The rapid economic rise of China over the last twenty years has sustained high global demand and prices for primary commodities such as oil and minerals, greatly benefitting Sub-Saharan (SSA) African countries.
... See More + China now represents more than 20 percent of SSA's trade, up from just 2.3 percent in 1985. West Africa's share in China's trade is still quite low, 0.6 percent in 2012, but it is rising rapidly. Exports to China - oil, iron, phosphates, gold, cotton, cocoa and cashew nuts, have grown fast. However, they have not grown as rapidly as imports, resulting in a large trade deficit with China (13 percent of West Africa's GDP over 2009-2012). Reasons include a strong consumption demand for inexpensive Chinese products as well as the import-content requirements in development assistance agreements. Looking at the impact of China on West Africa, it appears that West African producers do not compete with China on third markets; by and large their products are complementary. However, West African producers are finding difficult to compete with China in their own domestic as well as in regional markets. The paper's main messages are as follows: Chinese demand for primary commodities is likely to continue in the near future, potentially benefitting West Africa. To maximize these benefits, West African countries need to maintain macroeconomic stability and to design appropriate policies to manage the volatility of commodity prices while raising the competitiveness of the economy. The current stagnation of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in many West African countries is a sign of Dutch disease effects that should not be underestimated and need to be readdressed; and while the specific reforms needed vary from country to country, they should be comprehensive enough to generate a shift in the policy stance aimed at increasing productivity and encouraging diversification in the tradable sector. Examples of such reforms include the removal of trade restrictions among West African countries, the dismantling of formal and informal trade barriers to regional processing activities and the improvement of trade logistics.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 88349 MAY 23, 2014
West African Economic and Monetary Union arrangements have been instrumental in helping member countries maintain low inflation. However, a lesser-known characteristic of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, with possible implications for economic growth, is the high exposure to shocks and the pro-cyclicality of fiscal policy associated with these arrangements.
... See More + Evidence from a panel of 80 low-income and lower middle-income countries over the period 1995-2012 suggests that, in the Union, both public investment and current public expenditure are more pro-cyclical than they are in other countries. In particular, public investment contracts more in "bad times" than it increases in "good times" in order to absorb negative shocks to the budget in the context of strict fiscal convergence criteria. The asymmetric response of public investment to shocks could thus be a reason for the relatively low levels of infrastructure in the Union. Comparisons with earlier periods suggest that public investment has become pro-cyclical since the introduction of the fiscal convergence criteria in 1994. Moreover, the shocks that affect Union member countries appear to be highly idiosyncratic and thus difficult to mitigate by the Union's common monetary policy. The pro-cyclicality of public expenditure and the high asymmetry of shocks that affect Union member countries justify exploring options for greater counter-cyclicality of rules-based fiscal frameworks and for risk-sharing.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6562 AUG 01, 2013
The objective of this project is to strengthen the supervisory capacity of the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) and ensure that Douala and Yaoundé international airports meet international safety standards.
... See More + Expected results for this project are: 100% of the CCAA inspectors are trained and certified, 21 km of fence and a road for patrols are to be built around these airports, the budget share of the CCAA dedicated to aviation security is increasing, 50% of the security personnel of the airport have, at least, three years of experience , the terminals of Yaoundé and Douala are monitored 24 hours seven days a week through video surveillance equipment. Airports in Yaoundé and Douala now have security checked luggage systems, badges for authorized personnel and biometric access controls.
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Addressing youth issues is essential to promoting stability and preventing violence in fragile and conflict-affected states. However, there is little evidence that youth programming and policies have helped reduce violence in these settings.
... See More + This can reflect the lack of understanding about youth issues and how problems affecting them encourage their participation in violence. This study set out to understand youth violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two countries in which there has historically been a great deal of youth participation in group violence, where the risk of youth mobilization into violence persists, and where interpersonal and gender-based violence are still a concern. In addition to having young populations, both countries have governments that have emphasized improving youths' lives by both reducing poverty and preventing violence. In turn, programming and policies in these (and many other conflict-affected) countries tend to be focused on employment generation due to the assumption that youth become prone to violent behavior as the result of economic exclusion (their inability to achieve a stable source of livelihood). The findings from this study will be useful to help governments (particularly of fragile and conflict-affected states) and donors better understand youth issues, design more effective interventions to address youth violence, and promote longer-term stability. The report begins with a review of literature on existing theories of youth exclusion and drivers of youth violence, with a greater focus on history of violence in West Africa. It proceeds with an outline of the study methodology for data collection, sample selection, and analysis. The analysis follows, highlighting key findings. The report concludes with recommendations for policies and youth programming.
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The border between Cameroon and Nigeria is also the border between West and Central Africa and the two regional trade communities of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
... See More + Despite political tensions between Nigeria and Cameroon in the past, there is significant potential to trade between the two economic blocks. Although official trade statistics indicate that existing flows are small, authors find that trade flows are under-reported by up to a factor of 50, and that actual trade flows are a multiple of what official data suggest. Similar underreporting might also take place along other land borders in the region. This note outlines the critical barriers that constrain trade between Nigeria and Cameroon, describes the practical norms that have emerged as a response to those constraints, and recommends key reforms for the governments to undertake.
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Governments of mineral-rich countries formulate and use a variety of financial imposts to collect a share of the revenue generated by mining companies.
... See More + Instruments include the full range of taxes, fees, and charges that generally apply to all normal commercial operations. In addition to these measures, most governments use mineral royalties along with variations to the corporate taxation measures, customs duties, and value-added taxes that apply just to mining. This sourcebook focuses on mineral royalties and on other taxation measures that are specific to mining activities, with particular emphasis on imposts of common application in most developing countries, which may create challenges in their administration. The legislative framework establishing these taxes in developing countries that are experiencing an accelerated pace of resource development is in most cases relatively modern and largely adequate, but the supporting administrative capability, procedures, and systems have tended to lag behind. This sourcebook presents a practical overview of how to analyze and improve the administrative frameworks and systems for mineral royalties and other taxes specific to mining. This sourcebook provides a structured approach to help the ministries of finance and mines analyze and improve their effectiveness and efficiency in handling common issues and challenges; avoid duplication of effort; and overcome the organizational, structural, and resourcing difficulties generally encountered in the administration of various elements of mining regimes.
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Rising prices for basic food products are back in the headlines and when food prices go up poor consumers in Africa, who spend the majority of their income on simple foodstuffs, suffer.
... See More + Rising food prices are also having important macroeconomic impacts on many African countries since more and more food is being imported from the global market leading to worsening balances of trade. This issue is not going to go away. Demand for food in Africa is projected to double by 2020 with consumers increasingly located in rapidly growing cities. Fortunately, as the World Bank shows in its recent report, Africa can help feed Africa; the continent does have the means and opportunities to deliver improved food security to its citizens. If African farmers were to achieve the yields that farmers attain in other developing countries, the output of food staples would easily double or even triple thereby creating new income opportunities for farmers and reducing Africas dependence on imports from the rest of the world. For this to happen, however, farmers need to be better linked to both inputs and to consumers. Often the nearest source of demand is a across a border yet fragmented regional markets and lack of predictable trade policies deter much needed private investments, including small investments by poor farmers in raising productivity to large investments in input supply, seed multiplication, and food marketing. This note looks at the regional trade situation for food staples and crop inputs in West Africa and types of barriers that need to be overcome for the region to achieve its potential in food trade.
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Small entrepreneurs in poor countries achieve relatively high marginal returns to capital but show only low re-investment rates. The literature is rather inconclusive about the possible causes.
... See More + The author explore whether 'forced redistribution', i.e. abusive demands by the kin, affects the allocation of capital and labor to the household firm. We use an original data set covering household firms in seven economic centers in Western Africa. The author find some evidence that family and kinship ties within the city rather enhance labor effort and the use of capital. However, the stronger the ties to the village of origin the lower input use which is supporting the 'forced redistribution' hypothesis. Given that such redistribution is partly the consequence of a lack of formal insurance mechanisms, these results suggest that the provision of health insurance and other insurance devices may have positive indirect effects on private sector development.
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More than 10 million people have been affected by the recent flooding in West Africa. Rainfall has eased across much of the region and clean-up and reconstruction efforts are underway.
... See More + Nigeria remains the most affected country with 2.3 million people still displaced. There is also renewed flooding in Niger following upstream rains in Guinea. Relief efforts have now shifted to medium and long-term prevention measures. Response missions to Cameroon, Benin, Niger and Chad were recently completed and a Bank-led impact assessment scoping mission is currently underway in Nigeria.
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This paper presents an assessment of the first phase (2008?2009) of Sierra Leone's cash for work program based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis examining program design features, main processes and impact.
... See More + The assessment highlights that while cash for work was an appropriate crisis response, the challenge of achieving good targeting should not be underestimated. Findings from the assessment point to high inclusion errors of non?poor population quintiles, despite the program apparently many rules of best practice in program design. The assessment points to a series of factors to explain targeting performance, and future strategies consider mixed methods with a greater emphasis on the role of communities in affecting overall outcomes. The assessment notes areas of success during implementation, including the impact of the program in promoting cohesion amongst youth groups, as well as women. In this sense the assessment points to future strategies and options for moving cash for work forward under its expanded incarnation of the Youth Employment Support Project. Through the use of light qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper also advocates for similar assessments where monitoring and evaluation capacity are weak and time constraints tight.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 73719 NOV 01, 2012
Due to conflict in Mali, 140,000 refugees are now filtering into neighboring countries. Another 100,000 people are thought to be internally displaced.
... See More + Regionally, national early warning systems and international organizations are reporting that more than 14 million people are at risk of food insecurity in West Africa's Sahel region due to a combination of drought, poor accessibility of food and displacement due to conflict. Emergency plans have already been put into place by governments plus United Nations (UN) consolidated appeals process for Niger and Chad. The crisis is further compounded by localized crop deficits from the poor rainfall in 2011, delayed harvests in 2012 and a larger than usual demand for cereals (plus high production costs) which has increased the prices. The World Bank endeavors to take early action in ensuring institutional preparedness to address short term food security needs and long term drought resilience measures in the Sahel region.
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The World Bank oil, gas and mining unit, in its capacity as a driver for best practice related to extractive industry contributions to poverty alleviation, has a strong interest in the sustainable development of mine-impacted communities.
... See More + As part of the growing global expectation that the extractive industry should contribute positively to long-term local development, a discourse has grown surrounding a variety of structures and processes aiming to deliver development benefits to communities affected by mineral resource projects. Examples of these strategies include social/community investment programs, development forums, community-controlled trusts, development funds, and foundations. These strategies may be led by government, the companies, the impacted community, or through collaborative bilateral or multi sector partnerships and agreements. They may be a regulatory requirement or negotiated voluntarily in response to mining companies' commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles. This document describes some of the main considerations and processes regarding the development and implementation of these strategies, specifically in relation to Community Development Agreements (CDAs). In the last few years the World Bank oil, gas and mining unit has worked to analyze CDAs within the mining sector as an instrument for more sustainable and equitable benefits. This process of analysis and research has involved a series of reports by the World Bank and external specialists aiming to provide technical input on the process, case studies, lessons learned, and best practices for CDA development. This report builds on previous studies to deliver a knowledge product on CDA development with the aim of providing specific assistance to the process and delivery of CDAs. This source book has been developed from learnings relating to existing regulations/ requirements, past experiences, and case studies. Volume 2 contains the World Bank Extractive Industries Sourcebook, Good Practice Notes: Community Development Agreements, and Volume 3 is the Mining Community Development Agreements - Practical Experiences and Field Studies. Volume 4 is the Community Development Agreement - Model Regulations and Example Guidelines.
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Mining/Oil and Gas 71299 MAR 01, 2012
Kuniholm, Matthew; Sarkar, Sunrita; Morakinyo, Tunde; Otto, James M.; Gow-Smith, Alastair; Frau, Roberto; Bocoum, Boubacar
National early warning systems and international organizations are reporting that between 13 and 15 million people are at risk of food insecurity in West Africa's Sahel region due to a combination of drought, poor accessibility of food and displacement due to conflict.
... See More + This includes 5.4 million in Niger, 3.6 million in Chad, 3.0 million in Mali, 1.7 million in Burkina Faso and 850,000 in Senegal. Emergency plans have already been put into place by governments - Mauritania $157 million, Mali $210 million and Niger $70 million plus a $229 consolidated appeal process (Niger/Chad) - however, these plans will not entirely cover household consumption needs. The crisis is further compounded by sharp declines in cereal production and high grain prices, lack of food for livestock and a reduction in remittances from migrant workers in other countries.
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The World Bank oil, gas and mining unit, in its capacity as a driver for best practice related to extractive industry contributions to poverty alleviation, has a strong interest in the sustainable development of mine-impacted communities.
... See More + As part of the growing global expectation that the extractive industry should contribute positively to long-term local development, a discourse has grown surrounding a variety of structures and processes aiming to deliver development benefits to communities affected by mineral resource projects. Examples of these strategies include social/community investment programs, development forums, community-controlled trusts, development funds, and foundations. These strategies may be led by government, the companies, the impacted community, or through collaborative bilateral or multi sector partnerships and agreements. They may be a regulatory requirement or negotiated voluntarily in response to mining companies' commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles. This document describes some of the main considerations and processes regarding the development and implementation of these strategies, specifically in relation to Community Development Agreements (CDAs). In the last few years the World Bank oil, gas and mining unit has worked to analyze CDAs within the mining sector as an instrument for more sustainable and equitable benefits. This process of analysis and research has involved a series of reports by the World Bank and external specialists aiming to provide technical input on the process, case studies, lessons learned, and best practices for CDA development. This report builds on previous studies to deliver a knowledge product on CDA development with the aim of providing specific assistance to the process and delivery of CDAs. This source book has been developed from learnings relating to existing regulations/ requirements, past experiences, and case studies. Volume 2 contains the World Bank Extractive Industries Sourcebook, Good Practice Notes: Community Development Agreements, and Volume 3 is the Mining Community Development Agreements - Practical Experiences and Field Studies. Volume 4 is the Community Development Agreement - Model Regulations and Example Guidelines.
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Mining/Oil and Gas 71299 MAR 01, 2012
Kuniholm, Matthew; Sarkar, Sunrita; Morakinyo, Tunde; Otto, James M.; Gow-Smith, Alastair; Frau, Roberto; Bocoum, Boubacar
The World Bank oil, gas and mining unit, in its capacity as a driver for best practice related to extractive industry contributions to poverty alleviation, has a strong interest in the sustainable development of mine-impacted communities.
... See More + As part of the growing global expectation that the extractive industry should contribute positively to long-term local development, a discourse has grown surrounding a variety of structures and processes aiming to deliver development benefits to communities affected by mineral resource projects. Examples of these strategies include social/community investment programs, development forums, community-controlled trusts, development funds, and foundations. These strategies may be led by government, the companies, the impacted community, or through collaborative bilateral or multi sector partnerships and agreements. They may be a regulatory requirement or negotiated voluntarily in response to mining companies' commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles. This document describes some of the main considerations and processes regarding the development and implementation of these strategies, specifically in relation to Community Development Agreements (CDAs). In the last few years the World Bank oil, gas and mining unit has worked to analyze CDAs within the mining sector as an instrument for more sustainable and equitable benefits. This process of analysis and research has involved a series of reports by the World Bank and external specialists aiming to provide technical input on the process, case studies, lessons learned, and best practices for CDA development. This report builds on previous studies to deliver a knowledge product on CDA development with the aim of providing specific assistance to the process and delivery of CDAs. This source book has been developed from learnings relating to existing regulations/ requirements, past experiences, and case studies. Volume 2 contains the World Bank Extractive Industries Sourcebook, Good Practice Notes: Community Development Agreements, and Volume 3 is the Mining Community Development Agreements - Practical Experiences and Field Studies. Volume 4 is the Community Development Agreement - Model Regulations and Example Guidelines.
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Mining/Oil and Gas 71299 MAR 01, 2012
Kuniholm, Matthew; Sarkar, Sunrita; Morakinyo, Tunde; Otto, James M.; Gow-Smith, Alastair; Frau, Roberto; Bocoum, Boubacar