Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes

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https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9388

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050, is a diverse ...

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Disaggregated Survey Data on Taxation to Improve Policy Design: A Perspective from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (2018/19)
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06) Ambel, Alemayehu A.; Komatsu, Hitomi; Koolwal, Gayatri; Tsegay, Asmelash H.; Yonis, Manex B.
A disaggregated analysis of the tax burdens and economic needs of the most economically vulnerable - such as poor women and men, informal workers, and owners of micro- and small enterprises - is crucial for designing equitable and well-targeted tax and public spending policies. This is particularly important in low-income countries, where formal and informal tax systems often exist in parallel, and administrative data is sparse. Availability of data on tax payments by households and non-farm enterprises, individual-level employment and asset ownership, and contributions to community institutions and infrastructure programs can reveal important distributional implications for tax policy design going forward. This survey brief summarizes findings from the tax module of the nationally representative 2018-19 Ethiopia socioeconomic survey (ESS). The tax module covers different types of formal and informal taxes that households, businesses, and individuals pay, as well as informal contributions towards services and infrastructural improvements in the community. Findings from the multi-topic survey also reveal different tax burdens by socioeconomic and demographic groups, as well as across rural and urban areas, that are important for national tax policy design and targeting.
Monitoring the Impact of COVID-19 on Firms in Zambia: Results from Two Rounds of World Bank Enterprise Survey Follow-ups on COVID-19
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05) Finn, Arden; Ayana, Gemechu A.; Kanagavel, Rajee
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its negative economic effects create a need for timely data and evidence to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis. To monitor the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures on formal firms in Zambia and to inform the policy response, the World Bank is implementing several rounds of phone-based surveys of firms. The surveys in Zambia are follow-ons from the baseline enterprise survey that was conducted in Zambia immediately prior to the pandemic. These phone surveys allow for a better understanding of the effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on firm operations, hiring and firing, and expectations of future operations and labor demand in order to better tailor and implement interventions and policy responses and monitor their effects. This note summarizes the results of round 2 (R2) of the survey, conducted between December 19, 2020 and February 18, 2021. The information presented in this report is based on the sample of 570 firms that responded to both round 1 (R1) and round 2 (R2) surveys.
The Short-Run Economic Impact of Summer 2020 Protests in Addis Ababa: A Brief Look at the Evidence from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Firms
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12-21) Abebe, Girum; Bundervoet, Tom; Wieser, Christina
It is long recognized that instability is inimical to economic growth. Instability produces uncertainty, amplifies risks, undercuts high-return investment, and diverts public policy towards short-term and quick-fix policies. Instability, accompanied by violent protest and riots, not only impacts current productive assets but also thwarts physical and human capital accumulation, weakening future growth. In the last two years, non-state conflict, civil unrest, and violent protest was rife in Ethiopia. While such conflicts are known to be barriers to a peaceful political and economic transition, little is known about how they have impacted the private sector. In this brief, we examine the economic impact of one specific event that led to the outburst of violent protests on firms in Ethiopia. This paper also shows that the internet shutdown affected a large share of SML firms than own-account firms. Not surprisingly perhaps, young and large firms are more likely to run businesses that depend on an online presence. Authors also see sector differences in the impact of internet shutdown on businesses. About 12 percent of firms in the industry sector and 6 percent of firms in the service sector report to have experienced disruptions to the business due to the internet shutdown. There is, however, little variation in the impact of internet shutdown on male, and female-owned firms.
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Firms in Ethiopia, Report No. 9: Firm Closure Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Brief Look at the Evidence from HFPS-F
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-15) Abebe, Girum; Bundervoet, Tom; Wieser, Christina
For the current study, six rounds of the HFPS-F survey are used, mainly focusing on the business closure module from round six. The six rounds are roughly three weeks apart and were implemented between April 15 and September 8, 2020 in Addis Ababa. The sampling strategy is explained in detail in a companion technical note. Six survey briefs highlighting the impact of the pandemic on firms’ operations and labor dynamics are already produced along with two special topic briefs focusing on the gendered difference of the pandemic and how firms were affected by the State of Emergency. The current brief examines firm closure in relation to firms direct or indirect exposure to the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. The good news is that most of the firms that are closed have stopped production or services temporarily with less than 2 percent of firm closures reported to be permanent in R6 (roughly August). The following analysis thus focuses on temporary closures and mostly rely on data from 436 firms, of which 108 were temporarily closed and 328 were open at the time of the R6 survey.
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Firms in Ethiopia, Report No. 8: Results from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Firms
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-25) Bundervoet, Tom; Abebe, Girum; Wieser, Christina
This one-pager summarizes the results of the sixth round of the HFPS-F in Addis Ababa, implemented between August 17 and September 8, 2020. The information presented here is based on 331 firms that were still operational at the time of the survey. Firms that had temporarily closed because of the COVID pandemic were not interviewed in R6, which is a difference with the previous survey rounds (when temporarily closed firms were also interviewed). Firm closures will be looked at in detail in a separate brief.
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Firms in Ethiopia, Report No. 7: How Ethiopian Firms are Adapting to the Pandemic? A Brief Look at the Evidence from HFPS-F
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-07) Abebe, Girum; Bundervoet, Tom; Wieser, Christina
The High-Frequency Phone Survey of Firms (HFPS-F) interviews a sample of firms in Addis Ababa every three weeks for a total of eight survey rounds. This high-frequency follow-up allows for a better understanding of the effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on firm operations, hiring and firing, and expectations of future operations and labor demand. The results of this survey will help the Job Creation Commission, established under the Prime Minister’s Office, in formulating a response package to support the private sector throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Firms in Ethiopia, Report No. 6: Results from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Firms
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-07) Bundervoet, Tom; Abebe, Girum; Wieser, Christina
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its negative economic effects create a need for timely data and evidence to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis. To monitor the impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related containment measures on formal firms in Ethiopia and inform the policy response, the World Bank, in collaboration with the government, is implementing a high-frequency phone survey of firms (HFPS-F). The HFPS-F interviews a sample of firms in Addis Ababa every three weeks for a total of eight survey rounds, and an additional sample of firms in four other cities in Ethiopia (Adama, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, and Mekelle) for a total of seven rounds. This high-frequency follow-up allows for a better understanding of the effects of and responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on firm operations, hiring and firing, and expectations of future operations and labor demand in order to better tailor and implement interventions and policy responses and monitor their effects.
Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Women-Owned Firms Differently?
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-07-21) Abebe, Girum; Bundervoet, Tom; Wieser, Christina
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its negative economic effects create an urgent need for timely data and evidence to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis and protect the welfare of the least well-off in Ethiopia's society. To monitor the impacts of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on Ethiopia's economy and people and inform interventions and policy responses, the World Bank Ethiopia team, in collaboration with the government, designed and implemented two high-frequency phone surveys, one with firms and one with households.
Sustaining the Success of the Systematic Land Tenure Registration in Rwanda
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-05-27) Ali, Daniel; Deininger, Klaus; Duponchel, Marguerite
Since 2010, the Government of Rwanda addressed land tenure through a series of actions including the establishment of institutional and administrative structures for land management and administration. At district, town, and municipality level, District Land Bureaus (DLBs), complemented by sector and cell level land committees, assumed responsibility for land administration and planning. After careful piloting in 2008/09, a process for systematic low cost demarcation and adjudication using aerial photography or high resolution satellite imagery was roll-out nationally. In less than 3 years, the Rwanda Natural Resource Authority (RNRA) demarcated 11.4 million out of an estimated 11.5 million land parcels in the country in a participatory way and at a unit cost of less than USD 6 per parcel (Nkurunziza 2015). Positive impacts at household levels were identified at various stages of the project implementation.