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Social cohesion in African countries. The role of remittances and the size of the welfare state
 
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Department of Economic Journalism and Public Relations Poznan University of Economics and Business
 
 
Publication date: 2020-05-22
 
 
Corresponding author
Katarzyna Andrzejczak   

Department of Economic Journalism and Public Relations, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10/121B, 61-875 Poznań; author’s email address: kk.andrzejczak@ gmail.com
 
 
Problemy Polityki Społecznej 2017;38:13-34
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Social cohesion may be considered as a factor of economic development and therefore of paramount importance to African countries. Yet, there is limited number of studies that would aim to measure social cohesion in the African continent. This paper offers a social cohesion indicator grounded in an axiological model of social cohesion; it is based on the assumption that a society needs to share certain values in order to be cohered. This study provides a social cohesion rank for 13 African states and reveals that countries from North Africa are on average more cohered than the ones south of the equator. Also, Muslim countries prevail among the leaders of social cohesion. Furthermore, based on the OLS regression model results, the relevance of private remittances and the size of the welfare state as determinants of increased social cohesion in Africa is suggested.
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