Development Economics

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    MIGRATION-EDUCATION LINKAGES: THE CASE OF GHANA
    (University of Ghana , Legon, 2011-06-22) AMUAKWA-MENSAH, FRANKLIN
    Education and migration are very essential in development outcomes since education improves the capability of the individual. Despite studies on migration in Ghana, the link between migration and education in the Ghanaian economy is unclear. This study therefore presents an empirical examination of the linkages between migration and education in Ghana. While GLSS 4 and GLSS 5 datasets were used for the descriptive analysis, the GLSS 5 dataset was used for the econometric estimations. Heckman‟s two stage method was used in examining the impact of education on migration; however the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation was used to find the impact of migrant remittances on education expenditure. The relationship between migration and education was also examined by using the chi-square test. The empirical results revealed that a greater proportion of internal migration in Ghana is rural-rural and urban-rural. Also, an individual‟s educational attainment positively affects his/her decision to migrate. Further, it was seen that other socio-economic variables significantly affect an individual‟s migration decision. Though education affects the migration decision in both urban and rural areas, its significance varies for the different stages of educational attainment. Moreover, it was found that migrant remittances positively affect educational expenditure. Based on the findings of the study it is recommended that the education system should be improved in the entire country by providing qualified teachers and studying materials, and the rural areas should be upgraded close to the standard of the urban area in order to reduce inequality in educational infrastructure. Also, a smooth functioning credit market should be created in the country to provide financial support to households which do not receive remittances to finance their educational expenditure.
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    The Impact of Global Commodity Price Shocks on Liquidity in Zimbabwe
    (University of Zimbabwe, 2021-04-22) Mabuka, Stanley
    The study investigated the impact of global commodity price shocks on liquidity in Zimbabwe using monthly time series data spanning from 2009M01 to 2017M12. The study employed the first order VAR model based on impulse response functions and forecast error variance decomposition. Further, a two-step regression procedure was employed to determine the shock propagation mechanism. The results obtained confirmed that global commodity price shocks impact on liquidity in Zimbabwe. Within the period under review, commodity price shocks were found to be propagated into the economy through the fiscal performance transmission mechanism.
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    EFFICIENCY OF BOTSWANA MEAT COMMISSION
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2012-09-22) Nkombeledzi, Geraldine
    Over the years BMC has been characterised by a series of fluctuations in its throughput and also the inability to operate at full capacity. An interesting detail is that, demand for beef and beef products has risen as evidenced by a rise in domestic consumption. BEDIA (2008) reports that, the number of cattle supplied to BMC over the years has declined, while on the other hand, domestic consumption has increased and local butcheries have attracted an increasing number of cattle made available for slaughter: as a result throughput at BMC abattoirs has declined leading to excess capacity. Given that, Botswana has higher potential of meat production than it actually produces, there is therefore a need to determine BMC level of efficiency and identify possible causes of inefficiency so as to reduce existing excess capacity and improve its performance. This study employed Stochastic Frontier Analysis to assess technical efficiency of Botswana Meat Commission. The results indicate that BMC is not technically efficient. The study also used Ordered Logit to assess factors having an influence on efficiency. Factors that were found to have influence include material input, producer prices and exchange rate. In consideration of the potential that the sector possesses such as diversification of the economy and export earnings among others, strategies that can enhance BMC performance must be fully explored. Options that can be explored include; opening up of the market so that producer prices are competitively set and further processing of by products which can be outsourced so that the commission concentrates on efficient production of beef and beef products
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    DETERMINANTS OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS
    (University Of Bostwana, 2020-09-04) MAHLOANE, TSEPO BENJAMIN
    This study pursued an investigation of the relationship between the quality of institutions and private investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The literature on determinants of economic growth establishes the importance of investment in the growth of an economy. SSA countries have been experiencing deficiency in private investment growth for several decades with consequences on the growth of these countries. This study contributes to the debate on policies to promote private investment in the region. The study focused on the influence of administrative quality, public accountability and political stability. Dynamic panel econometric methods were applied to data from 25 SSA countries for the period 1990-2016. The empirical results of the Arellano-Bond first step generalized methods of moments support the notion that improvement in public accountability and political stable environment is likely to improve private investment in SSA. One way that this study can be extended is to investigate causality between institutional quality and private investment. This could potentially provide more insight on the interaction between the two.
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    TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ZIMBABWE: THE CASE OF HARARE PROVINCE
    (University of Zimbabwe, 2017-05-22) ZVENDIYA, RONALD
    In light of the efforts by government to lift the Zimbabwean system of primary education, the study assesses technical efficiency of primary schools using Data Envelopment Analysis. Precisely, the study examines the technical efficiency of 27 primary schools based on obtainable inputs data on number of classrooms, teaching staff, enrollment, average class size and number of toilets and output data on performance in primary leaving examinations. The efficiency scores are then regressed against input variables and locational dummy to determine their effect on efficiency. Furthermore, the study also examines total factor productivity change in these primary schools based on the Malmquist Index using panel data for 5 years from 2011 to 2015. The results from the Data Envelopment Analysis suggest that a great number of the primary schools are not efficient because they have efficiency scores less than 1. Additionally, results from the efficiency scores suggest that primary schools could improve performance by 14.3% using the same resources. Moreover, mean annual total factor productivity growth decreased by 2.9%. Analysis of Tobit regression shows a negative significant relationship between average class size and efficiency thus congested classes are associated with inefficiency. Primary schools situated in low density areas are found to perform better than their high density counterparts. The study recommends that government policy should be geared towards reducing the average class size. The increasing levels of enrollment should be dealt with by increasing the number of classes and the number of teachers. The assessment system in primary schools should be restructured to ensure improvement in the low pass rates by implementing a competency based assessment framework which is more valid to skills improvement.