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on Africa |
| By: | AfDB |
| Date: | 2013–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:449&r=afr |
| By: | AfDB |
| Date: | 2013–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:448&r=afr |
| By: | ADRIENNE M. LUCAS (Department of Economics,University of Delaware) |
| Abstract: | Primary school enrollments have increased rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, spurring concerns about low levels of learning. We analyze field experiments in Kenya and Uganda that assessed whether the Reading to Learn program, implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation in both countries, improved early-grade literacy as measured by common assessments. We find that Ugandan literacy (in Lango) increased by 0.2s. We find a smaller effect (0.08s) on a Kenyan literacy test in Swahili. We find no evidence that differential effects are explained by baseline differences in students or classrooms, or by implementation fidelity. We conclude that differences between countries can likely be attributed to differential effective exposure to the literacy treatment in the tested languages. Students in Kenya were tested in Swahili, which is not necessarily the primary language of instruction, despite official policy. |
| Keywords: | education, literacy, teacher training, Kenya, Uganda, randomized controlled trial |
| JEL: | I2 O15 H52 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:13-03.&r=afr |
| By: | ADRIENNE M. LUCAS (Department of Economics,University of Delaware); NICHOLAS L.WILSON (Department of Economics, Williams College) |
| Abstract: | One in five Zambian children lives with an HIV/AIDS-infected adult. We estimate the effect that the availability of adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) has on the health of such children. Using a triple difference specification, we find that adult access to ART resulted in increased weight-for-age and decreased incidence of stunting among children younger than 60 months who resided with an infected father or other infected adult in an intact household. Because the increased availability of adult ART in sub-Saharan Africa has multigenerational effects, cost-effectiveness estimates restricted to direct recipients understate the economic benefit of the treatment. |
| Keywords: | antiretroviral therapy, HIV, health, anthropometrics, children, Zambia |
| JEL: | I12 I15 J13 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:13-02.&r=afr |
| By: | Tilman Brück; Sindu Workneh Kebede |
| Abstract: | This study aims to explore poverty measures, its dynamics and determinants using Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and consumption poverty. Our results show that the two measures assign similar poverty status to about 52 percent of households and that both approaches confirm poverty is mainly transient in rural Ethiopia. However, we find that the trend in adjusted head count poverty is different when using these two poverty measures. In terms of determinants of poverty dynamics, we find that household size matters in consumption poverty while we do not find significant effects on multidimensional poverty. Amongst the shocks, drought shock is found to affect consumption poverty but not multidimensional poverty. This implies that short-term shocks are more reflected in consumption poverty while the effect of simultaneous shocks is exhibited significantly on multidimensional poverty. Overall, our result provides empirical evidence on the importance of using both measures as complementary to get a full picture of poverty measure, dynamics and determinants. |
| Keywords: | poverty dynamics, consumption, multidimensional poverty index, rural Ethiopia |
| JEL: | I32 O12 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1287&r=afr |
| By: | Aizhen Li (University of Connecticut); Boris E. Bravo-Ureta (University of Connecticut); David K. Okello (National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI)); Carl M. Deom (University of Georgia); Naveen Puppala (New Mexico State University) |
| Abstract: | This study contributes to understanding the relationship between climatic variables and groundnut production in different farming systems in Uganda. Alternative production function models are estimated using pooled cross-sectional time series data at the district level. The models incorporate land area, indicators for farming systems, technological change, and either rainfall or the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effect as variables to account for climatic conditions. The data set includes 333 observations corresponding to 37 districts for 9 consecutive years, from 1992 to 2000. Analyses were performed using a Translog functional form and GARCH estimators. The results suggest that the partial elasticity of production for land is positive, high and significant, which is consistent with a priori expectations. Farming systems are also found to have a significant impact on output variability. Climatic conditions, measured by rainfall, have a non-significant effect; but, when the ENSO phenomenon is used instead a significant negative effect is detected particularly for the warm phase. An important and alarming finding is a marked negative rate of technological change revealing productivity losses over the time period studied. |
| Keywords: | Uganda, Groundnuts, Productivity, GARCH, Rainfall, ENSO |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zwi:wpaper:17&r=afr |
| By: | Berardi, N. |
| Abstract: | We develop a theoretical framework that considers the role played by moral hazard and the diversity of networks and cultures in the choice of hiring channel. In favoritism contexts social networks, and particularly strong ties, are adopted as hiring channels for unskilled jobs and result in wage penalties, while otherwise the opposite happens. We estimate an endogenous switching model for the case of Senegal's manufacturing formal sector and find, consistently with our theoretical predictions in case of favoritism, that informal hiring channels are preferred to fill unskilled vacancies and are associated with a wage penalty, especially when ties are stronger. |
| Keywords: | Social networks, Hiring channel, Wage differential. |
| JEL: | O12 J31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:429&r=afr |