info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
In February 2014, the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA) released the results of an opinion survey on Chinese business in Africa. "Africans are generally negative about the impact of Chinese business on the continent," EthicsSA announced. "This is the key finding."
Even though the findings surprisingly contradict other public opinion surveys, which are generally positive about China's impact in Africa, they have been cited multiple times by reporters and researchers. Yet I have never seen any critique of the selection and confirmation biases in their (pretty flawed) methodology.
In the past week I have seen this study cited yet again by two papers, including a draft working paper by one of our SAIS-CARI research teams -- which reminded me that this blog post -- which I see I've started and abandoned four times (!) is way overdue.
The EthicsSA team are no doubt good folks, but their report has severe methodological weaknesses that should lead any researcher to treat it not as a proper public opinion survey, but as an excellent example of selection and confirmation bias.
Of course, as a researcher, when I got my first alert about this survey, I went to the full report. It is immediately obvious that it is a bit hard to say something like "Africans are generally negative" on the basis of data primarily from three countries (the online survey had 1056 respondents, mainly from South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya). But this may be the least of the significant flaws of the study.
In fact, In the eyes of Africans, China rivals the United States in influence and popularity as a development model, according to a new Afrobarometer report released on World Development Information Day.
Despite criticism in the media of China's interests and operations in Africa, most everyday Africans view China's economic and political activities on the continent as a welcome contribution to their national development. China's investments in infrastructure and business development, along with its low-cost products, contribute to positive public perceptions of China. Are Africans Negative About Chinese Business Impact? You may get the answer.
