The Omani and Bahraini Paths to Development: Rare and Contrasting Oil-Based Economic Success Stories

2015

Education as a tool in the fight against corruption has been subject to much debate in academic and policy making circles. This note extends what we know on this nexus in a threefold manner:namely, in terms of: incremental, lifelong learning and synergy effects. Four main findings are established. First, education is a powerful tool in the fight against corruption. Second, there is evidence of an incremental effect in the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Third, lifelong learning defined as knowledge acquired during primary, secondary and tertiary education negatively affects corruption. Fourth, there is evidence of a 'synergy effect' because the impact of lifelong learning is higher than the combined effects of various educational levels. The empirical evidence is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Two main policy implications are derived. First, encouraging education through the tertiary level enhances the fight against corruption. Second, the drive towards a knowledge economy by means of lifelong learning has 'corruption mitigating' benefits.

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Incremental Effect of Education on Corruption: Evidence of Synergy from Lifelong Learning

2015

“…The strategies are mostly drawn from: East Asia & the Pacific (Lee, 2013;Warr, 2013;Jomo & Wee, 2013;Thoburn, 2013;Khan, 2013); the emerging Asian giants of China & India (Yao, 2013;Singh, 2013;Santos-Paulino, 2013); Latin America & the Caribbean (De Mello, 2013;Solimano, 2013;Pozo et al, 2013;Trejos, 2013;Cardoso, 2013); the Middle East & North Africa (Looney, 2013;Nyarko, 2013b; Consistent with Akinwale (2010, p. 125 Volkema and Bergmann (1995), Black (1990), Borg (1992), and Thomas (1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Lifelong Learning in Political Stability and Non-Violence: Evidence from Africa

2014

Purpose -Education as a weapon in the fight against conflict and violence remains widely debated in policy and academic circles. Against the background of growing political instability in Africa and the central role of the knowledge economy in 21 st century development, this paper provides three contributions to existing literature. It assesses how political stability/ non-violence is linked to the incremental, synergy and lifelong learning effects of education.Design/methodology/approach -We define lifelong learning as the combined knowledge acquired during primary, secondary and tertiary education. Principal component analysis is used to reduce the dimensions of educational and political indicators. An endogeneity robust dynamic system Generalized Methods of Moments is used for the estimations.Findings -We establish three main findings. First, education is a useful weapon in the fight against political instability. Second, there is an incremental effect of education in the transition from secondary to tertiary schools. Third, lifelong learning also has positive and synergy effects. This means that the impact of lifelong learning is higher than the combined independent effects of various educational levels. The empirical evidence is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010.Practical implications -A plethora of policy implications are discussed, inter alia: how the drive towards increasing the knowledge economy through lifelong learning can be an effective tool in the fight against violence and political insurgency in Africa.Originality/value -As the continent is nursing knowledge economy ambitions, the paper is original in investigating the determinants of political stability/non violence from three dimensions of education attainment: the incremental, the lifelong learning and a synergy effect.

“…Some of the documented causes of poverty have centred on social obstacles to economic growth and technological improvements (see Amavilah, 2016). Other established causes of poverty have included: (i) deinstitutionalization (Nunn & Puga, 2012;Nunn, 2008Nunn, , 2009) and loss of traditional institutions (Lewis, 1955;Amavilah, 2006); (ii) juxtaposition of 'private property rights' with 'private use rights (Amavilah, 2016); (iii) undervaluation of local know-how and overvaluation of foreign know-how (Tchamyou, 2015;Asongu, 2016a;Lwoga et al, 2010;Raseroka, 2008;Brush &Stabinsky, 1996); (iv) the roles of institutions, policy and destiny in comparative cross-country development (Acemoglu et al, 2012ab;Acemoglu & Robinson, 2010;Austin, 2008;Collier & Gunning, 1999); over emphasis on the idleness of natural resources (Lewis, 1955;Doftman, 1939); (vi) less or no acknowledgement of scarcity (Dorfman, 1939;Lewis, 1955;Lucas, 1993;Fosu, 2013b;America, 2013;Looney, 2013;Drine, 2013;Asongu, 2014bc); (vii) "surplus consumption" of luxurious goods and services by the wealthy (Efobi et al, 2013: Adewole & Osabuohien, 2007; (viii) issues surrounding colonialism and neo-colonialism (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2013);…”

Section: Figure 1: Comparative Regional Poverty Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unjust Enrichment from Official Corruption in Africa: Theory and Model on How Lenders Have Benefited

2016

A 2015 World Bank report on the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) revealed that since the 1990s, extreme poverty has been decreasing in all regions of the world with the exception of Africa where about 50 percent of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa did not achieve the MDG extreme poverty target despite the sub-region enjoying more than two decades of GDP growth resurgence. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First to understand the interconnections between the large pool of capital transferred to the OECD countries and the corrupt deposits of stolen public funds. Second, to illustrate how such diversion of funds overseas are related to the spread of poverty in the African economies. We enunciate a 'poverty multiplier theory' and propose a model for its application within an African context. The 'poverty multiplier theory' postulates that: (i) one unit of currency deposited abroad represents a loss in financial development at home (ii) a fraction of the unit currency placed in foreign bank accounts is redirected to the domestic economy in the form of external debt. This external debt is further siphoned overseas through interest and loan principal repayment. Policy implications of these processes are discussed.JEL Classification: B20; F35; F50; O19; O55