A thesis analyzes the productivity of the U.S. and Sub-Saharan African manufacturing sector.
Kenyan Godfrey Madigu, who did his doctorate at the Navarra Center for International Development, says that the barriers of entrance or the increase of marginal costs affect productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
PHOTO: Manuel Castells
Godfrey Madigu, PhD student of the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID) of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, presented his thesis 'Productivity and Welfare: Barriers to Productivity, Informality and Industrial Productivity'. The research has been directed by Pedro Mendi, professor of the School of Economics and partner of the NCID.
The new Ph.D. has analyzed productivity and efficiency in manufacturing firms in six chapters. "The starting assumption is that higher productivity will ultimately written request translate into higher welfare," Madigu explained.
To develop his thesis , he has conducted two empirical investigations - one of manufacturing companies and the other at the industry level - and one theoretical investigation. In each, he has used different techniques, methodologies and specifications to "avoid pre-established conceptions".
Three programs of study to demystify the industryIn the study, Madigu deals with aspects of companies in 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa or the productivity of the manufacturing industry in the USA over the last fifty years. On the other hand, he has developed the theoretical research of productivity at a global level, although "the model is best applied in economies that have many informal businesses such as in Africa, Asia or Latin America", he explained.
He has drawn a conclusion from each of these cases. First, on Sub-Saharan Africa he has determined that the barriers of entrance or the increase in marginal costs affect productivity.
As for the global Economics , he refuted the idea that informal businesses - entities in which part of their activity is carried out outside the law - worsen productivity, but that it depends on the time and place. The new doctor illustrated this case with street vending, which, he said, does not always harm local commerce.
Finally, Madigu analyzed the nearly 500 U.S. industries to develop a categorization according to their properties. In this way, he was able to determine which sectors have an easier time coping with a temporary disruption, which have a harder time recovering and which "take a permanent hit," he added.
Godfrey Madigu received a scholarship grant from the Fabre Foundation for the development of his doctoral thesis thesis .