Development Economics

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    INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, TRADE, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
    (University of Nairobi, 2022-01-17) BABU, JAMES OCHIENG
    Infrastructure holds a central position in a country’s economic activity, hence the need to do a comprehensive analysis of its specific contributions to an economy. In the last decades, the East African Community (EAC) governments have devoted significant public resources towards building new infrastructure projects in the region. However, growth has not been commensurate with increased public investment in infrastructure; in addition, the volume of trade has stagnated. Therefore, this study employed panel time-series technique and infrastructure augmented production function, to establish the short- and long-run relationship between infrastructure stock and economic growth using data for the period 1990-2019. The study also explored the possible channels through which infrastructure could manifest itself on growth by doing an in-depth analysis on key determinants of growth, like private investment and trade. Infrastructure stock index was constructed from public economic infrastructure including transport, energy, and communications. Data was obtained from various sources including the Socio-Economic database of African Development Bank, World Bank database, International Monetary Fund database and National Bureaus of Statistics of EAC Partner States. Panel data models for growth and private investment were analysed using pooled mean group estimation technique. The study established a cointegrating relationship between infrastructure stock and economic growth in EAC and a uni-directional causality from infrastructure to economic growth. Using an error correction framework to capture the short-and long-run dynamics, the results confirmed that, public infrastructure investment crowds-out private investment in the short-run but crowds-in private investment in the long-run. The study estimated a gravity model augmented for both hard and soft infrastructures from transport and information and communications technology indicators using random effects model and Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood method. Both methods confirmed that infrastructure stock is important in increasing the volume of EAC’s trade. The policy implications are that increased investment is vital in economic infrastructure to increase infrastructure stock, encourage private sector activities and growth in the long-run. Macroeconomic stability is also crucial for private sector investment. Transport infrastructure has a greater impact on exports than Information and Communications Technology infrastructure and thus, it is important to channel additional resources towards increasing transport infrastructure stock. The study also found that, many documents required for exports lowers the volume of trade, hence it is critical to enhance border efficiency for more trade.
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    SUSTAINABILITY OF MICROFINANCE AND HOUSEHOLD ACCESS TO CREDIT: EVIDENCE FROM CÔTE D’IVOIRE
    (University of Felix Houphouët Boigny, 2014-01-23) TOGBA, Leadaut Edith Prisca
    The attainment of sustainability is critical for the long term viability of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which provide a set of financial products to all those excluded from formal financial system, in particularly to the low income households. But, such preoccupations force some MFIs to divert from their social missions in favor of profit. This thesis is out to propose mechanisms that will permit MFIs not only to be long lasting but also to reduce the credit burdens on households in Côte d’Ivoire, in other to mutually satisfy MFIs and households By using simultaneous equations and Heckman two steps models as well as the model of Stackelberg, the study brings out that a good capitalization or equity and the low administrative costs have important effects on the sustainability of the MFIs. Then, Savings and the grants remain only the resources facilitating the accessibility to the credit of the poor borrowers. However, as it is shown in this thesis by the model of Stackelberg, the usage of subsidy as a way of financing the extension of credit in the low-income households is effective only if the proportion of rich borrowers is high. Besides, from the analysis of credit source choice, the results reveal the size of the loan, agricultural purpose, the geographical area where households live and ethnicity as factors influencing the choice for formal sources.
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    LE ROLE DU SYSTEME EDUCATIF DANS LA CROISSANCE ECONOMIQUE DE LONG TERME AU CAMEROUN
    (Université de Yaoundé II, 2021-05-18) Nadine, NGAMBOE Cécile
    L‟objet de cette thèse est de déterminer la contribution du système éducatif sur la croissance économique de long terme au Cameroun, au cours de la période 1981 à 2016. Pour ce faire, la structure du système éducatif à travers l‟étude d‟une cohorte scolaire ainsi que l‟évaluation des performances dudit système ont été mis en évidence. Il en ressort que le système éducatif fait face à une déficience de l‟offre des services publics éducatifs qui impacte négativement le rendement du système éducatif au Cameroun. La faiblesse des rendements interne et externe dudit système, associés aux dysfonctionnements induits par l‟inefficience technique et allocative des dépenses publiques d‟éducation, ont des effets délétères sur la production du système éducatif. Une réforme basée sur le développement des compétences des individus s‟avère donc indispensable. Compte tenu du rôle stratégique de la création, l‟absorption, et l‟utilisation des connaissances dans le renforcement des capacités, une politique économique incitative en faveur de la formation des capacités d‟ingénierie au niveau de l‟enseignement supérieur permettrait de surcroit d‟améliorer les compétences et par effet induit la croissance économique.
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    POVERTY DYNAMICS IN KAGERA REGION – 1991-2010
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2016-10-06) Pantaleo, Innocent Muganyizi
    This study examines the dynamics of poverty in Kagera Region during 1991-2010 period using the Kagera Health and Demographic Survey panel data. First, the study decomposes the Kagera headcount poverty index into growth, inequality and rural/urban population shift effects using Son (2003) approach. The results show population shifts was pro-poor and growth led to reduction of poverty within the region. These results imply that there is need for pro-poor employment creation strategies in urban areas and increased productivity in rural areas. Second, employing the fixed effects model and dynamic panel data estimators and borrowing from Ravallion (1988) approach, the study examines the dynamics of household‘s consumption and vulnerability. The dynamic panel data estimators show that Life Cycle Hypothesis for consumption smoothing does not hold, whereas the Ravallion (1988) approach show that risk to poverty is less for the 1991 poverty line and high for 2010 poverty line. Thus, pro-poor farming approaches and earmarking resources for consumption stabilization interventions are needed. Lastly, the study examines a household‘s duration in poverty and factors accounting for falling into or moving out of poverty. The non- parametric and semi-parametric discrete data spell approaches are employed. The non-parametric results show that poverty is transitory, and that male-headed households have a higher likelihood of exiting poverty than female-headed ones. The duration variables have significant positive effect for exiting poverty. In this regard, policy may entail enhancing social networks and improving the balance in resource distribution and allocation between sexes.
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    Formation of Children’s Human Capital in Kenya: The Role of Teachers, Private Schools and the Family
    (University of Cape Town, 2017-09-22) Wamalwa, Fredrick Masinde
    In this thesis, we investigate the role of teachers, private schools and the family in the formation of children’s human capital in Kenya. We focus on Kenya due to the declining learning outcomes the country is experiencing, in the wake of increasing public spending in the education sector. The first essay examines the effect of teacher subject knowledge, pedagogical skill, teacher effective instruction time and teacher classroom practices on grade 4 language and maths test scores. Our results show that a one standard deviation increase in the teacher’s knowledge in language (maths) increases student test scores by 0.075 (0.126) of a standard deviation in language (maths). An additional hour of teacher effective instruction time increases student achievement by 0.051 and 0.059 score standard deviations in language and maths, respectively. The second essay estimates the size of the effect of private school attendance on literacy (language) and numeracy (maths) skill acquisition among children drawn from lower primary grades (grades 2-4) in Kenya. Using a household survey data, we apply different estimation techniques (OLS, fixed effects and propensity score matching) to deal with the potential endogeneity of school choice. We find positive and significant effects of private school attendance on both language and maths achievements across all the estimation techniques. For instance, the household fixed effects yield a private school premium of 0.13 to 0.21 score standard deviation in maths and language, respectively. The third essay examines the effect of the gender and order of birth of a child on intrahousehold investments in, and educational outcomes of, children in Kenya. We measure the intra-household education investment in children by the household’s decision to enrol a child in a private school. We define educational outcomes by two variables: completed years of education and relative grade progression. We control for the potential endogeneity of child’s gender, birth order, family size and household level unobservables using household fixed effects model. We find no female advantage in terms of private school enrolment. However, there is a consistent female advantage in terms of completed years of education and relative grade progression. We find significant negative birth order effects on private school enrolment, completed years of education and relative grade progression.