Investment and Risk in Africa

Description

Until recently Africa has been an unambiguously capital-hostile environment. During 1960 to 1990 the return on capital in Africa was on average around a third below that elsewhere.1 Because the returns on capital were low there was little private investment. However, during the 1990s some African governments have reformed policies sufficiently that returns are now probably quite high: there is evidence that the return on FDI is now higher in Africa than in other developing areas.2 Despite these improved returns, private investment has remained low. Whereas in other developing areas it is currently averaging 18 per cent of GDP, in Africa even by 1994 it was only 10 per cent, little changed from the 1980s. Introduction Pages 1-1 Investment and Risk in Africa Paul Collier, Catherine Pattillo Pages 3-30 Risk in Africa: Its Causes and its Effects on Investment Pages 31-31 Rating Africa: The Economic and Political Content of Risk Indicators Nadeem Ul Haque, Nelson Mark, Donald J. Mathieson Pages 33-70 Risk and Private Investment: Africa Compared with Other Developing Areas Frederick Z. Jaspersen, Anthony H. Aylward, A. David Knox Pages 71-95 Risk, Financial Constraints and Equipment Investment in Ghana: A Firm-level Analysis Catherine Pattillo Pages 96-121 The Risk and Expected Returns of African Equity Investment Claude B. Erb, Campbell R. Harvey, Tadas E. Viskanta Pages 122-150 Risk and Portfolio Investment in Africa: A Practitioner’s Approach Joe Demby Pages 151-165 Reducing Risk through Domestic Agencies of Restraint Pages 167-167 The Central Bank as a Restraint: the Experience of Uganda Louis A. Kasekende, Iftikhar Hussain Pages 169-184 The Cash-Budget as a Restraint: The Experience of Zambia Christopher S. Adam, David L. Bevan Pages 185-218 The Courts as a Restraint: The Experience of Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana Jennifer A. Widner Pages 219-245 Investment Codes as a Restraint: The Experience of Southern Africa David A. Ailola Pages 246-271 Reducing Risk through External Agencies of Restraint Pages 273-273 The Franc Zone as a Restraint David Stasavage Pages 275-307 Aid and Debt Conditionality as Restraints Ravi Kanbur Pages 308-322 Investment Insurance in Africa Gerald T. West Pages 323-337 The Potential for Restraint through International Trade Agreements Paul Collier, Jan Willem Gunning Pages 338-351 The Potential for Restraint through an International Charter for FDI Mark A. A. Warner Pages 352-362 Conclusion Pages 363-363 So What Have We Learned Robert H. Bates Pages 365-372