Abstract This study examines how access to electricity shapes non-farm enterprise development and income diversification in rural Ethiopia, while explicitly accounting for the amplifying role of complementary infrastructure. We employ an instrumental variables strategy leveraging plausibly exogenous variation in household proximity to the least-cost electricity grid lines connecting hydropower plants to major urban centres. The analysis integrates geocoded panel data from the Ethiopian Rural Socioeconomic Survey with geospatial information on electricity infrastructure, hydropower facilities, urban settlements and topographic features. The results show that access to electricity is associated with a higher likelihood of household non-farm enterprise ownership and the share of income derived from off-farm activities. These associations are stronger where households have adequate access to markets, financial services and road networks. The findings highlight the developmental potential of rural electrification and indicate that electrification can spur rural structural transformation, yet its impact is fully realised only when paired with strategic co-investment in complementary infrastructure.
Abstract Youth aspirations shape education, career and migration decisions, yet systematic evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa remains scarce. This paper addresses this gap by using data from the novel Youth Aspirations and Employment Module, developed under the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study and implemented through nationally representative High-Frequency Phone Surveys in Ethiopia, Malawi and Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence shows that youth aspirations are gender-age-income sensitive. Female youth are less likely to aspire to completing university education, pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related jobs or migrating. Aspirations also vary systematically by age: younger youth aged 15–18 tend to hold higher educational aspirations and are more likely to aspire to STEM-related jobs, whereas older youth aged 19–25 shows greater migration aspirations. Aspirations are further shaped by the family wealth. Youth from high-income households are more likely to aspire to completing university education and STEM jobs, and less likely to aspire to migrate. These findings highlight the need for early, gender-sensitive policies that reduce gender and socioeconomic inequalities, expand role-model networks especially for young women and align aspirations with realistic labour-market opportunities.
Abstract This study empirically examines whether periodic financial scarcity leads to fluctuations in cognitive function and mental health and subsequently affects optimal economic decision-making (risk aversion and present bias) among low-paid employees in an urban area in Ghana. We collected the data of the low-paid employees and randomly assigned them into two groups based on their next payday and timing of the interview: those who were interviewed just before their payday were financially more strained than those who were interviewed just after their payday. The estimation results support the theory of scarcity, showing that financial scarcity worsens cognitive function and mental health. However, we found no evidence that financial scarcity affects risk aversion and present bias as well as the quality of decision-making.
This study examines whether the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) maintains monetary policy autonomy despite the CFA franc's fixed exchange rate to the euro. Using Unrestricted Error Correction Models estimated separately for three policy rates spanning 1973Q1 to 2023Q4, we track how long-run policy rate passthrough from the Banque de France and European Central Bank (ECB) has evolved over time. During the discount rate era (1973-1998), the Banque de France rate exerted no statistically significant long-run influence on BCEAO policy, suggesting meaningful autonomy in the early decades of the franc zone. Following the 1994 devaluation and subsequent institutional reforms, however, ECB influence became the dominant determinant of BCEAO policy: a permanent 100 basis point ECB rate increase is associated with a 40-46-bps long-run increase in the BCEAO marginal lending rate and 17-19 bps in the minimum bid rate. Federal Reserve passthrough remains consistently smaller than ECB passthrough across all periods, confirming that the BCEAO's constraint derives from the euro peg rather than the global financial cycle. These findings support critics who argue that the BCEAO has largely relinquished its monetary policy autonomy.
This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the first 30 years of the Journal of African Economies (JAE), from 1992 to 2021, tracing its evolution as a leading platform for scholarly research on African economic development. Over the past three decades, JAE has played a pivotal role in shaping intellectual discourse and policy formulation through rigorous empirical and theoretical scholarly contributions. The study explores publication trends and impact, authorship patterns, collaboration networks and thematic structure. The average scholarship productivity in JAE has increased steadily over the period. The thematic structure of publications reveals a strong focus on macroeconomic conditions, poverty alleviation, inequality and income distribution, labour market analysis and economic growth. Recent scholarships examine sectoral issues in education, technology and agriculture, including food security. The thematic evolution progressed from conflict-related studies and foreign aid to more nuanced topics on institutions, human capital development and regional integration. The authorship patterns highlight scholars domiciled in the UK and Europe as the dominant contributors, though notable African contributors have emerged in recent years, particularly from Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia. The study also highlights the growing international collaboration among scholars publishing in JAE, with eminent collaborators from leading international financial institutions (The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), Universities (Oxford, UK and Cornell, USA and others), and policy and research institutes in Africa and beyond. Surprisingly, scholars affiliated with institutions and countries in Africa collaborate more with researchers in the global north than with other scholars within the continent. These results offer valuable insights into potential contributors, institutions and policymakers seeking to understand and contribute to JAE's evolving landscape.
