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on Africa |
| By: | Jalloh, Abdulai; Nelson, Gerald C.; Thomas, Timothy S.; Zougmoré, Robert; Roy-Macauley, Harold |
| Abstract: | The first of three books in IFPRI’s climate change in Africa series, West African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis examines the food security threats facing 11 of the countries that make up West Africa — Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo — and explores how climate change will increase the efforts needed to achieve sustainable food security throughout the region. West Africa’s population is expected to grow at least through mid-century. The region will also see income growth. Both will put increased pressure on the natural resources needed to produce food, and climate change makes the challenges greater. West Africa is already experiencing rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increasing extreme events. Without attention to adaptation, the poor will suffer. Through the use of hundreds of scenario maps, models, figures, and detailed analysis, the editors and contributors of West African Agriculture and Climate Change present plausible future scenarios that combine economic and biophysical characteristics to explore the possible consequences for agriculture, food security, and resources management to 2050. They also offer recommendations to national governments and regional economic agencies already dealing with the vulnerabilities of climate change and deviations in environment. Decisionmakers and researchers will find West African Agriculture and Climate Change a vital tool for shaping policy and studying the various and likely consequences of climate change. |
| Keywords: | Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, West Africa, Africa South of Sahara, Africa, agriculture, Climate change, food security, Crops, Crop yield, Crop modeling, Crop diversification, Crop production, crop failure, land use, Land races, Plant land races, Population distribution, precipitation, Temperature, area, Rainfed farming, maize, Millets, Sorghum, Rice, Groundnuts, data, methodology, International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade, IMPACT model, Greenhouse gases, Rural population, Economic losses, farmers, National Adaptation Programmes of Action, NAPA, farming systems, Livestock, Mortality, food prices |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resrep:abdulaijalloh&r=afr |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice A |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to complement theoretical and qualitative literature with empirical evidence on the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration in 52 African countries. It deviates from mainstream country-specific and microeconomic survey-based approaches in the literature and provides the first macroeconomic assessment of the ‘mobile phone’-inequality nexus. The findings suggest that mobile penetration is pro-poor, as it has a positive income equality effect. ‘Mobile phone’-oriented poverty reduction channels are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Mobile Phones; Shadow Economy; Poverty; Inequality; Africa |
| JEL: | E00 G20 I30 L9 L96 O33 O55 |
| Date: | 2012–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46041&r=afr |
| By: | AfDB |
| Date: | 2013–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbget:450&r=afr |
| By: | Egziabher, Kidanemariam G.; Mathijs, Erik; Deckers, Jozef A.; Gebrehiwot, Kindeya; Bauer, Hans; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the impact of the Integrated Household Extension Program (IHEP) in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia – in contrast to the majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – invests heavily in agricultural extension but very little empirical evidence is available on the impact of public extension services on farm performance and household welfare that could justify these investments. The IHEP program is a particularly interesting case as it is an example for how agricultural extension systems in developing countries changed during the past two decades, from centralized top-down technology-transfer-orientated approaches to decentralized, participatory and more integrated approaches. We empirically assess the impact of participation in the IHEP program on household income, investment and income diversification. We use household survey data from 730 farm-households in the Tigray region and propensity score matching methods to estimate the impact. We find that the extension program had a large positive impact on household welfare – increasing income with about 10 percent – and on investment and income diversification. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural extension, farm-household welfare, income diversification, propensity score matching, Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Q12, Q16, O12, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:146558&r=afr |
| By: | PF Blaauw, I Botha, R Schenck and C Schoeman |
| Abstract: | Past research provided evidence of the negative effect that individual unemployment can have on subjective well-being. The persistent high levels of unemployment and poverty in South Africa have been well documented. Many people are forced into the informal economy, where they engage in a variety of survivalist activities such as day labouring. As no previous study has been conducted on the well-being of day labourers, the aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the well-being of South African day labourers. Objective and subjective functions are compared to determine the role of income and other variables in the well-being of day labourers. The determinants are categorised according to economic, comparison and attitudinal variables. The objective function uses income and the subjective function uses the binary measure of ‘experiencing a good week in terms of wages’ as dependent variables. The results showed that comparison variables are important determinants for the subjective measure of well-being, and attitudinal variables are important for the objective measure of well-being. The economic variables were important in both functions. The findings of this paper confirm other research findings showing that personal income is important for well-being in a poor community. The difference between these functions indicates that the subjective and objective measures of well-being both capture valuable characteristics of SWB in a poor community. |
| Keywords: | Day labouring, Well-being, Happiness, Informal economy |
| JEL: | J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:337&r=afr |
| By: | Johan Fourie (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch); Robert Ross (Deapertments of History, Universities of Leiden and South Africa); Russel Viljoen (Department of History, University of South Africa) |
| Abstract: | Measures of education quality – primarily, years of schooling or literacy rates – are widely used to ascertain the contribution of human capital formation to long-run economic growth and development. This paper, using a census of 4,678 mission station residents, documents for the first time literacy and numeracy rates of non-white citizens in nineteenth-century South Africa. The 1849 census allows for an investigation into how the mission stations influenced the growth of literacy in the Cape Colony. We find that age, gender, duration of residence, whether the individual arrived at the station after the emancipation of slaves or was born there and, importantly, which missionary society was operating the station, matter for literacy performance. The results offer new insights into the comparative performance of missionary societies in South Africa and contribute to the debate about the role of missionary societies in the development of a colonial society. |
| Keywords: | human capital, South Africa, missionary, literacy, age-heaping |
| JEL: | N37 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers182&r=afr |
| By: | Cecilia García-Peñalosa (Aix Marseille University (Aix Marseille School of Economics), Cnrs and Ehess); Maty Konte (Aix Marseille University (Aix Marseille School of Economics), Cnrs and Ehess) |
| Abstract: | A substantial literature has examined the determinants of support for democracy and although existing work has found a gender gap in democratic attitudes, there have been no attempts to explain it. In this paper we try to understand why females are less supportive of democracy than males in a number of countries. Using data for 20 Sub-Saharan African countries, we test whether the gap is due to individual differences in policy priorities or to country-wide characteristics. We find that controlling for individual policy priorities does not offset the gender gap, but those women who are interested in politics are more democratic than men. Furthermore, our results indicate that the gap disappears in countries with high levels of human development and political rights. |
| Keywords: | Support for democracy, gender gap, policy priorities, institutions |
| JEL: | D01 J16 O38 O55 |
| Date: | 2013–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1319&r=afr |
| By: | Günther, Isabel; Horst, Alexandra; Lüthi, Christoph; Mosler, Hans-Joachim; Niwagaba, Charles B.; Tumwebaze, Innocent K. |
| Abstract: | Results of a representative survey conducted with 1’500 poor households in Uganda’s capital during November 2010 show that the majority of Kampala’s urban poor have access to on-site sanitation facilities. Despite the widespread accessibility to sanitation, the conditions of many facilities are unsatisfactory due to the generally large number of users per stance. This leads to low hygienic standards and waiting times for toilet users. As a result, “flying toilets” is (at least occasionally) still a common practice among the urban poor, and many toilets are abandoned after a relatively short time - thus questioning the true level of sanitation access in Kampala’s low-income areas. Household investment in good-quality on-site facilities is discouraged by the lack of property rights and high prices, often exceeding the average annual per capita income in Kampala’s poor settlements. |
| Keywords: | sanitation, low-income areas, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | I30 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45832&r=afr |
| By: | Tsangyao Chang (Department of Finance, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan); Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the causal relationship between housing activity and growth in nine provinces of South Africa for the period 1995-2011, using panel causality analysis, which accounts for cross-section dependency and heterogeneity across provinces. Our empirical results support unidirectional causality running from housing activity to economic growth for most of the provinces studied; bi-directional causality between housing activity and economic growth for Gauteng; and no causality in any direction between housing activity to economic growth in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Our findings provide important insights for housing policies and strategies for South Africa. Specifically, housing sector might be an efficient growth-led instrument for all the provinces except Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. |
| Keywords: | House Prices, Economic Growth, Dependency and Heterogeneity, Panel Causality Test |
| JEL: | C33 R11 R12 R31 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201317&r=afr |
| By: | Gersovitz, Mark; Kriger, Norma |
| Abstract: | The authors argue that the academic literature, both qualitative and quantitative, has mislabeled most episodes of large-scale violence in Africa as civil war; these episodes better fit their concept of regional war complexes. The paper seeks to highlight the fundamental flaws in the conception of civil war in the econometric literature and their implications for econometric specification and estimation, problems that this literature is inherently incapable of rectifying. The authors advocate the comparative study of regional war complexes in Africa based on historical narratives. |
| Keywords: | Post Conflict Reconstruction,Peace&Peacekeeping,Post Conflict Reintegration,International Affairs,Hazard Risk Management |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6397&r=afr |
| By: | Houssou, Nazaire; Diao, Xinshen; Cossar, Frances; Kolavalli, Shashidhara; Jimah, Kipo; Aboagye, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries. |
| Keywords: | agricultural transformation; mechanization; agricultural mechanization; tractor hire; Investment; Government policy; subsidies; Private ownership; Market development; Private sector;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1255&r=afr |
| By: | Harari, Mariaflavia; La Ferrara, Eliana |
| Abstract: | We conduct a geographically and temporally disaggregated empirical analysis of civil conflict at the sub-national level in Africa over the period 1997-2011. Our units of observation are cells of 1 degree of latitude by 1 degree of longitude. We exploit within-year variation in the timing of weather shocks and in the growing season of different crops, as well as spatial variation in crop cover, to construct an original measure of shocks that are relevant for agricultural production. Employing a new drought index we show that negative climate shocks which occur during the growing season of the main crop cultivated in the cell have a sizeable and persistent effect on conflict incidence. We also use state-of-the-art spatial econometric techniques to test for the presence of temporal and spatial spillovers in conflict, and we find both to be sizeable and highly statistically significant. Exploiting variation in the type of conflict episode, we find that the impact of climate shocks on conflict is particularly significant when focusing on outcomes such as battles and violence against civilians. Our estimates can be used to predict how future warming scenarios affect the prevalence and diffusion of conflict. |
| Keywords: | Africa; civil conflict; gridded data; spatial; weather shocks |
| JEL: | O12 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9277&r=afr |
| By: | Mapila, Mariam A. T. J.; Kirsten, Johann F.; Meyer, Ferdinand; Kankwamba, Henry |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of the Malawi maize commodity market that is developed for use as a policy analysis tool. The model captures national and local maize market dynamics and the linkages existing within the maize market in the country. This research has been undertaken in order to provide policy makers with a robust tool which can be used to simulate the impact of policy changes on markets and households. |
| Keywords: | Impact evaluation; simulations; time series; Modeling; Commodities; Commodity markets; maize; Agricultural policy;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1254&r=afr |
| By: | Günther, Isabel; Niwagaba, Charles B.; Lüthi, Christoph; Horst, Alexandra; Mosler, Hans-Joachim; Tumwebaze, Innocent K. |
| Abstract: | The international debate on the question of whether shared and/or public sanitation facilities should be considered improved is still open. The concern is that a shared sanitation facility cannot be maintained in hygienic conditions when used by too many people. The analysis of 1’500 randomly selected toilets in the urban slums of Kampala showed that only 22 percent of households have access to private sanitation facilities; the remaining 78 percent share their toilet with an average of 6 households. There is a clear and strong correlation between number of users and the condition and cleanliness of a toilet stance. Less than 20 percent of private toilets are dirty, whereas 60 percent of sanitation facilities are dirty if they are shared by more than 10 households. This policy brief asserts that toilet facilities shared by not more than four households can be considered “acceptable” or improved, with “only” about 25 percent classified as dirty by an objective evaluation. |
| Keywords: | sanitation, low-income areas, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | I30 O12 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45830&r=afr |
| By: | Kneller, Richard; Misch, Florian |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits the unique institutional features of South Africa to estimate the impact of provincial public spending on health, education and transport on firm productivity. Our identification strategy is based on within industry-province differences between firms of the effects of public spending. We show that public spending composition affects firm productivity depending on the capital intensity of firms relative to the province-industry mean. Our data and empirical specification allow us to rule out that these results are affected by econometric problems that are commonly encountered when estimating the effects of fiscal policy and by unobserved industry- or province-specific productivity shocks. In contrast to related existing microeconomic evidence, we take into account the government budget constraint so that our results have clear policy implications. -- |
| Keywords: | Public Spending Composition,Productive Public Spending,Firm Productivity |
| JEL: | D24 H32 H72 O12 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13014&r=afr |
| By: | Jeremy Greenwood (University of Pennsylvania); Philipp Kircher (University of Edinburgh); Cezar Santos (University of Mannheim); Michele Tertilt (University of Mannheim) |
| Abstract: | Eleven percent of the Malawian population is HIV infected. Eighteen percent of sexual encounters are casual. A condom is used one quarter of the time. A choice-theoretic general equilibrium search model is constructed to analyze the Malawian epidemic. In the developed framework, people select between different sexual practices while knowing the inherent risk. The analysis suggests that the efficacy of public policy depends upon the induced behavioral changes and general equilibrium effects that are typically absent in epidemiological studies and small-scale field experiments. For some interventions (some forms of promoting condoms or marriage), the quantitative exercise suggests that these effects may increase HIV prevalence, while for others (such as male circumcision or increased incomes) they strengthen the effectiveness of the intervention. The underlying channels giving rise to these effects are discussed in detail. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian learning, circumcision, condoms, disease transmission,HIV/AIDS, homo economicus, Malawi, marriage, policy intervention, sex markets, search, STDs |
| JEL: | D10 D50 E10 I10 O11 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eag:rereps:20&r=afr |
| By: | Pauw, Karl; Dorosh, Paul A.; Mazunda, John |
| Abstract: | This study demonstrates why devaluation was ultimately necessary in Malawi and also what its eventual impact might be in terms of prices, income distribution, and domestic production. Our approach is to use a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the economywide impacts of foreign exchange shortages in Malawi under two alternative exchange rate regimes. The foreign exchange shortages are modeled by simulating the effect of actual shocks, including tobacco price declines and reductions in direct budgetary support or foreign direct investments. We then evaluate the economy’s response to these shocks under a fixed exchange rate regime and a flexible exchange rate regime. |
| Keywords: | exchange rate; Devaluation of currency; foreign exchange rationing; Currencies; Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model; Economic policy;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1253&r=afr |
| By: | Ashraf, Quamrul; Galor, Oded |
| Abstract: | Despite the importance attributed to the e¤ects of diversity on the stability and prosperity of nations, the origins of the uneven distribution of ethnic and cultural fragmentation across countries have been underexplored. Building on the role of deeply-rooted biogeographical forces in comparative development, this research empirically demonstrates that genetic diversity, predominantly determined during the prehistoric “out of Africa” migration of humans, is an underlying cause of various existing manifestations of ethnolinguistic heterogeneity. Further exploration of this uncharted territory may revolutionize the understanding of the e¤ects of deeply-rooted factors on economic development and the composition of human capital across the globe. |
| Keywords: | Cultural Diversity; Fractionalization; Genetic Diversity |
| JEL: | N30 O10 O30 O50 Z10 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9306&r=afr |
| By: | Jörg Peters; Maximiliane Sievert; Christoph Strupat |
| Abstract: | Widely considered as an important backbone of economies in developing countries, micro- and small enterprises face several constraints in doing business in Ghana. The creation of industrial zones (IZ) with improved access to infrastructure and secured land tenure is a potential remedy to promote local economic development. In this paper, we assess the effects of an intervention on business performance that establishes or upgrades IZs for micro- and small enterprises in Ghana based on firm-level data on 227 enterprises. Lacking reliable baseline data and an appropriate control group, we use retrospective questions to reconstruct the situation before the intervention. Furthermore, in order to account for general changes in the local economic environment, we examine regional agricultural market development over time. The results show that the establishment of IZs leads to the creation of new firms, but for existing firms that relocated to the IZs the effects on firm performance are negative. |
| Keywords: | Project evaluation; firm clustering; micro-enterprises |
| JEL: | O14 O22 L69 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0407&r=afr |
| By: | Beaman, Lori; Karlan, Dean S.; Thuysbaert, Bram; Udry, Christopher |
| Abstract: | In an experiment providing fertilizer grants to women rice farmers in Mali, we found that women who received fertilizer increased both the quantity of fertilizer they used on their plots and complementary inputs such as herbicides and hired labor. This highlights that farmers respond to an increase in availability of one input by re-optimizing other inputs, making it challenging to isolate the returns to any one input. We also found that while the increase in inputs led to a significantly higher level of output, we find no evidence that profits increased. Our results suggest that fertilizer's impact on profits is small compared to other sources of variation. This may make it difficult for farmers to observe the impact of fertilizer on their plots, and accordingly this affects their ability to learn about the returns to fertilizer and could affect their decision to adopt even in the absence of credit constraints. |
| Keywords: | agricultural economics; returns to fertilizer |
| JEL: | O12 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9340&r=afr |
| By: | Ojah Patrick , Ogebe; Joseph Orinya , Ogebe; Kemi , Alewi |
| Abstract: | This study seeks to investigate the impact of capital structure on firm performance in Nigeria from 2000 to 2010. We considered the impact of some key macroeconomic variables (gross domestic product and inflation) on firm performance. The traditional theory of capital structure was employed to determine the significance of leverage and macroeconomic variables on firm’s performance. The study makes a comparative analysis of the selected firms which are classified into highly and lowly geared firms setting a leverage threshold of above 10% as being highly geared. A static panel analysis was used to achieve the objectives of the study. Using fixed effect regression estimation model, a relationship was established between performance (proxied by return on investment) and leverage of the firms over a period of ten years. The results provide strong evidence in support of the traditional theory of capital structure which asserts that leverage is a significant determinant of firms’ performance. A significant negative relationship is established between leverage and performance. From our findings, we strongly recommended that firms should use more of equity than debt in financing their business activities, this is because in spite of the fact that the value of a business can be enhanced with debt capital, it gets to a point that it becomes detrimental. Each firm should establish with the aid of professional financial managers, that particular debt-equity mix that maximizes its value and minimizes its weighted average cost of capital. |
| Keywords: | Capital Structure,Firm Performance and Leverage |
| JEL: | G32 |
| Date: | 2013–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45986&r=afr |
| By: | Filipski, Mateusz; Manning, Dale; Taylor, J. Edward; Diao, Xinshen; Pradesha, Angga |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the findings of a local economywide impact evaluation of Feed the Future irrigation projects in the Morogoro region of Tanzania, using a local economy-wide impact evaluation (LEWIE) simulation model. The findings indicate that these irrigation projects can generate important indirect impacts within the region. The structure of local markets, as well as labor and land availability, shapes project spillovers in ways that point to future directions for development assistance in the region. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation; General equilibrium model; local economywide impact evaluation model (LEWIE); Rice productivity;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1247&r=afr |
| By: | Zerfu, Elias; Kebede, Sindu W. |
| Abstract: | This study is motivated by the idea that even though participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is widely accepted as a tool to manage development programs to be effective, its application is widely constrained by its high start-up resource requirements in terms of both finance and time. However, this paper argues that after the initial investment is made, the payback from using PM&E is much higher both in terms of grassroots-level learning, empowerment, and capacity building and in terms of higher-level strategic decision making which enhances impact. |
| Keywords: | Farmer field schools; Participatory methods; Participation; Monitoring and evaluation; Technology adoption; Agricultural development; Capacity building;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1256&r=afr |
| By: | Pina, Gilson M. G. |
| Abstract: | The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between sectors of activity in a small economy, exemplified by the case of Cape Verde, in order to analyze the impact that each one has on the others. Using the vector autoregressive (VAR) approach, the short-run and long-run relationships were estimated among the three main sectors of activity in the Cape Verdean economy, namely agriculture, industry and services, from 1980 to 2010. The main results showed that the services sector is the only exogenous sector in the Cape Verdean economy, and it has a positive effect on the variation of the added value of industry sector and negative effect in agriculture sector, unlike industry that is correlated positively with all others sectors. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Structural Change, Cape Verde. |
| JEL: | O13 O14 O40 Q19 |
| Date: | 2013–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46015&r=afr |
| By: | Maertens, Miet; Verhofstadt, Ellen |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse the indirect effects of the boom in horticultural exports in Senegal on child schooling. The export boom has caused a dramatic increase in female off-farm wage employment, which led to increased female bargaining power in the household. We investigate the causal effect of female wage income on primary school enrolment. We develop a collective household model with endogenous bargaining power to show that, if women have higher preferences for schooling than men, the impact of female wage income on school enrolment will be the result of a positive income effect, a negative labour substitution effect and a positive empowerment effect. We address the question empirically using original household survey data from Senegal. We use different econometric techniques and show that female off-farm wage income has a positive effect on primary school enrolment, and that the effect is equally large for girls and boys. Our results imply that the horticultural export boom in Senegal has indirectly contributed to the second and third Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education and elimination of gender disparities in primary education. |
| Keywords: | globalisation, female labour market participation, female empowerment, collective household model, primary school enrolment, gender disparity in schooling, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:146519&r=afr |