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1 – 10 of over 1000This study aims to examine the illicit capital movement through trade misinvoicing in Burundi, at disaggregated levels by major trading partners and by major export and import…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the illicit capital movement through trade misinvoicing in Burundi, at disaggregated levels by major trading partners and by major export and import commodities.
Design/methodology/approach
Trade misinvoicing is estimated by comparing the trade values declared by Burundi with those declared by trading partners in a bilateral international transaction, after adjusting for the cost of freight and insurance. Disaggregated trade misinvoicing by major trading partners is computed using the Direction of Trade Statistics database of the International Monetary Fund over the period 1970–2019. Disaggregated trade misinvoicing by major trading commodities is computed using the UN-COMTRADE database over the period 1993–2019.
Findings
Exports of Burundi to most of its major trading partners are found to be underinvoiced. The top destinations for export underinvoicing are United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Germany. However, exports to UK and Switzerland are found to be overinvoiced. The major export commodities considered, coffee and gold, are found to be affected by trade misinvoicing to a great extent. On the import side, the estimation results indicate that imports of Burundi from its major trading partners are in general overinvoiced. High import overinvoicing is observed in the trade with Saudi Arabia, China and Japan. At commodity level, for the top 6 commodities considered, imports were to a great extent found to be overinvoiced. Cases of illicit capital outflows and inflows through trade misinvoicing are highlighted.
Practical implications
Some policy implications are drawn from this study. First, in collaboration with its development partners, the Government of Burundi should put in place measures to reduce the trade misinvoicing phenomenon, which undermines poverty reduction efforts. The study has shown which trade partners are involved and which commodities are mostly affected. Policy efforts could then be focused in that regard. Investigations at the company and transaction levels can be made to identify the mechanisms of trade misinvoicing. Second, more effort is needed in ensuring systematic and transparent reporting of international trade transactions. To fight trade misinvoicing, transparency in international trade is key, through coordinated enforcement of reporting rules.
Originality/value
Previous studies analyzed the problem of trade misinvoicing at an aggregated level. However, this leaves out essential information on trading partners involved in the phenomenon as well as trading commodities affected. This study investigates trade misinvoicing at disaggregated levels, at product level and by trading partner.
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This study aims to undertake an institutional analysis of capital flight and examine the drivers of capital flight from Burundi.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to undertake an institutional analysis of capital flight and examine the drivers of capital flight from Burundi.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the episodes of political instability and poor governance which have characterized Burundi’s landscape in the past decades, coupled with macroeconomic instability which has been prevailing, political, economic and institutional factors are used to explain the trend and magnitude of capital flight which were recorded. An econometric analysis using robust least squares is also used to examine the determinants of capital flight from Burundi.
Findings
The estimation results seem to be sensitive to capital flight measurement used, but in general, they suggest that external debt, political instability and wars, as well as exports, are the main drivers of capital flight from Burundi.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study imply that to discourage capital flight, the government of Burundi should promote peace and political stability. In addition, more responsibility, more transparency and accountability are required from the government of Burundi in managing resources from external debt. Moreover, some actions are needed to fight trade misinvoicing, which was seen to be a major channel of capital flight from Burundi. It is however to be acknowledged that our econometric analysis results might not be robust because of data limitations related to data availability on capital flight for only the period 1985-2013.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing capital flight literature in two ways. First, by undertaking the first ever country-specific study focusing on Burundi, and second, by undertaking an institutional analysis of capital flight to understand the political, economic and institutional issues behind capital flight from Burundi. The focus in this study is on Burundi because of the burden that capital flight imposes on the country already impoverished.
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Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of supporting the attackers. Both countries have troops in the DRC, on opposing sides of the M23 conflict. The attack has…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB284580
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Rwanda's stance on Burundi's crisis.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB206369
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Jonathan Atta-Aidoo, Saidi Bizoza, Ester Cosmas Matthew and Abdulkarim Onah Saleh
Attaining the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of zero hunger continues to be a challenge in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, financial inclusion is seen as a…
Abstract
Purpose
Attaining the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of zero hunger continues to be a challenge in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, financial inclusion is seen as a potential pathway for reducing food insecurity among poor households. Mobile money is a financial inclusion instrument that is easily accessible to poor households and has the potential to increase the level of financial inclusion. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the determinants of mobile money adoption, its effects on household food security and the choice of coping strategies in Burundi, a post-conflict and fragile country.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data that involved 860 households in Burundi, we adopted the Household Hunger Scale (HHS) developed under the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project to measure household food security. We further employ the endogenous switching regression treatment effects model for ordered outcomes and the multivariate probit model to achieve our aims.
Findings
The results of our study reveal that the adoption of mobile money is influenced by factors such as gender, marital status, age, formal education, membership in a social network, area of residence and access to a tarred road network. Additionally, the food security status of a household was determined by marital status, formal education, social network membership, access to tarred roads, off-farm income, access to credit and land tenure security. We confirm that mobile money adoption has a significantly positive effect on the food security status of households with heterogeneity in gender and area of residence. We also find that mobile money adoption reduces the likelihood of households adopting consumption-related coping strategies.
Practical implications
The promotion of mobile money should, therefore, be included in Burundi’s national food security policies.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the effect of mobile money adoption on household food security and the choice of coping strategies in a post-conflict context.
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The chapter seeks to examine how local women’s groups in Burundi and Liberia have responded to the opportunities offered by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and…
Abstract
Purpose
The chapter seeks to examine how local women’s groups in Burundi and Liberia have responded to the opportunities offered by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and how transnational understandings of gender security have affected the way the locals advocate for gender policies at home.
Design/methodology/approach
Through discussion of data collected during extended fieldwork, the chapter illustrates the internal negotiation process between the international and the local elements of the transnational campaign for the implementation of Resolution 1325. The chapter first looks at the processes of identity creation and learning that enable local activists to adapt to transnational understandings of gender security. Second, it looks at the (re)production and adaptation of those understandings in local campaigns for gender security in post-conflict1 Burundi and Liberia.
Findings
The chapter demonstrates how a very particular discourse on ‘gender security’ is used and reproduced through power relations between local and transnational activists, thereby enabling certain practices and policies to become natural and the best possible option.
Social implications
This implies that while transnational advocacy networks help grassroots social movements to be heard at international fora, these networks also impose certain discourses and practices, contributing to a depoliticisation of the grassroots activity.
Originality/value
Understanding how transnational advocacy networks negotiate and transform local women’s rights discourses is all the more important since these transnational networks have been considered as moral authorities in the global political arena.
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The ICC's move came two days before Burundi became the first ever nation to withdraw from the ICC. Burundi’s decision to withdraw is the latest example of its largely successful…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB225907
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
The government denounced the attacks as acts of terrorism and claimed to have killed one assailant and arrested five others. However, no information has been released on the…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB262087
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Rwanda-Burundi tensions.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB242164
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
The purpose of this paper is to examine the early stages of the transition to specialty coffee in Burundi and the role of an agribusiness support program as a catalyst for this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the early stages of the transition to specialty coffee in Burundi and the role of an agribusiness support program as a catalyst for this transition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses two years of panel data (2007 and 2012) to analyze changes in technology adoption among coffee washing stations (CWSs) and how the adoption of improved technologies affects coffee quality.
Findings
Programmatic investment in Burundi’s coffee value chain resulted in a significant shift in adoption of processing technologies by CWSs. Producers who processed at these stations saw a significant increase in the quality of their coffee and forged sustainable trade relationships with international buyers.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should investigate the incentives and barriers of producers to invest in production boosting practices.
Originality/value
This is one of the first empirical papers that analyzes Burundi’s transition from ordinary to specialty coffee and how programmatic investments in improved technologies has helped to make the change possible.
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