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The Enterprise Africa! team conducts on-the-ground field research on enterprise-based solutions to poverty in Africa. The information they collect is analysed, sorted, and published in a wide range of formats for policymakers, the media, and others with an interest in Africa or poverty reduction. Check below to see some of our most recent publications.
Mercatus Policy Series
State Power, Entrepreneurship, and Coffee: The Rwandan Experience
Perhaps the greatest success story of Rwanda’s post-genocide economic restructuring is the revitalization of the country’s coffee sector, particularly the development of specialty coffee. A staple of the Rwandan economy since the 1930s, coffee remains a key export crop for Rwandans, generating millions of dollars of export revenue. This study highlights the positive results flowing from Rwandan coffee production: Liberalization strategies alleviate poverty and develop human capital and liberalization has had the unanticipated benefit of promoting post-conflict social reconciliation.
Community-Based Natural Resource Management and Poverty Alleviation in Namibia: A Case Study
Through community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), Namibians who form conservancies now have legal rights to manage wildlife and benefit from tourism. With these secure rights, and with help from NGOs and the government, something extraordinary is happening: wildlife numbers, which were decimated by war and poaching, are rising, and ecosystems are rebounding. Namibians also now have the chance to build businesses based on eco-tourism and related activities, and these businesses are helping to improve the lives of conservancy members.
Seeds of Hope: Agricultural Technologies and Poverty Alleviation in Rural South Africa
This study examines how the Combi-Pack, an innovative product of the Monsanto Company, is helping to combat hunger and poverty in rural South Africa. The the Combi-Pack is a box containing enough maize seed, herbicide, and fertilizer to plant ¼ hectare of maize, and are part of the phenomenon known as marketing to the “bottom of the pyramid.” Although Combi-Packs will not solve all the problems of rural poverty, they are helping to drive away hunger and better the lives of the rural poor.
The Effects of Property Titling in Langa Township, South Africa
Can property reforms create a path to prosperity? In Langa Township, South Africa efforts have been underway for well over a decade to provide secure, legal titles to previously disenfranchised citizens. Today, most homes—though not shacks—have titles. Can this policy serve as an example for others to follow? Has this government policy led to economic growth and poverty alleviation for Langa’s residents?
Taxing Alternatives: Poverty Alleviation and the South African Taxi/Minibus Industry
To better understand the challenges facing the industry, commuters, and policymakers, Enterprise Africa! researchers interviewed taxi operators, drivers, and association representatives as well as commuters and government officials to learn first hand the inner workings of the taxi industry, its contributions to poverty alleviation in South Africa, its complex development, and responses of taxi owners and associations to increasing competition.
Enterprise Africa! in the Media
CLICK HERE to read stories on Enterprise Africa! research in the US, UK, and African media by our scholars and others.
Recent Publications
Mercatus On Policy - Conserving CommunitiesKarol Boudreaux, Daniel Sacks While many countries in Africa, such as Kenya, struggle with declining wildlife populations, Namibia’s wildlife numbers are on the rise thanks to an innovative program called Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). |
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The Micromagic of MicrocreditKarol Boudreaux, Tyler Cowen Can microcredit achieve the massive changes its proponents claim? Is it the solution to poverty in the developing world, or something more modest—a way to empower the poor, particularly poor women, with some control over their lives and their assets? |
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Paths to PropertyKarol Boudreaux, Paul Dragos Aligica This book explores some of the problems and challenges associated with the strategies and policy processes that may lead to the creation of property rights. There is a danger that the cumulated disappointments resulting from defective implementation of formalized property rights will lead, sooner or later, to an overall dismissal of the very idea that secure property are essential for growth and human flourishing. This book argues that there is only one way to stop this disturbing possibility: more sensible, more realistic, and better informed implementation strategies. |
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Property Rights and Incentives in AfricaKarol Boudreaux Karol Boudreaux speaks with Dr. Russell Roberts, host of the EconTalk Podcast, on Enterprise Africa! findings in Rwanda and Langa Township in South Africa. |
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Economics in many lessons: A better brew for RwandaDonald J. Boudreaux, Karol Boudreaux |
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Mercatus On Policy - The Business of ReconciliationKarol Boudreaux, Daniel Sacks In the years since the Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s, Rwandans and the rest of the world have wondered how the nation would recover—both socially and economically—from the devastation and what lessons, if any, can be learned from reconciliation. |
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Mercatus On Policy - Perking up the EconomyKarol Boudreaux, Daniel Sacks Since the post-genocide deregulation of the coffee industry, entrepreneurship is now flourishing, international trade volume is increasing, human capital is developing, income and employment are increasing, and most surprisingly, grass-roots reconciliation is taking place. |
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State Power, Entrepreneurship, and Coffee: The Rwandan ExperienceKarol Boudreaux In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the new government lifted tight controls on the coffee market. As a result of increasing income and new opportunities for entrepreneurship, Rwandans are better able to care for themselves and their families. |
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Free Trade Is FairPhilip Booth Enterprise Africa! partner, Phillip Booth of London's Institute of Economic Affairs, argues for free trade in the London Times. |
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Economic AffairsPeter Boettke, Karol Boudreaux, Jasson Urbach, Mwangi S. Kimenyi, James Tooley, Philip Booth, Linda Whetstone This special issue of Economic Affairs, the scholarly journal of London’s Institute of Economic Affairs, focuses on progress in the vital areas of entrepreneurial business development, post-conflict resolution, international trade, communications technology, and education. While conditions are not perfect, these case studies clearly show how local entrepreneurs are making a positive difference to the lives of their fellow citizens. |
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