Despite the rapid economic growth recorded since the 1990s, inequality, poverty and unemployment levels remain high in most African countries. As such, achieving socio-economic goals has been the major focus of policymakers. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of financial inclusion on human development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Access to and usage of financial services may encourage business start-ups, allow individuals to invest in health and education, manage risk and lessen the burden of financial shocks, and therefore, impact positively on human development. The study employs the panel data approach and utilises the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique. The results show that financial inclusion has a positive effect on human development. Therefore, it is recommended that policymakers implement measures that reduce the costs of access to and usage of financial services, such as investments in infrastructure, and raise awareness of the available financial services.

Carbon taxes are considered an important environmental policy instrument for the improvement of environment quality in developing countries. Despite these premises, the implementation of the carbon tax policy in developing countries has lagged behind. The aim of this study is to analyse how carbon tax influence environmental quality and economic performance in South Africa. Such a country-oriented inquiry is envisaged to have some positive policy implications for the South African economy and other developing nations. The analysis was conducted using a static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of South Africa, which was expected to capture the observed structure of South Africa’s economy. Furthermore, the parameters of the CGE equations were calibrated to observed data from a social accounting matrix (SAM) for 2015. The results show that environmental tax has negative effects on gross domestic product with the energy sectors which are generally the most polluting sectors suffering higher output losses due to the environmental tax. Household consumption is significant reduced by 2.34% due to the reduction in emissions as a result of carbon tax policy. According to the study findings, policy-makers should consider an initial 5% carbon tax policy which may results in achieving reasonably good environmental quality without losing on investment, fixed capital investment and government revenue.

Objective – The manufacturing sector plays an important role in any economy. However, Africa has experienced significant deindustrialisation over the last few decades, whilst economic growth has been on an upward trend over the same period. The high growth rates have mostly been propelled by improved macroeconomic stability and the commodity price boom. Further, the slowdown in commodity prices has recently caused a deceleration of economic growth which begs the question: Does promoting the manufacturing sector result in higher and sustainable economic growth and reduce unemployment? This study assesses the impact of the manufacturing sector on economic growth in 37 African countries. Methodology/Technique – This study employs the System-GMM Model for the period between 1990 and 2017. This technique is ideal as the number of cross-sectional units is greater than the number of time periods. This technique also caters for problems of endogeneity and heteroscedasticity. Findings – The results show that manufacturing value has a positive effect on economic growth in African countries. Therefore, it is recommended that policy makers enact measures to boost manufacturing output. Novelty –The deceleration of economic growth in African countries coupled with high unemployment and poverty levels has brought the issue of re-industrialisation into the spotlight. This study is vital for policy makers in African countries who seek to promote economic growth and employment levels. The study contributes to literature in African countries by incorporating variables such as human capital and institutional quality which are major determinants of economic growth. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: Manufacturing Value Added; Economic Growth; African Countries; System-GMM. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Moyo, C; Jeke, L. 2019. Manufacturing Sector and Economic Growth: A Panel Study of Selected African Countries, J. Bus. Econ. Review 4(3) 114 – 130 https://doi.org/10.35609/jber.2019.4.3(1) JEL Classification: C23, E23, O14, O40.

In addition to performing their basic fiscal functions, governments in developing economies are constantly challenged by new and re-emerging socioeconomic issues such as insecurity, hunger, natural disaster, collapsing infrastructure and disease outbreaks. These piles of challenges have made the competition for limited resources fierce and hence the need to mobilize more funds. Bearing this in mind, this study explored the role of ICT in mobilizing tax revenue in a trade bloc made up of developing countries—Southern African Development Community (SADC). Using panel data of 12 member countries of the bloc between 2001 and 2020 within the Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) framework, the estimated parameters of the employed measures of ICT (internet usage and mobile cellular) indicated that ICT has a statistically significant positive effect on tax revenue. The results are consistent for all categories of taxes examined including total tax revenue, taxes on goods and services, and taxes on income, profit and capital gains. Following the outcomes of this study, it is recommended that in addition to sound public finance policies, policies aimed at fostering digital automation of tax processes should be focal in revenue mobilization plans of member countries.