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PurposeThe study's objective is to examine the relevance of globalization in affecting the size of the shadow economy in selected African nations.Design/methodology/approachTo do this, the authors employ the KOF globalization index and implement both static and dynamic common correlated mean group estimators on a panel of 24 African nations from 1995–2017. This technique accommodates the issue of cross-sectional dependence, sample bias and endogenous regressors. Panel threshold analysis is also conducted to establish the nonlinearity between globalization and the shadow economy. To examine the causality between the variables, the study employs Dumitrescu and Hurlin's panel causality test.FindingsThe results show that globalization reduces the size of the shadow economy. The results of the nonlinear analysis suggest a U-shaped relationship. Overall globalization has a threshold impact of 48.837%, economic globalization has 45.615% and political globalization has 66.661% while social globalization has a threshold value of 35.744%. The results of the panel causality show that there is a bidirectional causality between the two variables.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the government and other relevant authorities need to introduce capital controls and other policy measures to moderate the degree of social, political and cultural diffusion. Appropriate policies should be formulated to monitor the extent of African economic openness to other continents to maximize the gains from globalization.Originality/valueApart from being the first study in the African region that evaluates the relevance of globalization in controlling the shadow economy, it also analyzes the dynamics and threshold analysis between the two variables using advanced panel econometrics which makes the study unique. The study suggests that globalization tools are useful for affecting the size of the shadow economy in Africa. This study provides fresh empirical evidence on the impact of globalization on the shadow economy in the case of Africa.

AbstractLiterature abounds on the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth, but with little attention to the role of entrepreneurship in poverty reduction. Furthermore, little attention has been paid to the triangular relationship among poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, and growth in Africa. In this study, we examine the dynamic relationship among these three variables using data collected from 18 African countries. Data are sourced from World Bank development indicators and the World Bank's entrepreneurship database. The study uses batteries of panel data estimation techniques to analyze the data. The following findings emerged: (1) there is bidirectional causality between poverty reduction and growth. (2) There is bidirectional causality between growth and entrepreneurship in Africa. (3) There is unidirectional causality moving from entrepreneurship to poverty reduction. (4) Entrepreneurship significantly reduces poverty in Africa. (5) Impulse response shows that all the variables positively respond to shocks in each other. The study concludes that entrepreneurship enhances poverty reduction in Africa and has a significant impact on economic growth.