|
on Africa |
| By: | Delpeuch, Claire; Vandeplas, Anneleen |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114446&r=afr |
| By: | David Kucera (International Labour Office, Policy Integration Department); Leanne Roncolato (American University); Erik von Uexkull (International Labour Office, Employment Sector) |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates the effects of the 2008-09 trade contraction on employment and incomes in India and South Africa, using social accounting matrices (SAMs) in a Leontief multiplier model. Employment results are presented at aggregate and industry levels and examine gender and skills biases. Income results examine inequality at the level of rural and urban household income quintiles. The most notable finding is that India and South Africa experienced substantial employment and income declines as a result of trade contraction with the EU and the US. A large share of these declines occurred in the non-tradeable sector and resulted from income-induced effects, illustrating how a shock originated in the tradeable goods sector had strong ripple effects throughout India and South Africa. |
| Keywords: | trade / employment / household income / income distribution / economic recession / India / South Africa |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:emwpap:2010-54&r=afr |
| By: | Simplice A., Asongu |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how regionalization in the face of globalization has affected financial development in the context of banking system efficiency in Africa. Results which are robust to financial system efficiency and growth-led-finance nexus reveal that in the post-regionalization era: (1) UEMOA and CEMAC regional banks’ ability to finance credit by deposits has reduced; (2) financial institutions of COMESA have improved their capacity to fund openness related activities/projects with deposits; (3) increase in welfare has positively affected the intermediary role of banks; (4) globalization tends to be more detrimental to financial systems of ‘economic and monetary’ regions than to those of purely economic regions. As a policy implication, national and regional authorities should gain knowledge of the fact that with openness, the role of domestic and regional banks seems to lessen in the funding of openness related activities and projects. Much needs to be done on the improvement of infrastructure that curtails information asymmetry in the banking industry. |
| Keywords: | Globalization; Financial Development; Regional Integration; Panel; Africa |
| JEL: | O10 D60 A10 E40 P50 |
| Date: | 2011–09–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33901&r=afr |
| By: | Shifa, Abdulaziz B. |
| Abstract: | Though poor agricultural land property rights are typical constraints that many peasants in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have faced since independence, little has been done to explain their persistence. I will rst discuss the so called evolutionary theory of property right (ETPR), which stipulates that land property rights evolve as an ecient response to the economic environ- ment. The empirical evidence suggests that the policies adopted by African regimes are actually in sharp contrast to what the ETPR predicts. I will then present a simple political economy model with three major assumptions that are commonly observed in SSA countries: (1) de jure political power belongs to the urban elite, (2) urban unrest is a source of threat to the elite and (3) a dual economy with urban and rural sector side by side. Major prediction of the model is that, in such political and economic environment, we observe poor land property rights if there is low level of urbanization and/or large gap between rural and urban wages, which actually are features of many SSA countries. |
| Keywords: | Land property rights, Urban bias, Population pressure, Rural-urban migration, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:116002&r=afr |
| By: | Nkegbe, Paul K.; Shankar, Bhavani; Ceddia, M. Graziano |
| Abstract: | Both governmental and non-governmental organizations are engaged in the promotion of soil and water conservation practices in northern Ghana, but adoption is believed to be low. This study thus examines the determinants of conservation practices by farming households in the area. Data for the study was collected from 445 households located in 15 communities in northern Ghana. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate probit models were used to analyse the decision to adopt six conservation practices in the area. Results show the major determinants of adoption are plot and cropping characteristics such as location; and socio-economic and institutional variables such as number of contacts with extension officers, membership in farmer association and distance to major market. A major policy implication of the study is the strengthening of extension service in the area to significantly boost conservation adoption. |
| Keywords: | Conservation practice, multivariate, selectivity bias, Ghana, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114608&r=afr |
| By: | Channing Arndt; M. Azhar Hussain; E. Samuel Jones; Virgulino Nhate; Finn Tarp; James Thurlow |
| Abstract: | Measuring poverty remains a complex and contentious issue. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa where poverty rates are higher, information bases typically weaker, and the underlying determinants of welfare relatively volatile. This paper employs recently collected data on household consumption in Mozambique to examine the evolution of consumption poverty with focus on the period 2002/03 to 2008/09. The paper contributes in four areas. First, the period in question was characterized by major movements in international commodity prices. Mozambique provides an illuminating case study of the implications of these world commodity price changes for living standards of poor people. Second, a novel ‘backcasting’ approach using a computable general equilibrium model of Mozambique, linked to a poverty module is introduced. Third, the backcasting approach is also employed to rigorously examine the poverty-growth-inequality triangle. Finally, various simple but useful and rarely applied approaches to considering regional changes in poverty rates are presented. We find that the national poverty rate in Mozambique stagnated between 2002/03 and 2008/09. |
| Keywords: | measurement, poverty, growth, inequality, economy-wide modelling |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2011-17&r=afr |
| By: | Strobbe, Francesco; Miller, Candace |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the short-run consumption expenditure dynamics and the interaction of public and private arrangements of ultra-poor and labor-constrained households in Malawi using an original dataset from the Mchinjii social cash transfer pilot project (one of the first experiments of social protection policies based on unconditional cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa). The authors exploit the unique source of exogenous variation provided by the randomized component of the program in order to isolate the effect of cash transfers on consumption expenditures as well as the net crowding out effect of cash transfers on private arrangements. They find a statistically significant reduction effect on the level of consumption expenditures for those households receiving cash transfers, thus leading to the rejection of the perfect risk sharing hypothesis. Moreover, by looking at the effects of cash transfers on private arrangements in a context characterized by imperfect enforceability of contracts and by a social fabric heavily compromised by high HIV/AIDS rates, the analysis confirms the presence of crowding out effects on private arrangements when looking at gifts and (to a lesser extent) remittances, while informal loans seem to be completely independent from the cash transfer's reception. From a policy perspective, the paper offers a contribution to the evaluation of the very recent wave of social protection policies based on (unconditional) cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that there might be an important role for public interventions aimed at helping households to pool risk more effectively. |
| Keywords: | Safety Nets and Transfers,Rural Poverty Reduction,Labor Policies,Services&Transfers to Poor,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5824&r=afr |
| By: | Araujo, Claudio; Araujo-Bonjean, Catherine; Brunelin, Stephanie |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to exploit grain price data to detect the warning signs of looming food crises in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Firstly we identify which markets play a leading role at the national and regional level. The second step consists of identifying crisis periods and characterizing price movements during the period proceeding a crisis. This analysis leads to the identification of early warning indicators whose relevance is tested using panel data qualitative choice models. The results show that monitoring price movements on "leading markets" during crucial periods of the year can help in forecasting future crises. |
| Keywords: | Food security, Africa, Niger, early warning systems, discrete choice panel model, Food Security and Poverty, Q18, C25, D40, O18, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114226&r=afr |
| By: | Tonini, Axel; Matus, Silvia Saravia; Gomez y Paloma, Sergio |
| Abstract: | This paper computes and analyses total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates for tropical agricultural systems in Central-Western Africa and South-East Asia. Two regions that despite sharing common agro-ecological conditions, have pursued different adoption rates of green revolution technology and have reported dissimilar yields per hectare. A panel data set is constructed for the period 1987-2007 from the FAOSTAT database. A Bayesian stochastic frontier model with country specific temporal variation in technical efficiency is estimated. Technical efficiency estimates reveal that there is substantial room for improvement in both continental sub-sets and that TFP estimates show on average larger rates of growth for South-East Asian countries as compared to Central-Western African countries. Results indicate that TFP is mostly driven by technical change and countries such as Benin, and Gambia display catch-up. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian Inference, Stochastic Production Frontier, Time Varying Technical Inefficiency, Total Factor Productivity Growth, Tropical Agricultural Systems, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis, C15, D24, O47, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:116088&r=afr |
| By: | Mujawamariya, Gaudiose; D'Haese, Marijke F.C. |
| Abstract: | Interlocked relationships are characterised by tradersâ supply of inputs and cash to producers on credit, to be reimbursed at sale time based on pre-defined prices which are often lower than the prevailing market price. The study analyses determinants of choice for interlocking in the gum arabic sector in Senegal and the effect of interlocking on gum production and market participation; gum arabic is a natural exudates of Acacia Senegal trees that grow in the semi-arid lands of Africa. Data from 422 gum producers in Northern and Eastern regions of Senegal are used. About 45percent of respondents are involved into interlocking with village shop-owners or mobile traders. Interlocking has a negative effect on prices received by gum collectors. However, in the absence of effective credit markets, interlocking positively influences market participation and production as found through a two-step Heckman selection model by the provision of market assurance and safety for emergencies. |
| Keywords: | interlocking, contracts, semi-arid lands, market participation, gum arabic, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114634&r=afr |
| By: | Kâ Diongue, Abdou (Saint Louis University, Senegal); Giraud, Gael (CNRS, Paris School of Economics, ESCP-Europe); Renouard, Cécile (ESSEC Business School) |
| Abstract: | Extractive industries face two main challenges in terms of CSR and poverty reduction: 1) recognize that societal activity is part of their core business; 2) take part in socio-economic projects that contribute to their stakeholders' empowerment and not only to their living conditions. Based on surveys achieved in Nigeria in 2008, the paper presents two societal performance indices meant to be complementary: the Poverty Exit Index (PEI) and the Relational Capability Index (RCI). We show that, while they have fostered the PEI of the local communities, the development projects of the oil companies had a rather negative impact on their RCI. We then identify key variables that can influence positively the RCI and on which a sensible development policy should focus. |
| Keywords: | development indices; capability approach; relational capability; development; poverty; impact assessment |
| JEL: | C43 D21 F21 L71 O12 O55 |
| Date: | 2011–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:essewp:dr-11009&r=afr |
| By: | Lawal, Justina Oluwayemisi; Omonona, Bolarin T.; Oyinleye, O.D. |
| Abstract: | Poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon is determined by a wide range of factors one of which is the non-equity in distribution and scarcity of assets in development opportunities. The eradication of poverty in rural Nigeria remains a hard challenge for the country to overcome despite the various poverty eradication programmes implementation at different levels of government. This study examined the effects of farmersâ household livelihood assets on poverty. Primary data were collected using well structured questionnaire from 135 farming households in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster Greer Theobecke (FGT) weighted poverty index and Logit regression model. The result shows that poverty line (PL) which is the two-third of the respondentsâ mean per capita expenditure (PCE) is N1770.40 ($11) with 31.9 percent of the respondents falling below the PL while average PCE equals N2636.12 (about $18). The poverty incidence index was 0.296, poverty depth index is 0.054 and the poverty severity index is 0.015. Socio-economic characteristic like Gender (p<0.1), Human assets such as education (p<0.01), farming experience and health status (p<0.1); Physical assets like land and agricultural machinery ownership (p<0.05); Financial asset like cooperative funding (p<0.05) and Aggregate Social capital (p<0.1) will reduce the poverty status of farming households in Southwestern, Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study, the study recommends that access and use of human capital, financial, physical and social capital assets are important to reduce the poverty status of farming households in Southwestern, Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | poverty, farming household, livelihood assets, Logit, Nigeria, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114392&r=afr |
| By: | Philip Verwimp; Jan Van Bavel |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from non-poor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Keywords: | schooling; violent conflict; gender; Africa |
| JEL: | O12 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/98414&r=afr |
| By: | Philip Verwimp; Jan Van Bavel |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from non-poor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Keywords: | schooling; violent conflict; gender; Africa |
| JEL: | O12 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/98377&r=afr |
| By: | Pushak, Nataliya; Briceno-Garmendia, Cecilia M. |
| Abstract: | Infrastructure contributed half a percentage point to the Republic of Congo's annual per capita GDP growth from 2001 to 2006. If the country's infrastructure were improved to the level seen in Mauritius, the regional leader, it could contribute more than 3 percentage points to annual per capita growth. The Republic of Congo's existing infrastructure is concentrated in the developed south, reflecting the country's urbanization patterns. Links spread from there to the less-developed north, where there are vast areas of underexploited dense forest. The Republic of Congo's power sector offers the greatest potential for infrastructure-based economic growth, but major inefficiencies need to be addressed. Transit improvements would also make significant contributions to growth by improving connections to the north and to neighboring countries. Additional opportunities include rehabilitating the fixed-line telephone operator to spread Internet access. The country's water and sanitation infrastructure is in relatively good shape. Spending on infrastructure was $460 million per year in the Republic of Congo during the mid-2000s. Based on these spending levels, if all inefficiencies were eliminated, the country would face an infrastructure funding gap of $270 million a year and would not meet infrastructure targets for 31 years. Spending rose to $550 million per year in 2008-09. If the Republic of Congo could maintain these higher spending levels, the funding gap would essentially disappear. The nation could further reduce the funding gap by adopting lower-cost technologies to meet infrastructure targets. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Public Sector Economics,Banks&Banking Reform,Energy Production and Transportation |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5838&r=afr |
| By: | Demont, Matty; Zossou, Esperance; Rutsaert, Pieter; Ndour, Maimouna; Mele, Paul Van; Verbeke, Wim |
| Abstract: | In Benin, traditional parboiling is still widely practiced among rice processors, resulting in inferior grain quality. A new parboiler was introduced to improve the milling yield and quality of local rice. We conducted Vickrey second price auctions followed by a consensus session to elicit rural Beninese consumersâ willingness to pay for rice obtained through the new parboiler and two locally innovated parboilers. Relative to traditionally parboiled rice, consumers were willing to pay price premiums of 9â13% for rice obtained through a local parboiler using a container of which the bottom is a perforated metal, 27% for rice obtained through a local parboiler using wooden sticks at the bottom of the pot, and 25â34% for rice parboiled through the improved parboiler. Bids were influenced by the presentation order of the products according to perceived quality. Bids were also higher when participants had been informed on the benefits of improved parboiling techniques, a crucial insight for developing marketing and communication strategies for this improved quality product. |
| Keywords: | sub-Saharan Africa, food processing, experimental auction, food quality, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114443&r=afr |
| By: | Kati Schindler (DIW Berlin, Mohrenstr. 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany); Tilman Brück (DIW Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to study the short and long-term fertility effects of mass violent conflict on different population sub-groups. The authors pool three nationally representative demographic and health surveys from before and after the genocide in Rwanda, identifying conflict exposure of the survivors in multiple ways. The analysis finds a robust effect of genocide on fertility, with a strong replacement effect for lost children. Having lost siblings reduces fertility only in the short term. Most interesting is the continued importance of the institution of marriage in determining fertility and in reducing fertility for the large group of widows in Rwanda. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:102&r=afr |
| By: | Alemu, Abebe Ejigu; Mathijis, Erik; Maertens, Miet; Deckers, Joseph; G/egziabher, Kidane; Baur, Hans; G/hiwot, Kideya |
| Abstract: | There exists a huge agrifood potential in Ethiopia. However, the country's agrifood supply chains are underdeveloped to deliver quality supply to traders and supplement household livelihoods from the sector. The key factors that determine the proper functioning of supplier-trader chains were not rigorously investigated, at least in the case study area. This paper aims at examining the key determinants in choosing vertical coordination for agrifood products in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Structured questionnaires were administered to 247 traders in 10 towns in Tigray. Probit model was employed to identify the key determinants of vertical coordination. Model results show that market information, product characteristics, firm characteristics, and product quality were found significant factors in determining the adoption of vertical coordination. An interesting finding is that traders tend to vertically coordinate so as to get credit from suppliers. Based on our findings we suggest that strengthening quality assurance and contract enforcement institutions appears to be an important intervention area to improve the agrifood chain in the study area. Moreover, providing financial support to encourage the private sector to operate in agro-processing is among the efforts that need to be focused so that it facilitates the rural development process in the region. |
| Keywords: | vertical coordination, trader, supplier, agrifood, supply chain, Probit Model, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114218&r=afr |
| By: | Tony Castleman (Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from a randomized controlled trial to study the impacts of food supplementation and medical treatment on the receipt of human recognition by malnourished, HIV-infected adults in Kenya. Questions specially designed to measure human recognition were included in the trial, demonstrating how data on human recognition can be collected and analyzed as part of research or programs. The data are used to examine the impacts of interventions on human recognition, the determinants of human recognition receipt, and the role that human recognition plays in nutritional status and subjective well-being. Food supplementation has a significant, independent, positive impact on recognition received at completion of 6 months of food supplementation, but this effect does not persist 6 months after completion of the supplementation. The location of the study sites appears to play a significant role in the changes in human recognition, with smaller improvements among subjects at clinics in urban slums of Nairobi than among subjects in district and provincial hospitals outside of Nairobi, controlling for demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics. Women receive lower levels of human recognition than men and also have worse mental health; further study is needed to better understand the relationship among gender, mental health, and human recognition. There is some evidence of an association between nutritional status and human recognition, but findings about the role human recognition plays in nutritional status and subjective well-being are mixed and further study is needed in this area, possibly over a longer timeframe than 12 months. |
| Keywords: | human recognition, respect, dehumanization, HIV, AIDS, malnutrition, nutrition, food supplementation, well being, randomized trial, stigma, Kenya |
| JEL: | I12 I31 O15 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2011-11&r=afr |
| By: | Ali, Merima; Peerlings, Jack H.M. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114220&r=afr |
| By: | Laroche, Dupraz C.; Postolle, A. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114402&r=afr |
| By: | Kimhi, Ayal |
| Abstract: | This article examines the importance of non-farm income in reducing per-capita income inequality among agricultural households in southern Ethiopia, with an emphasis on the gender dimension. Using a modified technique of inequality decomposition by income sources applied to household survey data, it was found that female non-farm labor income is the only income source that significantly reduces per-capita income inequality. More precisely, a uniform increase in female non-farm labor income, among households that already have income from this source, reduces inequality. Encouraging women to devote more time to non-farm income-generating activities, and creating market mechanisms that increase earnings in these activities, could potentially lift households out of poverty and at the same time reduce income inequality as a whole. The impact on inequality could be stronger if policies are directed at asset-poor households and less-educated households in particular. One of the policies that could be useful in this regard is female educational enhancements. This could open more opportunities for women in the hired labor market, improve women's position within the household, and promote overall income inequality as well as gender equality. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114756&r=afr |
| By: | Sinaba, Famory; Dessein, Joost; Lauwers, Ludwig; Bastiaensen, Johan; Teme, Bino |
| Abstract: | Organic farming and fair trade certified chains have emerged in West-Africa since the 1990s in answer to new alternative markets in developed countries. These chains, involving actors from North and South, are seen as an opportunity to sustainably valorise the small peasants agriculture in Africa and include the smallholders in global markets. Certification and labelling systems accompany these chains in developed countries. The aim of this article is to analyze the challenges for smallholders of this new North- South trade regime established by certificates and labels. This article uses the theory of Global Value Chains as theoretical framework. The empirical framework consists of four cases (organic sesame; organic- fair sesame; fair cotton and organicfair cotton) in Mali and in Belgium and France. It focuses on data that are gathered during our inquiry based on a questionnaire with the chains stakeholders in the south and in the north. The chains upstream inquiry was conducted in Mali with individuals producers, producers organizations, exporters; and the downstream inquiry was conducted in Belgium and France with European importers, distributors and certifications bodies. The results show that the new North- South regime established by organic and fair certificates and labels has a potential impact on the negotiation power and value distribution between chain participants. Lack of adequate local institutions in Southern countries, and increasing complexity of the âcahiers de chargesâ imposed by the North however may cause exclusion of many smallholders in these new North-South trade networks. |
| Keywords: | organic farming, Fair Trade, smallholders, North-South trade, Certificates, Labels, Global markets, Value chains, certification scheme, local institution, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:116006&r=afr |
| By: | Verschelde, Marijn; D'Haese, Marijke F.C.; Vandamme, Ellen; Rayp, Glenn |
| Abstract: | We use a nonparametric estimation of the production function to investigate the relation- ship between farm productivity and farming scale in poor smallholder agricultural systems in the north of Burundi. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a predominant small scale subsistence farming sector. A Kernel regression is used on data of mixed cropping systems to study the determinants of production including dierent factors that have been identied in literature as missing variables in the testing of the inverse relationship such as soil quality, loca- tion and household heterogeneity. Household data on farm activities and crop production was gathered among 640 households in 2007 in two Northern provinces of Burundi. Four production models were speci ed each with dierent control variables. For the relatively small farms, we nd clear evidence of an inverse relationship. The relatively large farms show a dierent pattern. Returns to scale are found to be farm scale dependent. Parametric Cobb-Douglass models tend to over-simplify the debate on returns to scale because of not accounting for the dierent eects of large farms. Other factors that signicantly positively aect production include the soil quality and production orientation towards banana or cash crop production. Production seems to be negatively aected by eld fragmentation. |
| Keywords: | inverse relationship, farm size, nonparametric, Burundi, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:115550&r=afr |
| By: | Siddig, Khalid H.A.; Babiker, Babiker Idris |
| Abstract: | The traditional agriculture in Sudan occupies 60% of the total cultivated land and employs 65% of the agricultural population. Nevertheless, it is characterized by its low crop productivity, which is mainly driven by low technical efficiency, while drought and civil conflicts threaten most of its areas countrywide. Therefore, it has contributed only an average of 16% to the total agricultural GDP during the last decade. This paper addresses from an empirical point of view the sectoral and macroeconomic implications of agricultural efficiency improvement in Sudan and assesses the efficiency gains under the assumption of trade liberalization. Efficiency improvement experiments are implemented by augmenting the efficiency parameters of labor, capital, and land in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) framework. The CGE model of the study relies on the newly produced Sudanese Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), which provides data on 10 agricultural sectors, 10 industrial sectors and 13 service sectors. Results show that improving the agricultural efficiency would lead to improvements in GDP, welfare level, and trade balance. In addition it would also improve the output and competitiveness of the Sudanese agricultural exports and increase their strength to face the challenges of liberalization. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural efficiency, liberalization, Sudan SAM, CGE analysis, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D2, D5, D6, E1, E2, F1, F2, H2, |
| Date: | 2011–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ukdawp:112786&r=afr |
| By: | Falco, Salvatore Di; Veronesi, Marcella |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of climate change adaptation on farm householdsâ downside risk exposure (e.g., risk of crop failure) in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. The analysis relies on a momentbased specification of the stochastic production function. We estimate a simultaneous equations model with endogenous switching to account for the heterogeneity in the decision to adapt or not, and for unobservable characteristics of farmers and their farm. We find that (i) climate change adaptation reduces downside risk exposure, i.e., farm households that implemented climate change adaptation strategies get benefits in terms of a decrease in the risk of crop failure; (ii) farm households that did not adapt would benefit the most in terms of reduction in downside risk exposure from adaptation; and (iii) there are significant differences in downside risk exposure between farm households that did and those that did not adapt to climate change. The analysis also shows that the quasi-option value, that is the value of waiting to gather more information, plays a significant role in farm householdsâ decision to adapt to climate change. Farmers that are better informed may value less the option to wait to adapt, and so are more likely to adapt than other farmers. |
| Keywords: | adaptation, climate change, endogenous switching, Ethiopia, risk exposure, stochastic production function, skewness, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, D80, Q18, Q54, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:115549&r=afr |
| By: | Wakeyo, Mekonnen B.; Gardebroek, Cornelis |
| Abstract: | Rain-fall shortage constrains production in small-holder agriculture in developing countries and with ongoing climate change these shortages may increase. Rain-water harvesting are interesting technologies that decrease this risk. Therefore, one would expect an increasing use of these technologies in drought-prone areas. However, data collected in Ethiopia shows that the share of irrigated land in total landholding declines with farm size. This study investigates why the share declines with farm size using panel data collected in 2005 and in 2010. A random-effect tobit model is estimated for the share of irrigated land as a function of variables affecting returns, market prices, source of finance and expectation formation. The findings show farm-specific factors such as credit per hectare, distance to market, ease of selling output, landholding, regional differences, aridity and distance of plots from natural water sources significantly affect the share. Thus, encouraging investment has to consider farm-size, and also geographical, environmental and regional diversity. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:115735&r=afr |
| By: | Siddig, Khalid H.A. |
| Abstract: | The international Monitory Fund (IMF) has been working with Sudan since 1997 to implement macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate (EXR). The IMF sees the EXR flexibility as key to safeguard and rebuild foreign exchange reserves and essential to meet the international reserve target in Sudan. However, the authorities in Sudan are concerned that greater exchange rate flexibility could contribute to inflationary pressures. In addition, a review of literature focusing on the exchange rate policies in Sudan reflects huge ambiguity about its outcome. This calls for additional empirical investigations that provide economy wide assessments of the various possible scenarios that could be adopted in the Sudanese context. Accordingly, the current paper applies an economy-wide impact assessment tool to investigate the possible effects of devaluating the overvalued (according to the IMF, 2009) Sudanese pound. Namely, it uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model together with its detailed database of Sudan to simulate the Sudanese pound to depreciate according to three different scenarios by 5%, 10%, and 15%. Results of the paper recommend that the additional flexibility in the Sudanese EXR regime suggested by the IMF should be carefully considered if that would lead the value of the Sudanese currency to be devalued. This imply that the authorities in Sudan should closely monitor and control the EXR to avoid its depreciation in the short run, while encouraging both public and private investments to help creating additional jobs that increases domestic income and reduces the negative consequences of inflation. |
| Keywords: | devaluation, Sudan, CGE analysis, inflation, Sudanese pound, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Production Economics, A1, C6, C8, D1D5, D6E6, F1H3., |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ukdawp:112971&r=afr |
| By: | Malakini, Memory; Maganga, Assa |
| Abstract: | Biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal contributes over 90% of Malawi’s total energy demand. As a result, deforestation is increasing at unprecedented rate and firewood is becoming scarce. Individual assessment of various cooking technologies has been widely done without comparison of various cooking technologies. Therefore, this study has been devoted to compare the performance, cooking time and fuelwood usage of the three-stone fireplace, Rocket and Chitetezo cooking technologies. The study used Specific Fuel consumption (SC) as a proxy for principal indicator of cooking technology efficiency. It measures the amount of wood used per kg of food. Rocket stove has been found to use less time, less fuelwood and produces less smoke. |
| Keywords: | Cooking Technology; Fuelwood; Stove Efficiency |
| JEL: | D10 |
| Date: | 2011–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33866&r=afr |
| By: | Félix Badolo (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | La hausse des prix des produits agricoles sur les marchés internationaux durant la période 2006-2008 a entraîné une flambée des prix intérieurs dans certains pays en développement, mais pas dans d'autres. La littérature empirique sur la transmission des chocs des prix internationaux dans les pays en développement reste très mitigée. L'objectif de ce papier est d'évaluer la relation entre le prix du riz importé sur les marchés au Burkina Faso et le prix international, à partir de tests de cointégration linéaire et non linéaire. L'analyse se base sur des séries mensuelles de prix pour deux marchés du Burkina Faso : le marché de Sankaryaré à Ouagadougou et le marché de Dori au nord du pays. Les résultats montrent que les prix du riz importé sur ces deux marchés sont intégrés au prix international. L'élasticité de transmission de long terme apparaît importante. Le modèle TAR révèle une transmission asymétrique dont l'ampleur diffère en fonction de la nature des chocs. Les hausses du prix international se transmettent plus rapidement aux prix intérieurs que les baisses. Ces résultats s'expliquent par le pouvoir de marché des intermédiaires commerciaux, les coûts de transport et les mécanismes d'intervention du gouvernement. |
| Keywords: | marchés des produits de base;modèles autorégressifs à seuil;transmission asymétrique |
| Date: | 2011–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00627189&r=afr |
| By: | Teklewold, Hailemariam |
| Abstract: | In crop-livestock mixed farming system where farm yard manure (FYM) is considered as important multi-purpose resource such as source of soil organic matter, additional source of income and household source of energy, soil fertility depletion could takes place within the perspective of the household allocation pattern of FYM. This paper estimates structural FYM-allocation model in the presence of corner solution, with the objective of examining the role of various returns to FYM and farmerâs impatience on the propensity to allocate FYM for alternative purposes. We illustrate the model using data based on a random sample of 493 farm households in the central highlands of Ethiopia. We find that the higher the selling price of FYM is the higher the incentive for farmers to divert the resource from farming to marketing for burning outside the farm households. A farmersâ decision to turn FYM from farming to marketing due to heterogeneity in time preference is also an alternative account to explicate the correlation between farmersâ impatience and resource allocation. The implication is that the high discount rate and the rise of price encourage current consumption that has long term effect on the sustainable management of soil resource. The results are of paramount importance for the design of sustainable land management policy where soil fertility depletion is salient for low agricultural productivity. |
| Keywords: | impatience, shadow price, allocation, farm yard manure, Ethiopia, Farm Management, Q01, Q12, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:116080&r=afr |
| By: | Kuhlgatz, Christian; Abdulai, Awudu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of farm householdsâ participation in export cropping and the impact of export cropping on household welfare, using cross-sectional data obtained from the Ghanaian living standards survey 2005-6. Given the problem of selectivity bias that arise when households self-select into export cropping, we employ the full information maximum likelihood approach to analyze the participation decision, and generalized propensity matching approach to examine the welfare impacts of participation. The empirical results indicate that farmers facing lower transport costs and having better access to credit facilities are more likely to participate in export cropping. Estimates of the welfare impacts of export cropping generally reveal a positive relationship between engagement in export cropping and farm household welfare. However, a consideration of the impact of extent of export cropping shows a non-linear relationship with household welfare indicators, with per capita expenditures rising and poverty declining only at higher levels of export specialization. |
| Keywords: | Export crops, Farm households, Household welfare, Poverty, Generalized propensity score, Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114692&r=afr |
| By: | Boniface Ngah Epo; Francis Menjo Baye; Nadine Teme Angele Manga |
| Abstract: | This study applies the regression-based inequality decomposition technique to explain poverty and inequality trends in Cameroon. We also identify gender related factors which explain income disparities and discrimination based on the 2001 and 2007 Cameroon household consumption surveys. The results show that education, health, employment in the formal sector, age cohorts, household size, gender, ownership of farmland and urban versus rural residence explain household economic wellbeing; disparities in income inequality between male- and female-headed households are largely explained by education, the share of active household members, employment in the formal sector, household size and health. The study concludes that public interventions which encourage education for all, employment and rural development in Cameroon have some prospects of addressing gender-based inequality in Cameroon. |
| Keywords: | Regression-based decomposition, Poverty, Inequality, Gender and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. |
| JEL: | I30 I32 D39 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:pmmacr:2011-15&r=afr |
| By: | Philip Verwimp (ECARES and Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles); Jan Van Bavel (Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from nonpoor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:101&r=afr |
| By: | Klapper, Leora; Richmond, Christine |
| Abstract: | The authors study firm dynamics using a novel database of all formally registered firms in Cote d'Ivoire from 1977 to 1997, which account for about 60 percent of gross domestic product. First, they examine entry and exit patterns and the role of new and exiting firms versus incumbents in job creation and destruction. They find that while the rate of job creation at new firms is quiet high -- at 8 percent on average -- the number of jobs added by new firms is small in absolute terms. Next, they examine survival rates and find that the probability of survival increases monotonically with firm size, but manufacturing and foreign-owned firms face higher likelihoods of exit compared with service oriented and domestically owned firms. They find that higher growth of gross domestic product increases the probability of firm survival, but this is a broad impact with no firm size disproportionately affected. In robustness checks, they find that after 1987 size is no longer a significant determinant of firm survival for new entrants, suggesting that the operating environment for firms changed. Finally, they find that trade and fiscal reform episodes raised the probability of firm exit and attenuated the survival disadvantages faced by smaller firms, but exchange rate revaluation and pro-private sector reforms did not significantly lower the likelihood of exit. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Small Scale Enterprise,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5828&r=afr |
| By: | Balgah, Roland Azibo; Buchenrieder, Gertrud |
| Abstract: | Increasing occurrence of devastating natural shocks has stimulated research interest in the economics of natural disasters. Much of this scholarly work concentrates on effects of shocks on poverty, risk and vulnerability, and very little on understanding the effects of natural shocks on risk behavior. Referring to a 25 year-old disaster, we use unique survey data and experiment results from two disaster affected communities in rural Cameroon to test two hypotheses: (1) Natural shocks affect long term risk behavior; and (2) self-relocation into risk-prone areas is an explicit demonstration of risk taking. The results reveal differentiated risk behavior in self-relocated and state-resettled households, with the former taking higher risks compared to resettled households. Experiments strongly support trends observed in the empirical study, but captured cognitive behavior better than the survey. Results support previous evidence on applying experiments in understanding cognitive risk behavior and confirm our hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | Shocks, risk behavior, experiment, Cameroon, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114215&r=afr |
| By: | Afego, Pyemo |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the stock market reaction to annual earnings information releases using data on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Using the event study method, the speed of reaction of the market to annual earnings information releases for a sample of 16 firms listed on the exchange is tested. Significant abnormal price reactions around earnings announcements suggest the earnings announcements contain value-relevant information. We find that the magnitude of the cumulative abnormal returns is dominated by significant reactions 20 days before the earnings release date which suggests that a portion of the market reaction may be due to private acquisition and, possibly, abuse of information by insiders. The persistent downward drift of the cumulative abnormal returns, 20 days after the announcement, is inconsistent with the efficient markets hypothesis, and therefore suggests that the Nigerian stock market does not efficiently adjust to earnings information for the sample firms within the study period. |
| Keywords: | earnings announcements; abnormal returns; event studies; emerging markets; Nigeria |
| JEL: | G14 G10 |
| Date: | 2011–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33931&r=afr |
| By: | Dedehouanou, Senakpon; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the framework of subjective wellbeing in order to analyze the welfare implication of rural households involved in modern agri-food supply chain in Senegal. It is argued that small farmers are increasingly excluded from high value commodities chain. There is also evidence that despite increasing standards, vegetable export chain can improve rural householdsâ welfare through contract farming or by the creation of employment. As an alternative and complementary framework, this paper uses self reported happiness instead of the commonly income-based measure to assess the household welfare. We deal with the potential selection bias of participation. We find that participation in modern agri-export chain as contract farming is not related to happiness. Rather, participation as agro-industry employee is positively and significantly correlated to happiness. There is also no evidence concerning income and relative income effect on happiness. We provide some explanations. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114447&r=afr |
| By: | Bonfiglio, Andrea; Esposti, Roberto |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114260&r=afr |