Narrow Results

This study examines the relationship between electricity consumption, trade openness and economic growth in 25 African countries during 1980–2016. It disaggregates electricity into renewable and non-renewable and disaggregates trade into exports and imports. It employs cointegration and Granger causality techniques that enable us to determine both joint and individual causality, as well as account for individual heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. It also uses the variance decompositions (VDs) and impulse response functions (IRFs). This study shows a short-run and long-run joint causality from electricity and trade to growth, as well as a short-run and long-run joint causality from trade and growth to electricity. Besides, the Dumitrescu–Hurlin Granger non-causality technique shows a bidirectional causality between electricity and growth and between trade and growth but a unidirectional causality from electricity to trade. It also reveals the causal relationships from exports, imports, renewable and non-renewable electricity to growth. This study implies that electricity consumption and trade openness stimulate growth, while the latter also determines electricity consumption and trade openness. Based on the findings, we recommend some policy options.

This paper examined the relationship between Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and the industrial sector’s performance represented by the industrial sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product for a sample of 49 African countries between 2003 and 2019. The study also examined the moderating effects of Chinese FDI on Africa’s industrial performance. We employed panel fixed-effects and panel-corrected standard errors models to control for country heterogeneities and serial correlation in the disturbance terms, usually present in panel data and may bias the estimates. The results showed that Chinese FDI has moderating effects on industrial performance through industrial employment and natural resources. We also found a significant positive relationship between contemporaneous Chinese FDI and industrial performance, suggesting that Chinese FDI of a given year positively affects the same year’s industrial performance. The study further revealed lingering effects of Chinese FDI on industrial performance, implying the favorable impact of Chinese FDI on industrial performance in a given year may not be immediate. Policymakers are advised to improve the absorptive capacities of industrial workers and direct Chinese FDI towards transforming natural resources into industrial goods.

In theory, trade intensity should positively affect the quality of domestic institutions and governance; the higher the economic openness, the lower the corruption. In practice, however, the growth of economic openness has not been accompanied by the expected improvements in corruption for 34 African countries between 1990 and 2009. This paper presents a plausible explanation for this conundrum. Results from panel data regression analyses indicate that a switch from trading with the Advanced Economies to trading with China increases the perceived corruption level. For instance, in a “representative” African country, a 10% point substitution from trading with the Advanced Economies to trading with China makes its ICRG corruption score decline—indicating increased corruption—by 29%.

This study investigates trade shock transmission between selected African countries, the BRIC and the rest of the global economy with a view to understanding the likely disposition of African economies towards multilateralism in the years to come. The study extends the network approach of Diebold and Yilmaz [(2009). Measuring financial asset return and volatility spillovers, with application to global equity markets. The Economic Journal,  119(534), 158–171, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02208.x] by constructing generalized trade linkage measures at various degrees of aggregation using generalized forecast error variance decompositions of an underlying global vector autoregressive model. The results indicate that the trade linkage between Africa and the rest of the global economy is substantial, with the total trade linkage index having an average value of 87%. We find that China, USA, UK, Japan, EU and Canada dominate Africa’s trade and therefore have the potential to spread trade shocks to it. The results further indicate that apart from the BRIC, other regional trading blocs such as Asia, the Americas, and Europe play influential roles in Africa’s trade. Overall, the findings show that African economies are predominantly net receivers of trade shocks originating from the aforementioned dominant sources. We conclude that these patterns of cross-country trade shock spillovers, coupled with the ongoing challenges of legitimacy facing the World Trade Organisation, would likely influence Africa’s move from multilateralism to multi-polarism in the years to come.

The objective of this study is to explore entrepreneurial motivation in a least developed country (LDC), which can be divided into push factors and pull factors, without a priori separation between those which are necessity-driven and those which are opportunity-driven. This study shows that the premise "For people who start their own business in an LDC, push factors are more important than pull factors" can be rejected. In contrast to the findings from prior studies on entrepreneurship in LDCs, this study shows that push factors and pull factors are not mutually exclusive. In addition, this study shows that pull factors are even more important than push factors, and that therefore push factors only play a minor role for entrepreneurs. The overall implications are that motivation is a more combined, and nuanced construct, and that the Western concept of entrepreneurial motivation and method of measuring entrepreneurial motivation, are globally applicable.

The study explores the relationship between intrapersonal resources (formal schooling, formal entrepreneurial education and training, and informal entrepreneurial training and education) and success of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Using Structural Equation Modeling, the study tested the mediating role of entrepreneurial competence in this relationship on a sample of 303 women drawn from the tourism and hospitality sector. The results reveal that entrepreneurial competence plays a mediating role in the relationship between intrapersonal resources and enterprise success. The results also show that informal entrepreneurial training is important in complementing formal entrepreneurial training and education towards enterprise success. It is also shown that formal schooling has a weak relationship with entrepreneurial competence but has varying relationships with both financial and non-financial success.

This explorative study examines the performance, socio-demographics and sustainability orientation of owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ (MSMEs) in Tanzania, a Least Developed Country (LDC). Based on a literature review, a pre-study conducted with experts, and a main study of 168 MSMEs-owners in Morogoro, the analyses show that sustainability orientation is made up of four factors of which clearly one social factor and one environmental factor. Furthermore, in light of the literature, performance and socio-demographic factors are regressed on sustainability orientation and appear not to have a significant influence. However, at a granular level, there are certain effects observed from performance and socio-demographics on sustainability orientation. In contrast to previous research, this study presents fine-grained insights into how performance and sustainability orientation are developed and how the former determines the latter. In doing so, this study sheds light on entrepreneurship in the informal economy of an LDC, refines the understanding of the sustainability orientation of MSME-owners, and endorses the position that “one size does not fit all” regarding the applicability of Western constructs to LDC settings.

A key focus for entrepreneurial development strategies for many economies is to facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth that will create jobs and reduce poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is confronted with institutional challenges in bringing these objectives into fruition. We draw from institutionalism and entrepreneurial governance theory to explore institutional context and challenges to entrepreneurial development and inclusive growth in Africa. We theorize that entrepreneurial governance and public policy must focus on policy direction, enterprise enabling institutions for nascent entrepreneurs, seed funding and local embeddedness to eliminate institutional voids. We provide a dynamic view of institutional context and offer a policy framework to uncover challenges to entrepreneurial emergence and sustainable development in Africa. The study submits that enabling entrepreneurial activities for inclusive growth and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa requires the right institutional and supporting ecosystem.

Purpose: Rural women in Africa have less entrepreneurship opportunities than men. This is mainly due to societal expectations of women, but it may also be caused by a lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills due to their work in agriculture-related activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial skillsets of rural women working in Uganda and how such training influences their entrepreneurial activity. Design/methodology/approach: The primary data set for this study comes from surveys of rural women working in agriculture who participated in a specific entrepreneurship training programme in Uganda. A panel data set is gathered from surveying 298 women before and after the training programme. A random effects regression method is utilised to estimate the impact of entrepreneurship training and other sociodemographic characteristics on entrepreneurial skillsets. Findings: The key finding of this study is that entrepreneurship training increases entrepreneurial skillsets by 25% and that further training and educational opportunities may improve social standing and living standards of rural women working in agriculture. Originality: This study offers distinctive insights into female entrepreneurship in Africa as it quantitatively examines the impact of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial skillsets of rural women in Uganda. The findings of this study may inform policymakers of the benefits of appropriate training programmes to improve the living standards, social standing, and economic outcomes for rural women in Africa.

Purpose: Identifying factors related to low-back pain (LBP) can facilitate its management. However, information on how physical activity (PA) level, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and anthropometric characteristics are related to LBP-associated health indices in individuals with chronic LBP (CLBP) is scarce. This study explored how PA level, HRQoL and anthropometric indices are related to CLBP-related disability in a Nigerian population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 100 individuals with CLBP who were receiving treatment in physiotherapy out-patient clinics of selected tertiary hospitals, and 95 apparently healthy individuals. PA level, disability level and HRQoL were measured using standardized procedures.

Results: Disability level inversely correlated with physical component score (PCS) of HRQoL ($r=-0.84$; $p<0.001$), mental component score (MCS) of HRQoL ($r=-0.46$; $p<0.001$), pain intensity ($r=-0.84$; $P<0.001$) and PA level ($r=-0.39$; $p<0.001$), but positively correlated with duration of pain ($r=0.81$; $p<0.001$) among individuals with CLBP. PCS of HRQoL ($\beta =-1.68$; $p<0.001$) solely accounted for 71% of the prediction of disability level.

Conclusion: PA level and HRQoL decrease with increasing CLBP-related disability with the PCS of HRQoL being mostly affected. Individuals with CLBP may need to be motivated against their health problem, and be encouraged to participate in PA.

INDIA – Ozone eating away Indian crop yields.

INDIA – Polio shots better than oral drops, says study.

JAPAN – Natural protein in rice helps keep arsenic out in grains.

THE PHILIPPINES – Philippines adopts inactivated polio vaccine strategy.

SINGAPORE – A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics and Singapore Biomicro to develop a first-of-its-kind, implantable wireless blood glucose monitoring sensor device.

THAILAND – Ebola-affected countries face new threat: food crisis.

THAILAND – Fending off dengue with insecticide-treated uniforms.

AFRICA – New test to combat major cause of preventable blindness in Africa.

BANGLADESH – Arsenic linked to lung cancer in Bangladesh.

EUROPE – Human-milk-oligosaccharides can protect against noroviruses.

UNITED STATES – Researchers discover possible cause of common dementia.

UNITED STATES – Improved mouse model may accelerate research on potential Ebola vaccines and treatments.

UNITED STATES – New device yields close-up look at metastasis.

UNITED STATES – Scientists research ways to use an organism's own pathway to synthesize potential therapeutics.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS – Quality issues in herbal medicine clinical trials.

The Human Biomedical Research Act: Overview and International Comparisons.

Tissue Banking in Singapore – An Evolving Enterprise.

After Ebola, Social Justice as a Base for a Biobanking Governance Framework.

Community Engagement for Biobanking Research: Perspectives from Africa.

Robots, A Potential Staple in Eye Surgery.

Interviews at Commonwealth Science Conference 2017.

Precision Medicine for Cancer Patients: Interview with Dr Allen Lai.

New births in China reached 18.5 million in 2016.

2017 Future Science Prize winners announced: Yigong Shi, Jianwei Pan, Chenyang Xu.

Smart nano-pesticide to combat soil and water contamination.

Nanotech applications lag behind research output.

China plans to launch “brain project” by year end.

AliHealth builds up online pharmacy in China.

Internet of Things for better health solutions.

Knowledge sharing via the Digital Silk Road.

UNAIDS encourages Chinese to produce drugs for Africa.

The concerned study invariably presents the key findings of the scientometric analysis of Solar Cell Research (SCR) in the specific context of Africa and India. The outstanding contributions explicitly delivered by the successful collaboration of African and Indian authors are satisfactorily accounted for in specific terms of published author, year-wise, research area, funding agencies, published citations, and h-index. The necessary data for the needed research was retrieved from the Web of Science from 2009–2018. The raw data was further analysed and properly presented using MS Excel and VOSviewer as the keyword network tool. An aggregate number of scholarly publications in the global scenario at 117,605, Africa and India typically contributed 2,932 and 7,848, respectively. Joint research of 92 academic journals, receiving citations of 1,348, was usually observed. The highest source of 394 (29.23%) was received overwhelmingly in 2018. Out of the 652 published authors contributing constructively to the remarkable collaboration, H. C. Swart, of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, contributed 14 publications, allegedly giving a 2.147% of the total count. This is followed by V. Kumar of the Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi (India); UCA (France); UFS (South Africa), which also contributed 12 publications measured at 1.84% of the total count of publications.

China’s raw materials diplomacy and unregulated purchasing of minerals in Africa and Latin America, as well as its domestic raw materials export quota, have for years been eyed with suspicion by state and private actors. Industrialized countries want to uphold and extend free market access to raw materials, but also strengthen their political accountability and sustainability. However, critics argue that in contrast, China, the world’s largest metals and minerals trading power, has taken the opposite course, ignoring social and environmental standards, reinforcing authoritarian governments, and erecting trade barriers. China is faced with several interrelated challenges in its resource diplomacy and governance. This article claims that an identifiable, chronological connection and pattern has existed between China’s aid and investment diplomacy for resources since the late 1990s, free trade agreements since the 2000s, Beijing’s resource nationalism since the 2010s, and the reform process of national and privately organized transnational governance toward sustainability in the present day. Is China socializing with emerging transnational standards on mining and resource extraction in the developing world, and if so, why? This article argues that China’s raw materials governance, including corporate governance, has entered a phase of reform to pacify the external environment and to implement the Belt and Road Initiative. In theoretical terms, China’s raw materials governance will continue to emphasize neoliberal and neo-mercantilist goals, cushioned by globalist features.

This paper analyzes entrepreneurs in South Africa's informal sector. The aim is to determine the extent to which African informal retail trade spawns viable enterprises. To assess the prospects for South Africa's informal retail sector, we obtained questionnaires from owners of small-scale establishments in a random sample taken throughout the country in 2007. Owner's income and sales data provided a basis for investigating viability. Regression analysis tests hypotheses identified as crucial to higher income and sales, including startup capital, size, male/female ownership, business training and the proximity to shopping centers. Also tested is the influence of urbanization externalities on sales and owner's income. Initial capital and positive urban externalities have a strong influence on the ability to generate a sustainable livelihood for informal entrepreneurs. After controlling for startup capital, location and other factors, it appears women entrepreneurs face distinct difficulties in generating a viable income through informal retail trade.

In the last decade or so, there has been a growing interest in an area researchers are calling social entrepreneurship, a movement spearheaded by individuals with a desire to make the world a better place. This paper describes the structure and process of international development in Africa from the perspective of a social entrepreneur. The authors address the opportunities and challenges faced by social entrepreneurs as they attempt to affect large-scale social change. The result of this study is a unique development model that provides tools for the social entrepreneur to address problems and build capacity and sustainability within the African context.

The business strategy perspective argues that achieving competitive advantage hinges on pursing a coherent competitive strategy. Family businesses are also said to manifest a strong desire to develop enduring and committed social relationships with external stakeholders. This study examines the effect of business strategy on performance of family businesses and how their managerial social networking relationships with external entities moderate the business strategy–performance link. Using data from 54 family firms from Ghana, the findings indicate that: (1) the pursuit of the business strategies of cost leadership and differentiation create competitive advantage for family businesses; (2) social networking relationships with government bureaucratic officials and community leaders are beneficial to family businesses, but social networking relationships with political leaders is detrimental to family businesses; and (3) the benefit of business strategy to family businesses is moderated positively by networking with community leaders, but negatively by networking with political leaders.

This paper uses data on new firm registrations to examine entrepreneurship in Africa relative to other developing countries. The results show that new firm creation is more pronounced in other developing regions than in Africa. In addition, the results also show that entry deregulation and political stability are relatively more important for the creation of new businesses in Africa. These results imply that Africa is different; therefore, it is important to implement reforms to create a business environment conducive for new firm creation in Africa. Reforms in governance are also required to address problems related to political stability to increase entrepreneurial activity in Africa.