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The reduction in rural marginalization of infrastructure in Africa has been achieved through the wide diffusion of the so-called fiscal deviation. According to New Institutional Economics, the provision of public resourcing at the local level is more economic since it meets the geographic specificity of infrastructure provisions. However, when intergovernmental fiscal transfers are towards rural road provision, it is majorly because of several structural impediments, that the corrected road will not be realized. This systematic review of literature with regards to devolution and infra-structure provision has laid emphasis on going beyond overly simplistic input-output models to explore the multiple filters regulating decentralized public works. The focus here is on institutional capacity as a crucial explanatory factor and the way deficits in technical engineering, equipment maintenance, and procurement governance conspire to undermine the potency of devolved funding. Moreover, the study discusses the moderating effects in the face of instability in the broader economy, illustrating how hyper-inflation and currency depreciation can deplete real infrastructure funds purchasing power and result in the erosion of the contractor attrition as observed. Finally, the review has identified systemic barriers, such as climate vulnerability and ministerial red-tape friction. The synthesis of empirical literature from 2010 to 2024 suggests that fiscal decentralisation without a built institutional capacity and insulated mechanisms against macroeconomic turbulence cannot deliver in the long run.

The quality of institutions continues to be a pertinent issue due to its potential direct and indirect effects on economic growth. The research examined the correlation between institutional quality and economic growth in Botswana from 1990 to 2022. The research utilised the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds model to assess cointegration and the Toda and Yamamoto and Dolado and Lütkepohl (TYDL) model to investigate the direction of causality. The ARDL methodology is favoured for this research because to its applicability to small sample sizes. This method is not constrained by the sequence of integration among the variables. The results demonstrate that corruption adversely impacts economic growth in both the short term and the long term. Regulatory frameworks and governmental stability exert a substantial favourable influence on economic growth in both the short and long term. The analysis identified a bidirectional causative relationship between government stability and economic growth, as well as a unidirectional causal relationship from regulatory rules to economic growth. This study revealed a negative impact of labour on economic vitality. The cointegrating link indicates that the Botswana government ought to prioritise investments in institutional quality, targeted procedures, and policies due to their direct influence on economic growth. The report advocates for the Botswana government to formulate and implement legislation that fosters and advances the development of the citizen sector. The Botswana government should improve and sustain the factors that contribute to institutional quality, as they facilitate development.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are crucial to Zambia’s economic growth but continue to face challenges in sustaining profitability. This study examined the effect of firm characteristics on SME profitability, aiming to (i) identify the most influential characteristic and (ii) analyse their relationships with profitability. The characteristics assessed included firm size, firm age, debt finance, liquidity, and sales growth. Data were collected from 270 SMEs registered with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) across seven urban centres: Livingstone, Lusaka, Kabwe, Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, and Chililabombwe, using structured, face-to-face questionnaires. Systematic random sampling was employed, and data were analysed using factor analysis, Pearson correlation, regression, and Chi-square tests. Results showed that firm characteristics collectively have a significant effect on SME profitability, though individual relationships were weak and statistically insignificant. Among the characteristics, sales growth had the strongest influence. However, regression results (R² = 0.002, F = 0.237, p = 0.790) indicated very weak predictive power, suggesting that firm characteristics explain only 0.2% of profitability variance. This implies that SME profitability in Zambia is influenced by the combined interaction of factors rather than individual characteristics. The study contributes new insights by identifying sales growth as the most influential factor, highlighting that sales growth drives SME profitability even in resource-constrained contexts like Zambia. Policymakers should prioritise integrated strategies that foster sales growth through innovation, market diversification, and digital marketing, while enhancing liquidity through accessible, low-interest financing. Financial policy reforms should prioritize accessible, low-interest financing mechanisms that enhance liquidity and sustainable debt utilisation.