IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uma/perips/targeting_employment_expansion_-_pollin_and_heintz_-_final.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Targeting Employment Expansion, Economic Growth and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Outlines of an Alternative Economic Programme for the Region

Author

Listed:
  • James Heintz
  • Robert Pollin

Abstract

This paper outlines the elements of a development-targeted economic framework aimed at creating decent employment opportunities as a strategy for realizing core human development goals in Africa. Four policy areas form the core of the paper: monetary policy and inflation, exchange rate policy, development finance and financial sector reforms, and public investment and fiscal policy. This paper draws heavily on three large UNDP-sponsored studies of employment-oriented economic policies in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. The paper aims to discuss the elements of an alternative, development-targeted economic framework for African countries in general and, in doing so, the analysis draws on examples, research, and statistics from a wide range of countries.

Suggested Citation

  • James Heintz & Robert Pollin, 2008. "Targeting Employment Expansion, Economic Growth and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Outlines of an Alternative Economic Programme for the Region," Published Studies targeting_employment_expa, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    • Handle: RePEc:uma:perips:targeting_employment_expansion_-_pollin_and_heintz_-_final
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://per.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/other_publication_types/Targeting_Employment_Expansion_-_Pollin_and_Heintz_-_final.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis Teal, 1995. "Real wages and the demand for labour in Ghana`s manufacturing sector," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/1995-07, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    2. Boyer, Russell S, 1978. "Optimal Foreign Exchange Market Intervention," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(6), pages 1045-1055, December.
    3. Bruno, Michael, 1993. "Crisis, Stabilization, and Economic Reform: Therapy by Consensus," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198286639.
    4. Roberto Frenkel & Lance Taylor, 2006. "Real Exchange Rate, Monetary Policy and Employment," Working Papers 19, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    5. Atish Ghosh & Steven Phillips, 1998. "Warning: Inflation May Be Harmful to Your Growth," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 45(4), pages 672-710, December.
    6. Burdekin, Richard C.K. & Denzau, Arthur T. & Keil, Manfred W. & Sitthiyot, Thitithep & Willett, Thomas D., 2004. "When does inflation hurt economic growth? Different nonlinearities for different economies," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 519-532, September.
    7. Aryeetey, Ernest & Udry, Christopher, 1997. "The Characteristics of Informal Financial Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 6(1), pages 161-203, March.
    8. Terry McKinley, 2007. "Raising Domestic Revenue for the MDGs: Why Wait until 2015?," One Pager 39, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    9. Jeffrey A. Frankel, 1999. "No Single Currency Regime is Right for All Countries or At All Times," NBER Working Papers 7338, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Paulo Gala & Claudio R. Lucinda, 2006. "Exchange Rate Misalignment and Growth: Old and New Econometric Evidence," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 7(4), pages 165-187.
    11. Cottani, Joaquin A & Cavallo, Domingo F & Khan, M Shahbaz, 1990. "Real Exchange Rate Behavior and Economic Performance in LDCs," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(1), pages 61-76, October.
    12. Bazoumana Ouattara, 2006. "Aid, debt and fiscal policies in Senegal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(8), pages 1105-1122.
    13. Andong Zhu & Michael Ash & Robert Pollin, 2004. "Stock Market Liquidity and Economic Growth: a Critical Appraisal of the Levine/Zervos Model," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-8.
    14. Michael P. Dooley, 1995. "A Survey of Academic Literature on Controls over International Capital Transactions," NBER Working Papers 5352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Mathias Hoffmann, 2007. "Fixed versus Flexible Exchange Rates: Evidence from Developing Countries," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(295), pages 425-449, August.
    16. Pedro M. G. Martins, 2007. "The Fiscal Impact of Aid Flows: Evidence from Ethiopia," One Pager 43, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    17. Thandika Mkandawire, 1999. "The political economy of financial reform in Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(3), pages 321-342.
    18. Edwards, Sebastian, 1989. "Exchange Rate Misalignment in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 4(1), pages 3-21, January.
    19. Mr. Emilio Sacerdoti, 2005. "Access to Bank Credit in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Issues and Reform Strategies," IMF Working Papers 2005/166, International Monetary Fund.
    20. By Mohsin S. Khan & Abdelhak S. Senhadji, 2001. "Threshold Effects in the Relationship Between Inflation and Growth," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(1), pages 1-1.
    21. Steel, William F. & Aryeetey, Ernest & Hettige, Hemamala & Nissanke, Machiko, 1997. "Informal financial markets under liberalization in four African countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 817-830, May.
    22. Robert Pollin & Mwangi wa Githinji, 2008. "An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13219.
    23. Teal, Francis, 2000. "Real wages and the demand for skilled and unskilled male labour in Ghana's manufacturing sector: 1991-1995," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 447-461, April.
    24. James Heintz, 2004. "Elements of an Employment Framework for Poverty Reduction in Ghana," Working Papers wp85, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    25. Gerald Epstein & James Heintz, 2006. "Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform for Employment Creation and Poverty Reduction in Ghana," Research Report 2, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    26. Bruno, Michael & Easterly, William, 1998. "Inflation crises and long-run growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 3-26, February.
    27. James Heintz & Gerald Epstein, 2006. "Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform For Employment Creation and Poverty Reduction in Ghana," Working Papers wp113, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    28. repec:aer:wpaper:111 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Dollar, David, 1992. "Outward-Oriented Developing Economies Really Do Grow More Rapidly: Evidence from 95 LDCs, 1976-1985," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(3), pages 523-544, April.
    30. William Easterly, 2002. "An Identity Crisis? Testing IMF Financial Programming," Working Papers 9, Center for Global Development.
    31. Ghura, Dhaneshwar & Grennes, Thomas J., 1993. "The real exchange rate and macroeconomic performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 155-174, October.
    32. Benno J. Ndulu, 2006. "Infrastructure, Regional Integration and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Dealing with the disadvantages of Geography and Sovereign Fragmentation," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 15(2), pages 212-244, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Loudi Njoya & Ibrahim Ngouhouo & Moussa Njoupouognigni & Schneider Friederich & Zenabou Tourere, 2024. "Can we understand the simultaneous evolution between economic and informality growth in Africa? A preliminary explanation," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 398-414, January.
    2. Epstein, Gerald. & Heintz, James. & Ndikumana, Léonce. & Chang, Grace., 2010. "Employment, poverty and economic development in Madagascar : a macroeconomic framework," ILO Working Papers 994554463402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Barakat, Sultan & Zyck, Steven A., 2010. "Gulf state assistance to conflict-affected environments," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55240, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Elvis Korku Avenyo & Maty Konte & Pierre Mohnen, 2021. "Product innovation and informal market competition in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 605-637, April.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:455446 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Nissanke, Machiko, 2019. "Exploring macroeconomic frameworks conducive to structural transformation of sub-Saharan African economies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 103-116.
    7. Gerald Epstein & James Heintz & Léonce Ndikumana & Grace Chang, 2011. "Employment, Poverty and Economic Development in Madagascar," Published Studies ndikumana_ilo2010, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Heintz & Léonce Ndikumana, 2010. "Working Paper 108 - Is there a Case for Formal Inflation Targeting in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Working Paper Series 245, African Development Bank.
    2. James Heintz & Léonce Ndikumana, 2010. "Is There a Case for Formal Inflation Targeting in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Working Papers wp218, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    3. Robert Pollin & James Heintz, 2017. "Expanding Decent Employment in Kenya: The Role of Monetary Policy, Inflation Control, and the Exchange Rate," Research Report 6, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    4. Gerald Epstein, 2009. "Rethinking Monetary and Financial Policy: Practical suggestions for monitoring financial stability while generating employment and poverty reduction," Published Studies ilo_epstein11_09, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    5. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2009. "Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the Asia-Pacific," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12777.
    6. Florian Morvillier, 2018. "The role of exchange rate undervaluations on the inflation-growth nexus," Working Papers hal-04141804, HAL.
    7. Jinzhao Chen, 2015. "Interprovincial Competitiveness and Economic Growth: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Data (1992–2008)," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 388-414, August.
    8. Ramos-Herrera María del Carmen, 2022. "How Equilibrium Exchange Rate Misalignments Influence on Economic Growth? Evidence for European Countries," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 199-211, January.
    9. Daren Conrad & Jaymieon Jagessar, 2018. "Real Exchange Rate Misalignment and Economic Growth: The Case of Trinidad and Tobago," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-23, September.
    10. Florian Morvillier, 2018. "The role of exchange rate undervaluations on the inflation-growth nexus," EconomiX Working Papers 2018-15, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    11. Epstein, Gerald., 2009. "Rethinking monetary and financial policy : practical suggestions for monitoring financial stability while generating employment and poverty reduction," ILO Working Papers 994344393402676, International Labour Organization.
    12. Ferdinand Owoundi & Jacques Landry Bikai, 2021. "On the neutrality of the exchange rate regime regarding real misalignments: Evidence from sub‐Saharan Africa," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 327-345, July.
    13. Morvillier, Florian, 2020. "Do currency undervaluations affect the impact of inflation on growth?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 275-292.
    14. Andong Zhu & Robert Pollin, 2005. "Inflation and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Non-linear Analysis," Working Papers wp109, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    15. Florian Morvillier, 2019. "Do currency undervaluations affect the impact of inflation on growth?," Post-Print hal-02138677, HAL.
    16. Ortiz, Isabel, & Cummins, Matthew. & Karunanethy, Kalaivani., 2015. "Fiscal space for social protection and the SDGs options to expand social investments in 187 countries," ILO Working Papers 994877663402676, International Labour Organization.
    17. Mavikela Nomahlubi & Mhaka Simba & Phiri Andrew, 2019. "The Inflation-Growth Relationship in SSA Inflation-Targeting Countries," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 64(2), pages 84-102, August.
    18. Komain JIRANYAKUL, 2017. "Estimating the Threshold Level of Inflation for Thailand," Journal of Economics Bibliography, KSP Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 150-155, June.
    19. Paulo Gala & Claudio R. Lucinda, 2006. "Exchange Rate Misalignment and Growth: Old and New Econometric Evidence," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 7(4), pages 165-187.
    20. Madhu Sehrawat & A. K. Giri, 2015. "Re-examining the Threshold Effects in Inflation–Growth Nexus: Evidence from India," International Journal of Economics and Empirical Research (IJEER), The Economics and Social Development Organization (TESDO), vol. 3(2), pages 57-67, Fabruary.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; macroeconomics; employment; finance; exchange rates; inflation.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uma:perips:targeting_employment_expansion_-_pollin_and_heintz_-_final. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Judy Fogg (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/permaus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.