|
on Africa |
| By: | Estian Calitz (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch); Hassan Essop (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | The paper seeks to determine whether the observation from a constitutional law and public administration perspective, namely that a distinct centralist tendency has become evident in South Africa in recent years, is borne out by fiscal analysis as well. An overview of key legislative, policy and operational changes is combined with an investigation of fiscal trends in terms of indicators of intergovernmental fiscal relations. It is established that the South African fiscal scene has over many decades been characterised by a steady and gradual reduction of the fiscal autonomy of sub-national governments. Fiscally South Africa has become more centralised, thus strengthening the de facto erosion of the federal state. |
| Keywords: | Structure of government, intergovernmental fiscal relations, fiscal decentralisation, fiscal centralisation, public economics, sub-national government, local government, local fiscal autonomy, intergovernmental fiscal relations in South Africa |
| JEL: | H11 H77 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers162&r=afr |
| By: | Perakis, Sonja Melissa |
| Keywords: | International Development, International Relations/Trade, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124910&r=afr |
| By: | Coxhead, Ian; Foltz, Jeremy D.; Mogues, Tewodaj |
| Abstract: | Manufacturing is intensive in the use of reproducible factors and exhibits greater technological dynamism than primary production. As such its growth is central to long-run development in low-income countries. Sub-Saharan African countries are latecomers to industrialization, and barriers to manufacturing growth, including those that limit trade, have been slow to come down. What factors contribute most to increases in output and productivity growth in their manufacturing sectors? Recent trade-IO theory suggests that trade liberalization should raise average total factor productivity (TFP) among manufacturing firms (Melitz 2003), but these predictions are conditional on maintained assumptions about the nature of industries, factor markets and trade patterns that may be less suitable in a developing-country setting. Manufacturing industries and firms are heterogeneous, so this analysis demands disaggregated data. We use firm-level data from the World Bank’s Regional Program on Enterprise Development (RPED) covering Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, 1991-2003. Among other things, the data distinguish exports by destination (Africa and the rest of the world), which is important due to the spread of intra-Africa regional trade agreements (RTAs). Econometric results confirm well-known relationships, for example a positive association between export intensity and TFP. However, we also find the destination of exports to be important. Export firms are more productive but have experienced declining TFP growth, and this has occurred at different rates depending on the country and the export market addressed. We show that these differentials are consistent with predictions from a modified statement of the Melitz model. The TFP results add a new dimension to controversies over the development implications of trade liberalization and the promotion of intra-Africa RTAs. |
| Keywords: | International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, F14, O14, O33, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124958&r=afr |
| By: | ALLEN, Franklin; CARLETTI, Elena; CULL, Robert; QIAN, Jun; SENBET, Lemma; VALENZUELA, Patricio |
| Abstract: | With extensive country- and firm-level data sets we first document that the financial sectors of most sub-Saharan African countries remain significantly underdeveloped by the standards of other developing countries. We also find that population density appears to be considerably more important for banking sector development in Africa than elsewhere. To better understand how countries can overcome the high costs of developing viable banking sectors outside large metropolitan areas, we focus on Kenya, which has made significant strides in financial inclusion and development in recent years. We find a positive and significant impact of Equity Bank, a leading private commercial bank on financial access, especially for under-privileged households. Equity Bank’s business model—providing financial services to population segments typically ignored by traditional commercial banks and generating sustainable profits in the process—can be a potential solution to the financial access problem that has hindered the development of inclusive financial sectors in many other African countries. |
| Keywords: | Africa; Kenya; Finance and growth; population density; Equity Bank; financial access |
| JEL: | O5 K0 G0 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2012/15&r=afr |
| By: | Demirguc-Kunt, Asli; Klapper, Leora |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes financial inclusion across Africa. First, it provides a brief overview of the African financial sector landscape. Second, it uses the Global Financial Inclusion Indicators (Global Findex) database to characterize adults in Africa that use formal and informal financial services and identify the barriers to formal account ownership. Next, it uses World Bank Enterprise Survey data to examine how the use of financial services by small and medium enterprises in Africa compares with small and medium enterprises in other developing regions in terms of account ownership and availability of lines of credit. The authors find that less than a quarter of adults in Africa have an account with a formal financial institution and that many adults in Africa use informal methods to save and borrow. Similarly, the majority of small and medium enterprises in Africa are unbanked and access to finance is a major obstacle. Compared with other developing economies, high-growth small and medium enterprises in Africa are less likely to use formal financing, which suggests formal financial systems are not serving the needs of enterprises with growth opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Debt Markets,E-Business |
| Date: | 2012–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6088&r=afr |
| By: | Badibanga, Thaddee Mutumba; Ulimwengu, John M. |
| Abstract: | We use the concept of the product space to analyze the key features of the transformation process in Africa with a focus on the agricultural sector. Between 1962 and 2008, we find that both specialization and diversification occur for the overall economy and across sectors. Our findings also confirm that the transformation of the African economy is driven primarily by the increasing specialization of nonagricultural exports. However, the transformation process is still moving more slowly than that of an emerging economy such as Brazil. The index of specialization of agricultural exports grew at a modest annual rate of 2.1 percent between 1962 and 2008, compared to 5.0 percent for nonagricultural exports and 4.1 percent for the overall economy. Although substantive achievements are observed in terms of product specialization or sophistication, the diversification of agricultural exports is rather insignificant. Compared to Africa, Brazil appears to have experienced a more balanced process in terms of both specialization and diversification of its agriculture. African countries’ specific transformation dynamics are heterogeneous, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all strategy to boost the agricultural sector in Africa is probably not the best option. Therefore, we advocate that the goals and principles of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) be adapted and customized to individual countries and incorporated into their strategies to enhance the transformation process of the African agricultural sector. |
| Keywords: | structural transformation, diversification, sophistication, growth, export, Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, F19, O14, O33, O40, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124498&r=afr |
| By: | Michael Rogan |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I investigate the characteristics and poverty status of female- and male-headed households in South Africa using nationally representative household survey data from the October Household Surveys (1997 and 1999) and the General Household Surveys (2004 and 2008). These years (1997-2008) represent a period for which there is an extensive poverty literature documenting (particularly in the 2000s) an overall decrease in the poverty headcount rate. At the same time, however, there is evidence to suggest that female-headed households have a far higher risk of poverty and that the poverty differential between femaleand male-headed households widened over the period. The aim of this paper is to identify some of the main reasons that female-headed households are more vulnerable to poverty in post-apartheid South Africa and why poverty has decreased by more in male-headed households (relative to female-headed households). The study examines the key features which distinguish female- and male-headed households and whether these have changed over time. In order to link these characteristics with the poverty differential between female- and male-headed households, I then examine whether (and by how much) controlling for the observable differences between female- and male-headed households reduces the significantly greater risk of poverty in female-headed households. |
| Keywords: | Female-headed households; poverty; South Africa |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:288&r=afr |
| By: | Kuikeu, Oscar |
| Abstract: | The main aim of this paper is to know if the real exchange rate misalignment can be consider like a cause of sub Saharan African export’s dependence against raw materials, and, for this purpose, we have assessed, in panel data, the effect of cfa franc misalignment on the manufactured exports of selected cfa economies. |
| Keywords: | Sub-Saharan Africa, cfa franc, real exchange rate misalignment, panel data |
| JEL: | F10 C23 |
| Date: | 2012–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:39346&r=afr |
| By: | Lawrence Edwards; Neil Rankin |
| Abstract: | Integration into the global trading environment is viewed as a key factor underlying the success of the fastest growing economies. Yet many African countries remain isolated and appear to have failed to achieve the level integration of these fast growing economies. This paper presents a price-based assessment of product market integration in Africa using disaggregated retail prices for over 200 products and 13 African cities. Product market integration is first assessed using absolute and relative measures of price dispersion. This followed by an econometric analysis to identify some of the domestic, regional and global factors that have contributed towards product market integration in Africa. Overall, we find evidence of increased product market integration in Africa. The volatility of real exchange rates between African countries has fallen over the past two and a half decades. Product price dispersion at the retail level amongst the sample of African cities also fell, although much of the decline was concentrated in North Africa during the early 1990s. The econometric estimates reveal that trade costs, as proxied by distance and MFN tariffs, are the dominant determinant of price dispersion amongst the African cities. External forces also matter. Global trends in price dispersion contributed around 29 percent of the overall increase in integration. |
| Keywords: | Product market integration, Retail prices, African regional integration, Price dispersion, Law of one price, Economist Intelligence Unit city price data |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:292&r=afr |
| By: | Nakano, Yuko; Kajisa, Kei |
| Abstract: | Although high yielding modern rice varieties (MVs) have been gradually disseminating over Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known on how the adoption of MVs influences agriculture productivity and household income. To fill this research gap, we analyze two kinds of data sets in Tanzania: a national representative cross section data and a two-year panel data of irrigated farmers in one district. The most important finding is strong complementary relationship between MVs and water control; high yield is achieved when MVs are grown with improved bund in paddy fields in irrigated area. We also find that the use of chemical fertilizer and the practice of transplanting in rows increase yield and income of both the adopters and non-adopters of MVs in the irrigated area. In rain-fed area, we observe limited impact of MVs. These findings suggest that introducing MVs as a package of technologies including other agronomic practices is effective in order to fully achieve their potential. In the long run, development of irrigation would be important to realize a rice Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Technology Adoption, Green Revolution, Sub-Saharan Africa, Crop Production/Industries, International Development, Productivity Analysis, O12, O13, Q16, Q18, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124924&r=afr |
| By: | Paul Collier; Anthony J Venables |
| Abstract: | Africa is well endowed with potential for hydro and solar power, but its other endowments – shortages of capital, skills, and governance capacity – make most of the green options relatively expensive, while its abundance of hydro-carbons makes fossil fuels relatively cheap. Current power shortages make expansion of power capacity a priority. Africa’s endowments, and the consequent scarcities and relative prices, are not immutable and can be changed to bring opportunity costs in Africa closer to those in the rest of the world. The international community can support by increasing Africa’s supply of the scarce factors of capital, skills, and governance. |
| Keywords: | Africa, climate change, energy, renewable, leapfrog, latecomer |
| JEL: | Q54 Q5 Q40 O55 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:089&r=afr |
| By: | Zanello, Giacomo; Shankar, Bhavani; Srinivasan, Chittur |
| Abstract: | The recent adoption of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs, namely mobile phones and radios) in rural areas of Sub- Saharan Africa has brought new evidence that an updated and reliable flow of information can have direct benefits for farmers' welfare. However, if correct market information can benefit the users, incorrect information can be costly. In this study we explore the diffusion (quantity) and the accuracy (quality) of price information among farmers in northern Ghana, with a focus on the role of ICTs. |
| Keywords: | Market behaviour, Transaction costs, Information technologies, Consumer/Household Economics, International Development, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, D82, D83, D84, O12, O55, |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:123967&r=afr |
| By: | Bellemare, Marc F.; Moser, Christine M. |
| Abstract: | Despite the presumed importance of a strong state in the development process, there has been very little empirical work assessing the state’s ability to exercise power in isolated areas and understanding the means through which the state exerts that power. This paper begins to fill this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between state power and isolation using several proxies for state power with a rich panel data set from Madagascar. We find strong evidence that the extent of state power is severely limited in isolated areas. |
| Keywords: | State, State Power, Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Marketing, Political Economy, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124986&r=afr |
| By: | Paul Collier; Anthony J Venables |
| Abstract: | Much African land currently has low productivity and has attracted investors leasing land as a speculative option on higher future prices or productivity. To be beneficial land deals need to induce productivity enhancing investments. Some of these will be publicly provided (infrastructure, agronomic knowledge), and some can only be provided by ‘pioneer’ investors who discover what works and create demonstration effects. Such pioneers can be rewarded for the positive externalities they create by being granted options on large areas of land. However, pioneers must be separated from speculators by screening and by requirements to work a fraction of the land. |
| Keywords: | land deals, farmland, Africa, rent, lease |
| JEL: | O13 O55 Q1 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:069&r=afr |
| By: | Marenya, Paswel Phiri; Smith, Vincent H.; Nkonya, Ephraim M. |
| Abstract: | Land degradation in most sub Saharan Africa is a widely recognized problem and is due in large part to poor land management practices. To address this problem, several policy-based incentives to increase the adoption of better land management practices have been proposed, including fertilizer subsidies, cash payments and, more recently, subsidized or commercially offered weather index-based insurance contracts. However, little is known about farmers’ preferences among these policy alternatives, their relative effectiveness, and their likely fiscal implications. Using survey and choice elicitation data from 271 farmers in Central Malawi, this study examines smallholder farmers’ preferences among four major policy options that provide incentives for adopting agroforestry based conservation practices. Our results suggest that even when the expected value of an ideal insurance contract which has no basis risk was 25 percent higher than the cash payment option, sixty percent of the sample preferred the cash payment. Further, the empirical results indicated that cash flow or liquidity constraints may limit farmers’ willingness to use crop insurance as a risk management tool. We conclude that the potential scope for increasing the use of improved land management techniques through fertilizer subsidies, or cash or insurance incentives payments may be substantial, although fertilizer subsidies and cash payments may be less costly approaches than subsidizing insurance contracts. |
| Keywords: | choice elicitation, cash transfer, fertilizer subisdy, incenitves, indemnity insurance, Malawi, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Q12, Q24, |
| Date: | 2012–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124010&r=afr |
| By: | Jason Gagnon; David Khoudour-Castéras |
| Abstract: | Although South-South migrants face much of the same discrimination and integration challenges as their South-North counterparts, South-South flows need to be analysed from a different standpoint. An investigation of immigrant experience in West Africa, with particular focus on Ghana, shows that despite the prevalence of intra-regional migration, most governments neglect integration issues, generating costs not only for immigrants and their families, but also for host communities. Against this background, the standard models of integration used in the North – assimilation and multiculturalism – are not necessarily applicable. On the one hand, borders are generally more porous and immigration controls more lax, so that assimilation models are not well adapted as many migrants do not stay long enough to adopt local customs. On the other, national linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity tends to be higher in West Africa, so basing immigration integration on multicultural premise may have little impact. Integration policies in the South should take into account these differences and focus on the protection of migrant rights, while also fighting discrimination and fostering the incorporation of immigrants into society.<BR>Bien que les migrants Sud-Sud doivent faire face aux mêmes problèmes de discrimination et d’intégration que les migrants Sud-Nord, les flux Sud-Sud doivent être abordés sous un angle différent. Une étude approfondie de l’expérience migratoire en Afrique de l’Ouest, notamment au Ghana, montre qu’en dépit d’une prévalence des flux intra-régionaux, la plupart des gouvernements négligent la question de l’intégration, générant des coûts non seulement pour les immigrés et leurs familles, mais aussi pour les communautés d’accueil. Dans ce contexte, les modèles d’intégration – assimilation et multiculturalisme – utilisés dans le Nord ne s’appliquent pas forcément dans le Sud. D’une part, les frontières y sont généralement plus poreuses et les contrôles migratoires plus laxistes, ce qui rend les modèles d’assimilation inadaptés, la plupart des migrants ne restant pas suffisamment longtemps pour adopter les coutumes locales. D’autre part, il existe souvent une plus grande diversité linguistique, culturelle et ethnique en Afrique de l’Ouest, réduisant ainsi la portée du modèle multiculturel. Les problèmes de cohésion sociale qui en résultent sont renforcés par l’arrivée massive de réfugiés et de migrants de transit. Les politiques d’intégration dans le Sud devraient tenir compte de ces différences et se concentrer sur la protection des droits des migrants, sans pour autant oublier la lutte contre les discriminations et l’incorporation des immigrés dans la société. |
| Keywords: | South-South migration, immigrant integration, West Africa, Migrations Sud-Sud, intégration des immigrés, Afrique de l’Ouest |
| JEL: | F22 J15 O15 O55 |
| Date: | 2012–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:devaaa:312-en&r=afr |
| By: | Johan Fourie; Jan Luiten van Zanden (Universiteit Stellenbosch and Universiteit Utrecht) |
| Abstract: | New estimates of GDP of the Dutch Cape Colony (1652-1795) suggest that the Cape was one of the most prosperous regions during the eighteenth century. This stands in sharp contrast to the perceived view that the Cape was an “economic and social backwater”, a slave economy with slow growth and little progress. Following a national accounts framework, we find that Cape settlers’ per capita income is similar to the most prosperous countries of the time – Holland and England. We trace the roots of this result, showing that it is partly explained by a highly skewed population structure and very low dependency ratio of slavery, and attempt to link the eighteenth century Cape Colony experience to twentieth century South African income levels. |
| Keywords: | South Africa, slave, income, growth, GDP per capita, production |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucg:wpaper:0030&r=afr |
| By: | Albert Mafusire; Zuzana Brixiova |
| Abstract: | The East African Community (EAC) economic integration has gained momentum recently, with the EAC countries officially aiming to adopt a single currency in the summer of 2012. This paper assesses empirically the readiness of the EAC countries for monetary union. First, structural similarity of the EAC countries is measured in terms of intra-industry trade and similarity of production. Second, the symmetry of shocks among the EAC members is examined with structural VAR. Both methods show that the shock synchronization in the EAC is low, albeit increasing, suggesting that the move to EAMU should not be rushed. The paper concludes with policies that would facilitate the EAC regional economic integration, including the eventual establishment of monetary union. |
| Keywords: | shock synchronization; structural VAR; regional integration; East Africa |
| JEL: | E32 F42 C53 |
| Date: | 2012–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wdi:papers:2012-1031&r=afr |
| By: | Rulof Burger (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch); Servaas van der Berg (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch); Dieter von Fintel (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | In the late 1990s the South African Department of Education implemented two policies that were meant to reduce the large number of over-age learners in the school system: schools were no longer allowed to accept students who were more than two years older than the correct grade-age and students could not be held back more than once in each of four schooling phases. Our analysis uses school administrative data and household survey data to show that these policies coincided with a decrease in school enrolment of at least 400,000 and possibly as many as 900,000 learners. This effect was most noticeable for over-aged learners who were inclined to remain in school due to their poor labour market prospects. These policies appear to have pushed many students into the labour market at earlier ages than was observed for previous generations, which explains much of the sudden increase in labour force participation and unemployment during this period. However, since these individuals would probably have entered the labour market sooner if not for their poor employment prospects, we argue that the resulting increase in unemployment signifies a more accurate reflection of disguised unemployment that already existed in the mid-1990s rather than a deterioration of labour market conditions. |
| Keywords: | South Africa, education, unemployment, participation |
| JEL: | J21 I25 J64 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers163&r=afr |
| By: | Anderson, Kym; Bruckner, Markus |
| Abstract: | To what extent has Sub-Saharan Africa’s slow economic growth over the past five decades been due to price and trade policies that discouraged production of agricultural relative to non-agricultural tradables? This paper uses a new set of estimates of policy induced distortions to relative agricultural prices to address this question econometrically. We first test if these policy distortions respond to economic growth, using rainfall and international commodity price shocks as instrumental variables. We find that on impact there is no significant response of relative agricultural price distortions to changes in real GDP per capita growth. We then test the reverse proposition and find a statistically significant and sizable negative effect of relative agricultural price distortions on the growth rate of Sub-Saharan African countries. Our fixed effects estimates yield that, during the 1960-2005 period, a ten percentage points increase in distortions to relative agricultural prices decreased the region’s real GDP per capita growth rate by about half a percentage point per annum. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, Trade restrictions, Agricultural incentives, Agribusiness, F1, F4, O1, O2, O4, |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124908&r=afr |
| By: | Jakiela, Pamela; Ozier, Owen |
| Abstract: | This paper measures the economic impact of social pressure to share income with kin and neighbors in rural Kenyan villages. The authors conduct a lab experiment in which they randomly vary the observability of investment returns. The goal is to test whether subjects reduce their income in order to keep it hidden. The analysis finds that women adopt an investment strategy that conceals the size of their initial endowment in the experiment, although that strategy reduces their expected earnings. This effect is largest among women with relatives attending the experiment. Parameter estimates suggest that women behave as though they expect to be pressured to share four percent of their observable income with others, and substantially more when close kin can observe income directly. Although this paper provides experimental evidence from a single African country, observational studies suggest that similar pressure from kin may be prevalent in many rural areas throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Investment and Investment Climate,Emerging Markets,Labor Policies,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2012–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6085&r=afr |
| By: | Taha, Fawzi A.; Hahn, William F. |
| Abstract: | A modified Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) differential model was used to provide the first estimate of South Africa’s meat import demand system. In addition to price and scale the model also included a trend and trend-squared term to measure changes in technology and/or consumer demands for meat outputs. Cross-prices elasticity (cij) indicates that poultry is a statistically significant substitute for pork, sheep/goat, and offal. Scale coefficients were highly significant, positive for beef and negative for other meat. The trend and squared trend terms were also highly significant, implying changes in import demand not driven by price or scale changes. During 1997-2010 periods, changes in import demand caused poultry and pork to rise and import demand for beef, sheep/goat, and offal meats to decline. A simulation model was developed that converted an expected CBS endogenous into “predicted” quantities. The in-sample quantity predictions are remarkably accurate, indicating the model performs very well in forecasting South Africa’s meat imports given prices and scale. Results of model simulations conclusively demonstrate meat changes similar to the CBS model. |
| Keywords: | import demand system, South Africa, poultry, beef, pork, sheep/goat, offal., International Relations/Trade, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, F17, C22, C51, C53, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124582&r=afr |
| By: | Ibrahim, Mohammed; Florkowski, Wojciech J.; Kolavalli, Shashidhara |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:125000&r=afr |
| By: | Rodrigo, Maria F. |
| Keywords: | Poverty trap, Cooperatives, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124388&r=afr |
| By: | Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Jones, Michael |
| Abstract: | To date there is limited knowledge on the role that post-harvest storage protectants, chemical or otherwise, play in a smallholder farmer’s decision to adopt of high-yielding improved maize varieties. This is a key issue because higher yielding varieties are often more susceptible to storage pests than lower yielding traditional varieties. We present novel evidence from Malawi which shows that access to storage chemicals has a positive and significant effect on both farmer adoption of improved seed and the area that households plant to improved maize. Results have important implications for input support programs because failing to account for small holder storage challenges may reduce a farmer’s incentive to adopt modern seed varieties that can enhance staple crop production and food security. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124658&r=afr |
| By: | Muyanga, Milu; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the implications of increasing population density in Kenya’s rural areas on smallholder production and commercialization. Using data from five panel surveys on 1,146 small-scale farms over the 1997-2010 period, we use econometric techniques to determine how increasing rural population density is affecting farm household behavior and its implication to smallholder commercialization. We find that farm productivity and incomes tend to rise with population density up to 600-650 persons per km2; beyond this threshold, rising population density is associated with sharp declines in farm productivity. Currently 14% of Kenya’s rural population resides in areas exceeding this population density. The study concludes by exploring the nature of institutional and policy reforms needed to address these development problems. |
| Keywords: | Land, population density, smallholder agriculture, food security, policy, Kenya, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124993&r=afr |
| By: | Lybbert, Travis J.; Foltz, Jeremy D. |
| Abstract: | The potential of agricultural biotechnology to produce seed traits that reduce yield risk generates widespread excitement. Hopes are high that in an era of tightening water constraints and climate change drought tolerant (DT) crop varieties will stabilize food production and allow for greater adaptation to changing production conditions. Although the DT agenda has united the public and private agricultural research system around concerns that seem to span rich and poor countries alike, the underlying crop-drought relationships differ substantially over space. We devise a methodology for characterizing these spatial differences in ‘optimal drought severity’ across two locations in Africa (Ethiopia and Mali) and one in the U.S. (Wisconsin) and analyze these differences to infer implications for the diffusion and impact of DT crop varieties. Drought-conditioned yield distributions for non-DT maize provide the benchmark against which we assess relative DT benefits in each setting. We construct a distribution of expected relative DT benefits as the product of the site-specific relative DT benefits distribution by rainfall and the site-specific rainfall distribution. We discuss how spatial differences in these expected relative DT benefit distributions may affect farmer decision making and welfare as well as agricultural adaptation to climate change. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124794&r=afr |
| By: | Pangapanga, Phiriinnocent; Thangalimodzi, Lucy Tembo |
| Abstract: | This paper explores factors that influence households’ engagement in pro poor agro enterprises and examines the impacts of such small and medium scale enterprise on households’ poverty reduction. The paper approaches the objective by estimating a multivariate and data censoring analyses on 1000 household dataset from Malawi. The paper found that fish and mushroom farming, cassava flour processing, pig and chicken rearing, rural bakeries, and other have positive effect on household poverty levels. Pro poor agro based enterprises reduced household poverty by 8-24% among poor household in Malawi. However, the data depicts that pro poor small and medium scale businesses owners are challenged by lack of credit, low bargaining power, high input costs, low product prices and lack of reliable markets. The paper recommends mainstreaming factors and market based barriers that affect participation in agro based enterprises in Malawi. The paper also suggests that pro poor programs ought to be gender responsive at all levels of their operations. |
| Keywords: | Households; Multivariate Analysis; Pro poor Agro Enterprises; Malawi |
| JEL: | C5 D1 |
| Date: | 2012–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:39446&r=afr |
| By: | Bizimana, Jean-Claude; Angerer, Jay P.; Bessler, David A. |
| Abstract: | One of the growing agricultural subsectors in developing countries is livestock. Livestock and livestock products account for a third of the agricultural gross output. However, the lack of viable livestock market information systems to increase efficiency of markets and support the decision making of traders, pastoralists, and policy makers are still an obstacle for a full development of this subsector. It is along these lines that the USAID, through the Global Livestock-Collaborative Research Support Program, supported the introduction of livestock market information systems in Kenya and Tanzania in 2003, and later in Mali in 2007. The overall objective of the dissertation is to test for cattle markets integration in three African developing countries of Mali, Kenya, and Tanzania. One way of assessing the efficiency of market and the impacts of liberalization policies is to test for market integration and price transmission. We also analyzed price leadership among the markets in each of the three case studies. Autoregressive models (vector autoregressive models and error correction model) were used to determine the level of cattle market integration. The results show a low level of cattle markets integration in Mali. The cattle markets in Mali are more-or-less independent with regard to price transmission among markets. Kenya cattle markets showed a good level of integration among the markets. Chepareria market in the Rift Valley region (west) seemed to lead other markets in price signal transmission. Tanzanian cattle markets exhibited a higher level of integration with Pugu market, in Dar es Salaam, leading other cattle markets in price signal transmission. In conclusion, the cattle markets in Tanzania and Kenya appeared to have a relatively higher level of market integration compared to the cattle markets in Mali. There is a reasonable belief that the time the livestock market information system has been in place, in each country, played a role in the market integration process. More time and better communications seem to have allowed the market actors to learn arbitrage skills and strengthen their trade relationships that ultimately led to the market integration. |
| Keywords: | Co-integration, VAR, Impulse Response function, variance decomposition, directed acyclic graph, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, D83, C22, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124550&r=afr |
| By: | Sekabira, Haruna; Bonabana, Jackline; Asingwire, Narathius |
| Abstract: | use of ICTs in household small-scale farm businesses |
| Keywords: | ICT adoption in markets, determinants and ICT components and small-holder farmers, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O33, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae12:125100&r=afr |
| By: | Johannes Fedderke |
| Abstract: | The South African labor market has been characterized by high and persistent levels of unemployment, and a poor capacity to create jobs. This paper examines existing evidence on what rigidities have generated this outcome. Pricing power in output markets, as well as labor supply and demand side rigidities are all found to have contributed, resulting in excessive increases in real wage costs which under conditions of relatively low economic growth, has produced a stagnant labor market. Policy requirements are the pursuit of stonger economic growth and reductions in real labor costs. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:290&r=afr |
| By: | Henning, Christian H.C.A.; Seide, Laura |
| Keywords: | Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124949&r=afr |
| By: | Aderinoye-Abdulwahab, S.A.; Adefalu, L.L. |
| Abstract: | The study which was conducted in rural communities of Kwara State, Nigeria set to uncover how pastoralists‟ families cope with their livelihoods when their husbands have gone grazing with the cattle. It examined the social and financial coping strategies of their families through Focus group discussions and interviews with pastoralists, their wives and some extension agents. The findings revealed that the pastoralists live in marginalised conditions and they lack access to social services needed to boost their living conditions. The study recommended increased social networks by government and agricultural bodies to improve on the livelihoods of these people. |
| Keywords: | Pastoralists, Community, Marginalisation, Extension services., Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare12:124218&r=afr |
| By: | Sebaggala, Richard; Okello, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Overall, the study investigated the impact of access to and adoption of extension services and agricultural technology in reducing poverty in Uganda. To meet this objective, the researcher analysed the relationship between poverty and access to agricultural extension services and adoption of agricultural technology. A bivariate and multivariate approach was employed to determine whether access to and adoption of agricultural technology are significant factors in influencing the household poverty in Uganda. The results revealed that there is a significant but weak, relationship between poverty and access to agricultural extension and adoption of agricultural technology, and that poor households have the least access to agricultural extension services and low adoption of agricultural technology. The simulation results showed that improving access to agricultural extension and adoption of agricultural technology result into reduction in probability of being poor. Furthermore, on average access to extension services and adoption of agricultural technology is still very poor among the poor and non-poor Ugandans. High on the priority agenda should be concerted efforts to intensify accessibility to agricultural extension services and adoption of agricultural technology. |
| Keywords: | agricultural extension, agricultural technology, poor and non-poor, Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2010–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124622&r=afr |
| By: | Jen D. Snowball |
| Abstract: | Despite the debate about whether arts consumers are also sports consumers, many countries have used cultural events to leverage further tourism spending from sports events, the most famous example being the cultural Olympics. This paper reports the findings of research conducted at the 2010 South African National Arts Festival, which was specifically timed to coincide with Soccer World Cup matches being played in a nearby city. Of the 600 interviews conducted with Festival-goers, only 23% reported also attending World Cup soccer matches. Regression analysis revealed that, while there is some overlap between arts and sports attendees, their demographics and consumption habits are significantly different. However, consumption outside of major events showed somewhat more overlap. This suggests that staging cultural events at the same time as major sporting events is not an ideal strategy, since they tend to compete with, rather than complement, each other. |
| Keywords: | migration, trade, tourism, history, cultural affinity, ethnic reunion, ethnicity |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:294&r=afr |
| By: | Carlberg, Eric; Kostandini, Genti; Dankyi, Awere |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of Integrated Pest Management-Farmer Field School (IPM-FFS) programs on groundnut production in Ghana. The program was conducted in the groundnut regions of Ghana with the goal to improve groundnut agriculture through the dissemination of information and technology to the producers. Several approaches are used to control for selection and endogeneity on household level data collected in 2011 from FFS famers and non-FFS farmers. The results suggest that farmers who participated in the IPM-FFS program have significantly higher groundnut production levels. |
| Keywords: | Farmer Field School, Integrated Pest Management, Groundnut, Production, Ghana, Heckman Selection Model, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2012–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124876&r=afr |
| By: | Foltz, Jeremy D.; Aldana, Ursula; Laris, Paul |
| Keywords: | productivity, maize, Mali, green revolution, International Development, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124633&r=afr |
| By: | Anna Leigh Josephson; Jacob Ricker-Gilbert; Raymond Florax; Jordan Chamberlain; Derek Heady |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124996&r=afr |
| By: | Emilie Caldeira; Martial Foucault; Grégoire Rota-Graziosi |
| Abstract: | Decentralization has been put forward as a powerful tool to reduce poverty and improve governance in Africa. The aim of this paper is to study the existence, and identify the nature, of spillovers resulting from local expenditure policies. These spillovers impact the efficiency of decentralization. We develop a two-jurisdiction model of public expenditure, which differs from existing literature by capturing the extreme poverty of some local governments in developing countries through a generalized notion of the Nash equilibrium, namely, the constrained Nash equilibrium. We show how and under which conditions spillovers among jurisdictions induce strategic behaviours from local officials. By estimating a spatial lag model for a panel data analysis of the 77 communes in Benin from 2002 to 2008, our empirical analysis establishes the existence of the strategic complementarity of jurisdictions' public spending. Thus, any increase in the local public provision in one jurisdiction should induce a similar variation among the neighbouring jurisdictions. This result raises the issue of coordination among local governments, and more broadly, it questions the effeciency of decentralisation in developing countries in line with Oates' theorem. |
| JEL: | D72 H2 H7 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18126&r=afr |
| By: | Abatania, Luke N.; Hailu, Atakelty; Mugera, Amin W. |
| Abstract: | Crop production is the main source of livelihood for households in Northern Ghana. The government is committed to improving crop production and knowledge about the technical efficiency of crop farms is essential in guiding policy decisions. This paper examined the technical efficiency of 189 crop farms in Northern Ghana using data envelopment analysis (DEA) with bootstrapping. We found that bias-corrected average technical efficiency of the sample farms is 77.26%. The estimated scale efficiency is 94.21%. In a second stage regression, we found that hired labour, geographical location of farms, gender and age of head of household significantly affect technical efficiency. Policy implications of the results are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Technical efficiency, DEA, bootstrap, Ghana, OLS regression., Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare12:124211&r=afr |
| By: | Aye, Goodness C. |
| Abstract: | The current global food crisis presents a puzzle, thus raising concerns among researchers and policymakers. A number of causes have been identified. However, the relative importance of each factor is still uncertain. In this study, the link between food prices and the various interconnected factors are modelled. The study also quantifies the current and future poverty impacts of rising food and energy prices under a number of scenarios. In general, it was observed that rising food and energy prices have adverse effects on the Nigerian economy and household welfare. Thus, the need for appropriate policy responses cannot be overstressed. |
| Keywords: | fuel price, food price, climate change, poverty, Nigeria, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare12:125048&r=afr |
| By: | Smith, Vincent H.; Marenya, Paswel Phiri; Nkonya, Ephraim M.; Droppelmann, Klaus |
| Keywords: | choice elicitation, learning games, Malawi, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, Q18, Q24, C93, |
| Date: | 2012–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124635&r=afr |
| By: | Rulof Burger; Servaas van der Berg and Dieter von Fintel; Dieter von Fintel |
| Abstract: | In the late 1990s the South African Department of Education implemented two policies that were meant to reduce the large number of over-age learners in the school system: schools were no longer allowed to accept students who were more than two years older than the correct grade-age and students could not be held back more than once in each of four schooling phases. Our analysis uses school administrative data and household survey data to show that these policies coincided with a decrease in school enrolment of at least 400,000 and possibly as many as 900,000 learners. This effect was most noticeable for over-aged learners who remained in school due to their poor labour market prospects. Most of these students seem to have been pushed into the labour market by these policies, which could explain much of the sudden increase in labour force participation and unemployment over this period. However, since these individuals would probably have entered the labour market sooner if not for their poor employment prospects, we argue that the increase in unemployment signifies a more accurate reflection of disguised unemployment that already existed in the mid-1990s rather than a deterioration of labour market conditions. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:289&r=afr |
| By: | Uregia, Nigussie Tefera; Desta, Mulat Demeke; Rashid, Shahidur |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia has experienced high food prices since early 2004. This paper examines the welfare impacts of rising food prices in rural Ethiopia using Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) approach controlled for expenditure endogeniety and zero consumption expenditure. The elasticity coefficients from QUAIDS are used to estimate Compensated Variations (CV), which explicitly accounts for profit function and substitution effects. The study uses Ethiopia Rural Household Survey (ERHS) panel data in four waves encompassing both low and high price periods. The results have shown high food prices in recent years (between 2004 and 2009) increased welfare gain of rural households by about 10.5 percent on aggregate, as compared to less than 1 percent for the reference period (between 1994 and 2004). The welfare gains further improved to 18 percent (high price periods) with substitution effects, compared to 7.2 percent (low price periods). The welfare gains at aggregate level may not be equally distributed among rural households as about 37-46 percent of the sample households were net-cereal buyers (major staple crops) over the survey periods. However, the analysis has revealed high food price benefits not only net-cereal sellers but also autarkic and net-cereal buyers. The autarkic and net-cereal buyers could diversify income sources and benefits from high prices of other commodities such as such as pluses, fruits & vegetables, animal and animal products. They could also diversify to off-farm activities as average income from wage and transfer has indeed increased in 2009. Only poor families with limited farm and non-farm income need to be supported with safety net programs (both input and consumption support). It should be noted that, in the long-run, high prices could encourage net-sellers to invest and increase production which will eventually lead to lower food prices, which in turn benefit net-buyers. Meanwhile, many current net buyers could become net-sellers if grain prices are stable and favourable and if productive inputs are made available and affordable. |
| Keywords: | welfare, rising food prices, panel data, rural Ethiopia, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae12:124861&r=afr |
| By: | Beyene, Berhe Mekonnen (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The paper studies the effects of international remittances on poverty and inequality in Ethiopia using an urban household survey from 2004. In order to identify the effects of remittances on poverty and inequality, counterfactual consumption in the hypothetical case of no remittance is estimated in a selection corrected estimation framework. Inequality and poverty values in the hypothetical and actual cases are then compared. There is a significant reduction in poverty while inequality does not change. The head count, the poverty gap and the squared poverty gap ratios decreased by 2.5%, 1.1% and 0.6% respectively. |
| Keywords: | remittances; poverty; inequality; Ethiopia |
| JEL: | F24 I32 O15 |
| Date: | 2012–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2012_013&r=afr |
| By: | Branca, Giacomo; Lipper, Leslie; Sorrentino, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | Agriculture in Africa requires substantial investments, public and private, to increase agriculture productivity and achieve food security. Climate-smart agriculture options showing a win-win potential between food security and climate change adaptation on one side, and mitigation on the other side would enhance the capacity of the agriculture sector to sustainably support food security, incorporating the need for adaptation and the potential for mitigation into development strategies. The paper discusses a three-phase methodology to analyze the national agriculture investment plans with reference to climate change mitigation, through a combination of biological and economic modeling. Agriculture investments which can deliver food security and adaptation benefits are tested for their mitigation potential through a rapid screening methodology aimed at verifying the potential increase in Carbon sequestration and reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The mitigation benefits are estimated using the Ex-ante Carbon balance Tool (Ex-act) which can estimate the impact on GHG emissions and carbon sequestration of different land use and change scenarios. Last, Marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves are built in order to identify the least cost options. MAC curves show the order in which measures can be implemented and the relative cost of mitigation measures. Malawi case study is used as empirical application of the proposed methodology. |
| Keywords: | food security, adaptation, mitigation, benefit-cost analysis, externalities, Environmental Economics and Policy, D61, D62, H54, O13, Q55, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aieacp:124109&r=afr |
| By: | Meng, Ting; Florkowski, Wojciech J.; Kolavalli, Shashi; Ibrahim, Mohammed |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to identify which household factors and farm features determine the farm income in the rural households in the Northern Region of Ghana, and further to examine how farm income, nonfarm income and other socio-demographic factors affect the household fresh vegetable expenditure. The simultaneous equation model is applied to explore the interacting relationship between farm income and the fresh vegetable expenditure. The results indicate that the farm features such as cultivation of staple crops, total number of acres under groundnut cultivation, and the number of bullocks are the major determinants of the farm income, while the socio-demographic factors such as the nonfarm income, education, household composition, age, and gender of the household head significantly affect the fresh vegetable expenditure in the rural households. |
| Keywords: | Fresh vegetable expenditure, farm income, farm features, socio-demographic characteristics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124638&r=afr |
| By: | Janzen, Sarah A.; Carter, Michael R.; Ikegami, Munenobu |
| Abstract: | Ample evidence exists to suggest that nonlinear asset dynamics can give rise to an environment of poverty traps. When dynamic asset thresholds matter, risk not only affects households ex post, but it also influences ex ante behavior. In this environment some house-holds may have much to gain from a productive safety net which prevents asset levels from dipping below the Micawber threshold. Insurance is a market-based mechanism that can act as a safety net, improving the risk management strategies available to vulnerable households. In this paper we use dynamic programming methods to assess whether vulnerable households will `self-select' into an asset insurance scheme. We show that while such households opti- mally insure at low levels, insurance serves to crowd in additional investment, causing a shift in the Micawber threshold. This investment comes from the hope of reduced vulnerability that insurance oers in the future. Finally, we use our model to make predictions about the value of index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) in Marsabit district of northern Kenya. Our results suggest that the behavioral changes brought about by insurance may result in decreased poverty levels over time. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124805&r=afr |
| By: | Sakellariou, Chris |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to explore certain aspects underlying the substantial improvement in 8th grade student performance in Ghana on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study from2003 to 2007. The improvement was largely heterogeneous; in mathematics, performance improved more for students already performing well, while the opposite was the case for science, where students at the bottom of the score distribution experienced a spectacular increase in science scores. Most of the increase in scores for both mathematics and science is explained by over-time changes in coefficients (and a smaller part by improvements in characteristics). Contributors not accounted for (and therefore captured by changes in the constant) dominate the effects of the coefficients. One potentially important piece of information missing from the Ghana data is whether a school is private or public; this could potentially explain part of the over-time improvement. This is because over the short period between the two surveys, there was a large increase in the number of private schools in Ghana (by 36 percent between 2005/6 and 2007/8). Finally, an analysis of the over-time change in the test score gap by location (between large and small communities) revealed that the gap became more heterogeneous, narrowing for worse performing students and widening for better performing students. |
| Keywords: | Tertiary Education,Education For All,Secondary Education,Teaching and Learning,Primary Education |
| Date: | 2012–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6084&r=afr |
| By: | Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina (San Diego State University, California); Pozo, Susan (Western Michigan University) |
| Abstract: | Using a recent Spanish database, we show that remittances respond to cross country differences in portfolio values. This behavior suggests that immigrants are sophisticated economic optimizers who take advantage of opportunities to invest trans-nationally given the networks that immigrants are likely to have developed both in their host and home communities. The responsiveness to portfolio variables persists whether immigrants are highly or less highly educated. However, there are differences in the individual portfolio variables to which immigrants from various regions of the world respond to, as we would expect given migrants' diverse backgrounds and motives for emigrating. Additionally, remitting patterns change over time with the length of the migration spell, suggesting that remittances sent for portfolio motives become more likely as the immediate needs of family left back home are addressed and immigrants settle down in their host communities. |
| Keywords: | remittances, portfolio motives, Spain |
| JEL: | F24 F22 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6622&r=afr |
| By: | Flory, Jeffrey A. |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a randomized field experiment to identify the spillover effects of increased formal savings-use on non-farm business activity and production decisions of non-savers in villages. A panel analysis of 2,006 households in Central Malawi shows that a randomly assigned formal savings encouragement exogenously increases adoption of high-liquidity formal savings accounts in village communities. This increases receipts of cash assistance by non-saving households in the middle wealth-stratum, who may be on the margins for deciding to operate a non-farm business, or start growing cash crops or high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs). The hypothesized channel of effects is that expanded formal savings-use increases liquidity and decreases transaction costs, lowers the cost of making transfers, and thus increases receipts of cash aid even by non-saving households. Increased cash assistance is then linked among these households to increased probability of operating a non-farm enterprise or switching to HYVs or cash crops. This may result from a perception of increased security, which causes households to be more willing to take on higher-risk, higher-reward production activities. To date, little is known about how microfinance affects pre-existing informal insurance practices, and whether the production choices among those who utilize informal practices change as safety nets based on inter-household transfers strengthen or weaken when financial markets expand. This paper helps fill that gap. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance, formal savings, indirect effects, micro-enterprise, informal insurance, HYVs adoption, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2012–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:125013&r=afr |
| By: | Beyene, Berhe Mekonnen (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The paper studies the link between international remittances and interhousehold transfers. Using a simple insurance model, it is shown that households transfer a large fraction of the remittance they receive from relatives abroad to other households. The effect of remittances on interhousehold transfers is empirically investigated using an urban household survey from Ethiopia. Consistent with the prediction of the model, remittance has a strong positive effect on the amount of transfer given, controlling for total household income and other covariates. |
| Keywords: | international remittances; interhousehold transfers; mutual insurance; Ethiopia |
| JEL: | D19 F24 I30 R20 |
| Date: | 2012–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2012_014&r=afr |
| By: | Boakye, Daniel; Dessus, Sebastien; Foday, Yusuf; Oppong, Felix |
| Abstract: | Promoting sustainable development calls for investing rents from exhaustible mineral resources into human, physical and social capital, so as to protect the wealth of countries and the economic opportunities of their citizens. This has been difficult in well-governed Ghana in the last decade; and might prove to be extremely challenging in post-conflict countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, where preference for the present is high and institutions to collect rents and convert them into effective investments weak. The paper reviews the countries'degrees of preparedness to confront the various challenges associated with ongoing mineral booms, and tries to identify country-specific policy areas of particular relevance and potential impact for sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Expenditure Policy |
| Date: | 2012–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6089&r=afr |
| By: | Pieralli, Simone |
| Abstract: | We decompose yield difference relative to a reference level into components attributable to (1) efficiency difference, and movements along the frontier due to (2) land quality, to (3) land size, and to (4) other inputs. The production frontier is built using nonparametric methods requiring no specification of the functional form of the technology. We analyze the contributions to yield relative to a reference unit in terms of the quadripartite decomposition finding that results depend on the choice of the unit of reference. If the reference unit is chosen to be the mean, land size contributions are found to be negatively correlated to yield with usual finite moments regression methods. Also nonparamteric correlation confirms the negative sign of the relationship. If the reference unit is chosen to be the median instead, land size contributions are found to be negatively correlated to yield with usual finite moments regression methods. But nonparametric correlation is not statistically significant because many farmers have no contribution to production difference from their different land sizes. Integrated squared density difference tests show in both cases efficiency has a major role in shaping the distribution. |
| Keywords: | inverse land size-productivity relationship, productivity decomposition, efficiency, yield, Kenya, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, D20, C14, C43, |
| Date: | 2012–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124771&r=afr |
| By: | Anderson, C. Leigh; Reynolds, Travis William; Gugerty, Mary Kay |
| Abstract: | This paper examines husband and wife perspectives on the division of authority over agriculture-related decision-making within households in Tanzania and Mali. We develop a theoretical model of intrahousehold “accord,” defined as the level of agreement between husbands and wives over who holds authority for different decisions. We then empirically analyze husband and wife claims to authority over thirteen household farming decisions, explaining accord as a function of household characteristics and decision characteristics. We posit that lower transaction costs (in terms of negotiation and enforcement costs) make property rights over some decisions relatively more secure, resulting in greater accord over household authority for those decisions. We test our theoretical model using survey data from a stratified random sample of 3,763 households in Mali (n = 1,766) and Tanzania (n = 1,997). Cluster analysis and binary logistic regression suggest that variation in intra-household accord can be explained by both household characteristics (including individual spousal attitudes, relative spousal assets, and overall household resources) and by decision characteristics (such as whether the benefits of a given decision accrue to the individual spouse or to the household as a whole). Furthermore patterns of intra-household accord and predictors of intra-household accord both vary significantly by country (Mali versus Tanzania), but are consistent with the interpretation that cultural norms might lower decision-related transaction costs leading to efficient, if not necessarily equitable, household decision-making processes. |
| Keywords: | Mali, Tanzania, Farm decision-making, Household survey, Husbands/wives, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:125018&r=afr |
| By: | Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kumar, Neha; McNiven, Scott; Meenakshi, J.V.; Quisumbing, Agnes R. |
| Keywords: | gender, technology adoption, biofortification, International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, I12, O33, Q16, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:125017&r=afr |
| By: | Theriault, Veronique; Sterns, James A. |
| Abstract: | Applying John R. Commons institutional economic framework, this paper analyzes the evolution of the key institutions in the Malian cotton sector starting with the CFDT contract following the country‘s Independence in 1960; the nationalization of the cotton gin company, CMDT, in 1974; the completion of a vertically integrated market structure from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s; and, finally, to the current state of the market-oriented reforms in 2010. In accordance with John R. Commons’ economic theory, institutional changes in the Malian cotton sector have led to both intended and unintended consequences impacting economic performance at the farm, gin, and State levels, which in turn, has contributed to the emergence of new limiting factors. At present, the limiting factors to desired economic performance in the Malian cotton sector are: the lack of adequate extension services, high rates of indebtedness at both farmer and cooperative levels, difficulty in farming in an integrated system due to the limited access to cereal inputs on credit, low yields, delays in payment, and discordance between farmers and their union‘s leaders. Based on these findings, policy recommendations to revitalize the Malian cotton sector are drawn. |
| Keywords: | John R. Commons, Institutions, Cotton, Mali, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124460&r=afr |
| By: | Robinson, Elizabeth J.Z.; Albers, Heidi J.; Lokina, Razack; Ngeleza, Guyslain |
| Abstract: | Typically both local villagers (“insiders”) and non-locals (“outsiders”) extract products from protected forests even though the activities are illegal. Our paper suggests that, depending on the relative ecological damage caused by each group, budget-constrained forest managers may be able to reduce total forest degradation by legalizing “insider” extraction in return for local villagers involvement in enforcement activities. We illustrate this through the development of a game-theoretic model that considers explicitly the interaction between the forest manager who can combine a limited enforcement budget with legalization of insider resource extraction and livelihood projects |
| Keywords: | participatory forest management, local enforcement, Tanzania, charcoal production, non-timber forest products, bee keeping |
| Date: | 2012–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-12-07-efd&r=afr |
| By: | Veronesi, Marcella; Schlondorn, Tim; Zabel, Astrkd; Engel, Stefanie |
| Abstract: | Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is an important topic in the debate on policies to mitigate climate change. This is the first study to test and compare the environmental impact of different REDD+ payment schemes in the field, and provide some insights on the effectiveness of different policies with respect to the permanence of forest-based emission reductions. This study implements a stated preference experiment of time allocation in the unique setting of the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya, where charcoaling is a major source of forest degradation. The impact on time allocation is analyzed under the presumption that a hypothetical agricultural policy or an eco-charcoaling policy was introduced. We find that a policy that indexes eco-charcoal payments to charcoalers’ opportunity costs is the most effective policy in providing permanence in REDD+: it lowers the amount of labor allocated to charcoaling even at high charcoal prices. |
| Keywords: | REDD, permanence, deforestation, labor, Kenya, International Development, I38, J22, O13, Q18, Q23, Q28, Q56, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aieacp:124131&r=afr |
| By: | Gammadigbé, Vigninou |
| Abstract: | Using the annual data of real GDP from 1970 to 2010, this paper examines the synchronization of business cycles in the WAEMU. Two methods are used. First we calculate the cross correlations between cyclical components of real GDP of the different economies of the Union. The study then evaluate the concordance index proposed by Harding and Pagan [2002]. The results of the two approaches converge. They show that real cycles of the countries of WAEMU are weakly synchronous. Business cycles of the Ivory Coast, Mali and Niger are in phase with that of the WAEMU as a whole. The study also shows the asynchronous nature of the business cycle of Benin and that of the WAEMU. The results first demonstrate the high level of the risk that the common monetary policy will be countercyclical in some countries and procyclical in others, and secondly that the use of the common monetary policy in response to asymmetric shocks will cost for some countries. These results highlight the need to give a new impetus to the integration process to accelerate the cyclical convergence of WAEMU countries and facilitate the implementation of a common monetary policy that will be advantageous to all the countries the Union. |
| Keywords: | Synchronization, Business cycle, cross correlation, concordance index, WAEMU |
| JEL: | E32 C43 C41 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:39400&r=afr |
| By: | Essam, Timothy M. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:124654&r=afr |
| By: | Sassi, Maria; Cardaci, Alberto |
| Abstract: | The paper aims at analysing the impact of the likely change in rainfall on food availability and access to food in Sudan. The empirical investigation is based on an integrated approach consisting of a stochastic method and CGE model. The former provides the likely changes in sorghum, millet and wheat productivity and their probability of occurrence according to rainfall predictions based on historical data. These results are at the basis of the shocks simulated in a standard CGE model augmented with a stochastic component. Achievements underline the negative impact on the two dimensions of food security taken into consideration, mainly due to a reduction in cereal supply, a marked cereal inflation pressure and income contraction; the grater negative effect on the poorest households; and a deterioration of the economic performance of the country. In this context, the paper stresses a strong interconnection among climate change, poverty and food insecurity and thus the need for an integrated policy-making approach. |
| Keywords: | climate change, food security, stochastic approach, cge, sudan, Environmental Economics and Policy, C68, Q18, Q54, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aieacp:124110&r=afr |