protesters in all countries complain about deteriorated economic conditions, income inequality, and widespread endemic corruption. Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, and most recently Lebanon have all witnessed protests over the past year. The majority of...
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Blog post
The costs of urban giants in sub-Saharan Africa
Several African cities have become veritable urban giants. Lagos and Cairo are each home to more than 20 million people, while others like Kinshasa, Luanda, and Dar es Salaam continue to grow at breakneck speed. The way these major cities grow will have tremendous impacts on future development in Africa. Cities can be inherently productive spaces because they bring people...
Blog post
Protecting the unprotected: How can social protection reduce the vulnerability of informal workers?
Many countries like Pakistan need innovative solutions to mitigate the risks faced by its labour force, especially those engaged in informal work. A comprehensive social protection system that targets this vulnerable segment - not qualified as extremely poor nor employed in the formal sector - of the workforce can be one way to approach this. Most informal workers...