Browsing by Project "108462"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Open Access
Building economic complexity in Africa
(2019) Bhorat, Haroon; Rooney, Christopher; Steenkamp, François
The paper reports on and summarizes four country case studies (Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa) in terms of: the degree and extent of economic complexity; a detailed product space analysis; firm interviews to identify what prevents or enables firms to diversify; and the employment potential associated with frontier products. Economic complexity and product space analytics identify potential avenues for economic diversification or frontier products. Building economic complexity, or accumulating productive knowledge, is associated with the process of structural transformation – shifts from less complex low productivity activities toward high productivity and more complex activities and products.
Open Access
Creating jobs for women and youth through export-led growth in Senegal : an economic complexity approach
(2018-12) Golub, Stephen; Mbaye, Ahmadou Aly
This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space framework. Product-space analysis enables computation of the economic complexity or implied technological sophistication of exports. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. Senegal’s manufacturing exports have risen over time as a share of total exports, but the preponderance of manufactured exports consists of capital-intensive products like chemicals and cement. Exports of labor-intensive manufacturing such as textiles, clothing and shoes have declined sharply over time. Weaknesses in the business climate consist of deficient public services, corruption, and restrictive labor market regulations.
Open Access
Economic complexity and employment expansion : the case of South Africa
(2019) Bhorat, Haroon; Ewinyu, Arabo; Lilenstein, Kezia; Rooney, Christopher; Steenkamp, François; Thornton, Amy
This case study reveals a trade-off between building complexity and generating jobs, which points to a tension between the dual goals of growing exports and creating jobs in South Africa. One approach to determining the extent to which growth of a product is likely to generate jobs, is to consider the capital intensity of production associated with that product. Building economic complexity requires diversification into increasingly complex products. The paper is an in-depth study of the interconnectedness of various manufacturing and industrial sectors. It provides a glimpse into which industries exhibit the greatest employment potential.
Open Access
Economic complexity and employment expansion : the case of South Africa
(Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 2018-12) Rooney, Chris; Steenkamp, François
For a pattern of structural transformation and inclusive growth to assert itself, two key inter-linked ingredients are required: the move from a low productivity agricultural sector to a high productivity, high growth and export-oriented agricultural sector, and the development of a dynamic manufacturing sector which is both employment- and export -intensive. This brief explores the development of a more nuanced model of growth and development for South Africa. It suggests a number of general and sector-specific policy recommendations aimed at growing the manufacturing sector in order generate employment opportunities, especially for women and youth.
Open Access
Economic complexity and employment expansion in Africa
(Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 2019-06) Rooney, Chris; Steenkamp, François
This policy brief provides a synthesis of four country case studies: Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. Economic complexity refers to the amount of “productive knowledge” or “technical know-how” within a country. The paper provides a table summarizing product-specific constraints by country. Country constraints include product certification, which is performed by state agencies. When such agencies lack regulatory capacity, products do not get certified and as result, cannot be exported – inhibiting the growth of firms. Constraints also exist where there is inadequate electricity supply; firms need to invest in expensive diesel-operated generators in order to function.
Open Access
Economic complexity and employment for women and youth : the case of Ghana
(2018-10) Baah-Boateng, William; Twum, Eric
Industry expansion in Ghana is hampered by difficulty in accessing larger markets within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) subregion: products that are exportable through a free tariff regime are subjected to unreasonable delays at the ports. Additionally, costs of production are extremely high: high interest rates, duties on imported raw materials, exchange rate fluctuations, taxes, electricity, as well as labour and training costs. Ineffective regulation and cheap imports are also impediments to economic complexity. ECOWAS countries must commit to enforcing free trade within the sub-region to promote intra West Africa Trade, facilitating the growth of exports and job creation.
Open Access
Employment generation for women and youth in a manufacturing driven economic complexity framework : Ghana
(Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 2019-04) Baah-Boateng, William; Twum, Eric Kofi
The Economic Complexity framework and product space can be applied to guide economic policy formulation. Complexity analytics can aid in classifying countries according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) scale. Other metrics can also help identify products that are more complex, in this case, products that are not too far from Ghana’s current capabilities and have potential for diversification. This brief suggests that determining the skills gap between what industries require to produce sophisticated products, and training offered to women and youth, will form a key part of employment generation.
Open Access
Enhancing technical skills development for Kenya’s structural transformation
(Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 2019-04) Oiro, Manaseh O.
This policy brief advocates for educational change in order to advance Kenya’s economic transformation agenda. Capacity gaps exist in the technical skills required to enhance Kenya’s productivity growth. University enrolment has eclipsed technical institution enrolment, and the appeal for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) has declined over time. There is a need to develop middle level technical institutions as agents of structural transformation, with collaboration between business and training institutes. Efforts to redesign education at technical institutions of learning from theory to a competency-based focus are needed.
Open Access
An export-led growth for Kenya : where is the niche?
(2019-05) Oiro, Manaseh O.; Wanjala, Bernadette; Ngugi, Rose; Naudé, Diana Lukalo
This study details the degree and extent of economic complexity in Kenya, including the country’s product space, and provides policy options to enable Kenya to move from low to high productivity. It identifies and examines constraints such as the high cost of doing business; the lack of access to finance; inadequate infrastructural support; skills deficiencies; trade in counterfeit products; and stringent product licensing requirements. Of the sectors considered for analysis, most were affected by supply side constraints resulting from poor production techniques. Concerted efforts are needed to upgrade workers’ skills and competencies in the production process.
Open Access
Senegal’s international competitiveness and employment creation for women and youth : the product space analysis and fieldwork findings
(2018-08) Golub, Stephen; Mbaye, Ahmadou Aly; Vasilyeva, Anastasia
By improving product quality and cost-competitiveness, Senegal can foster increasing economic complexity and employment growth within existing product lines with strong comparative advantage. Product complexity refers to technological sophistication, and can be used to identify possible diversification opportunities that will spur growth. The central concept is to diversify exports into increasingly “complex” products embodying sophisticated capabilities. This policy brief assesses the prospects for boosting employment through export-led growth, making use of the product-space/product complexity framework.
Open Access
Services industry and its potential for youth and women employment in an African context : a review of the literature
(2019-04) Grimard, Franque
The evidence from macro productivity models drawn from the African Sector Database (ASD) suggest African countries underwent a structural transformation towards services activities that were not technologically dynamic. Performance of the agricultural sector is found to significantly influence the rate of job growth in the rest of the economy. As such, the service sector is dependent on agricultural productivity growth for employment growth. Likewise, the diversification of the work force is linked to economic transformation. This paper provides a critical review of available literature on sectorial employment in African countries and assesses the impact of services sector employment on youth and women.