Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/273906 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2022/115
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
This paper applies an environmentally extended input-output analysis, leveraging the Eora database, to estimate the global raw material footprints of 51 African nations from 1995 to 2015. It employs least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and panel regression models to quantify the effects of diverse variables on Africa's raw material footprints. The findings show that the raw material footprints of Africa's production and consumption soared by 41 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, from 1995 to 2015, mainly driven by biomass and construction materials. They show that Africa outsources 25 per cent of its raw material footprints from consumption, while over 60 per cent of its footprints from production arise from its exports. Our findings beckon African governments to reduce the excessive focus on exploitation and concentrate on combatting corruption and extreme rent-seeking while decoupling Africa's raw material footprints from rising public debt, carbon emissions, income levels, and population.
Subjects: 
Eora database
material footprints
input-output analysis
least absolute shrinkage and selection operator model
Africa
JEL: 
C33
C67
F18
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9267-249-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.