Skip to main content

34 Per cent Of African Economies Still Informal

International Monetary Fund

 

About 34 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in Sub-Saharan African economies are made up of informal activities. 

This is according to figures cited from the International Monetary Fund in a report by Proshare on Wednesday.

The report notes that informality in economic activities globally are dropping but more work is still needed. 

The major challenge for policy makers however, is the difficulty of capturing these transactions. 

This, the report notes, makes it hard to estimate what percentage of value is added to the entire economy by these shadow trades.

“People and companies engaged in the informal economy usually operate on a small scale. 

"This means there are no official statistics on the informal or shadow economy as it's sometimes called, so economists need to estimate its size,” the report notes. 

It is not just African policy makers that have it all to do to capture more of the economic activities in their domain the publication notes. 

This is also a problem in the Caribbean as well as the region that spans South and Central America.

“The regions with the highest share of informality during 2010-17 are sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean both at 34 per cent of GDP. 

"This compares with 9 per cent of GDP for North America. 

"In the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the informal sector is equivalent to nearly 15 per cent of GDP.” 

In what is a generally held view, economies where most of its activities are uncaptured, are seen as those with poverty, low productivity, slow growth and high unemployment.

Analysts at Proshare do not call for that aspect of living to be eradicated completely though. 

It instead suggests further ease in carrying out business activities and better access to financial services.

These are steps the Central Bank of Nigeria say they have been executing. 

In its 2018 financial Stability Report, the bank said it had reduced financial exclusion in the Nigerian economy from 41 per cent in 2016 to 36.80 per cent. 

The World Bank recognised Nigeria’s efforts in making credit more available to citizens, by scoring it 15th globally, above Germany and Ireland – a rating some experts are skeptical about.

Proshare also disclosed in its report that the International Monetary Fund will in its seventh statistical forum, focus on measuring the informal economy. 

It also added that the summit will x-ray the use of technologies such as night lights from satellites to measure the size of informal activities across the globe.

Economy News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 

from All Content
via

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The beautiful model Christina Evangeline: age, ethnicity, net worth, husband, baby

The art of modelling is more than merely putting on designer clothes and hitting the runway. It requires a lot of effort, self-care, determination, and an energetic spirit. Christina Evangeline, who is very attractive and beautiful, is a model who dedicated all her energy into this esteemed career. Fame and plenty of public attention came with her job, and she continues to show young women that success does not come overnight. It requires hard work and passion! Image: instagram.com, @yoevangeline Source: Instagram Who is Christina Evangeline ? According to the Christina Evangeline biography, she is a model who is best known for being Kenan Thompson’s wife. Christina was born on the 24th of March 1989 in the United States of America. Currently, Christina Evangeline age is 30 years. Her nationality is American, and she identifies herself as a Christian. Christina Evangeline ethnicity is White, and her Zodiac sign is Aries. Christina Evangeline race is Caucasian. Details of her paren...

Learn how to clean washing machine in a surprisingly easy way

All machines can break down one day, and your washing machine is no exception. Knowing how to clean washing machine timely and effectively will help you reduce or even avoid additional expenses on servicing. Right now, you will be surprised to discover how easy it is! You do not even need any additional devices to do this except the ones that you already have in your house! Image: pexels.com Source: UGC A washing machine is an essential device in a modern home, but it has its own temper and demands! It reacts to the softness of water and quality of detergents that you use. In separate cases, the frequency and intensiveness of washing cycles can play their part. Now, it is time to discover several simple and cheap methods of cleaning of the essential parts of your little helper, to remove unpleasant odours, mould, and scale. The most important tips: how to clean washing machine How often is it necessary to do this cleaning? What do you think? Specialists insist on once in ...