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This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of tax incentives provided by the Ethiopian government in spurring private investment and job creation, using unique administrative and survey data.

The study employs a dataset covering large- and medium-scale manufacturing in Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018, combined with administrative data on actual tax payments and statutory obligations to gauge the impact of tax incentives. Regression analysis using the generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to examine the relationship between tax incentives and employment, taking into account variations in production, distribution and financial costs.

The study finds that tax incentives do not significantly affect employment at conventional significance levels. The incentive elasticity of employment appears to diminish as production, distribution and financial costs increase. Consequently, the incentives provided by the government have not had a substantial impact on employment generation within the manufacturing sector.

This study is unique for its comprehensive analysis of tax incentives in the Ethiopian manufacturing sector using both administrative and survey data. It highlights that increasing production and financial costs can offset the employment benefits of these incentives, emphasizing the need for a more favorable business environment for private investors.

This study aims to examine the long-run relationship between macroeconomic and financial conditions and the aggregate number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the USA, drawing on data spanning from 1928 to 2019.

The study estimated a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) encompassing four variables: the aggregate number of M&As, industrial production, the rates on three-month U.S. treasury bills and the closing price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

There exists a long-run relationship among the four variables. An increase in industrial production is associated with a fall in M&A transactions, reflecting a tendency for M&A waves to start during economic downturns. Similarly, contractionary monetary policy, which often happens during good economic and financial times, leads to a decline in M&A activity. When the equilibrium among the four variables is disrupted, the aggregate number of M&As, along with financial conditions, works to restore the equilibrium.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the long-run relationship between macroeconomic and financial conditions using data spanning nearly a century.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between digitalization and economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study also aims to discuss the effects of digitalization on human capital, financial development, institutional quality and firm-level productivity and how these channels matter for the relationship between digitalization and economic activity.

The study employs two-stage least squares (2SLS) on an unbalanced panel data set comprising 33 SSA countries over the period from 1996 to 2019. This methodology addresses the potential endogeneity between digitalization and economic activity.

The results indicate that digitalization has a statistically significant positive effect on the level of per capita GDP in SSA countries. Specifically, a one percentage point increase in the digitalization index is associated with a 2.13% increase in gross domestic product per capita. The study discusses some of the channels through which this effect manifests.

The study comprehensively examines the impact of digitalization on economic activity in SSA. The study also attempts to address the potential endogeneity issues in the relationship and discusses the mechanisms at work.

This paper aims at providing the evidence about how carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems could contribute to the decrease of atmospheric CO₂ rates through the adoption of appropriate cropping systems such as agroforestry.

Stratified randomly selected plots were used to collect data on tree diameter at breast height (DBH). Composite soil samples were collected from three soil depths for soil carbon analysis. Above ground biomass estimation was made using an allometric equation. The spectral signature of each plot was extracted to study the statistical relationship between carbon stock and selected vegetation indices.

There was a significant difference in vegetation and soil carbon stocks among the different land use/land cover types (P < 0.05). The potential carbon stock was highest in the vegetation found in sparsely cultivated land (13.13 ± 1.84 tons ha⁻¹) and in soil in bushland (19.21 ± 3.79 tons ha⁻¹). Carbon sequestration potential of the study area significantly increased (+127174.5 tons CO₂e) as a result of conversion of intensively cultivated agricultural lands to agroforestry systems. The amount of sequestered carbon was found to be dependent on species diversity, tree density and tree size. The vegetation indices had a better correlation with soil and total carbon.

The paper has addressed an important aspect in curbing greenhouse gases in integrated land systems. The paper brings a new empirical insight of carbon sequestration potentials of agroforestry systems with a focus on drylands.