Issue #1 (Volume 5 2016)

This paper analyzes the effects of customs duty incentives on customs revenue mobilization for the period 2009 to 2014. It employs both cross-sectional and panel data regression analysis using firm-level data obtained for a sample of 35 firms in Zimbabwe’s mining sector. The data were collected from Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s Asycuda World System. The results from the two separate models confirm that customs duty incentives (rebates and preferential tariff rates) had negative effects on customs revenues for the period 2009 to 2014. The study, therefore, recommends an urgent need to streamline customs duty incentives granted to importers of goods meant for use in the mining sector

This paper studies the impact of the child support grant on school enrolment in South Africa. It is based on the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data set for South Africa for the year 2008. Using the probit model, the author find some encouraging evidence to suggest that indeed the child support grant helps in the way of improving school enrolment in South Africa. More specifically, the author found that the child support grant increases school enrolment by about 10 percentage points

During the last fifteen years, it has become apparent that capacity building is an important ingredient for sustainable development. In this regard, governments in Africa rank capacity building for infrastructure delivery amongst the top priorities for promoting sustainable development.
A large share of Africa’s infrastructure is domestically financed, with the central government budget being the main driver of infrastructure investment. It is, therefore, important to strengthen the finance and technical capacity of public sector officials to effectively manage the preparation, structuring, implementation and operations and maintenance of infrastructure.
In the quest to improve the infrastructure delivery capacity of public sector officials, this dip stick survey has assessed and highlighted gaps in terms of limited working knowledge of financial instruments, products and services such as viability gap finance and partial risk guarantees, as well as different financing models including fixed and floating interest rate borrowing from DFIs. All officials interviewed confirmed the importance of prioritizing finance training in the areas of selection, preparation and appraisal of investment projects

The article examines the features of the impact of information asymmetry on the key participants of the market of non-banking financial services in Ukraine. It defines the basic reasons of its existence on the market.
The analysis of the consequences of information asymmetry for the functioning of non-banking financial services in Ukraine shows that it creates the conditions for opportunistic behavior and leads to adverse selection and moral hazard on the market.
Based on the research of existing methods and approaches to the reduction of information asymmetries the paper offers recommendations to overcome this problem on the market of non-banking financial services in Ukraine