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1. Policy Briefs Concise summaries that present research findings and policy recommendations on key economic issues to inform policymakers and stakeholders.2. Research Papers In-depth studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of economic theories and empirical research, contributing to academic discourse and understanding.3. Working Papers Preliminary reports on ongoing research that are circulated to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication.4. Theses and Dissertations: CPP Thesis: Rigorous academic research focused on pertinent policy issues, typically by candidates of the Collaborative PhD Program. CMAP Thesis: Scholarly works by Master's candidates involved in the Collaborative Master's in Economics Program, showcasing original research in the Economics sector. CMAAE Thesis: Advanced research endeavors by Master's students under the Collaborative Master's in Agricultural and Applied Economics, contributing to knowledge in agricultural economics and related fields CMAAE Thesis5. Senior Policy Seminar papers African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) holds a Senior Policy Seminar annually. This conference is hosted by AERC and sometimes jointly with a partner. AERC convenes this forum to provide high level African policy makers the opportunity to come together to dialogue on the results of research conducted by AERC and its affiliates, exchange policy experiences and interact with the researchers in an atmosphere of peers. The themes of these seminars are selected on the basis of topicality and contemporary interest to African policy making.6. Other Publications A diverse range of documents including, but not limited to, conference papers, book chapters, and research updates that do not fall under the conventional categories.
Recent Submissions
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AERC Annual Report 2023/2024
(AERC, 2024) AERC
The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) is currently in the fourth year of its strategic period, 2020-2025, having completed over half of the five-year planning phase. The year 2023/24 also marks the 35th year since AERC was established in 1988. The Consortium has emerged as a premier institution for capacity-building in the advancement of research and graduate training in economics. It plays a pivotal role in informing economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2020-2025 strategy is anchored on three key themes of improving quality. This improved quality will ensure its own sustainability and working with regional and national think tanks will develop an effective platform for expanding influence. These three themes provide a new and coherent structure for how research, training, and policy engagement will address the capacity-building issues in the five-year planning cycle.
Over the last four fiscal years of implementation of the AERC Strategic Plan 2020-2025, significant achievements have been realised towards improving quality, impactful research and graduate training. Several new collaborative research projects have been initiated, hence providing a range of timely research themes for early career researchers. In the training programme, the development of online teaching materials and virtual delivery of the Joint Facility for Electives (JFE) and the Shared Facility for Specialised and Electives (SFSE) through the AERC Learning Management System (LMS), complemented by the AERC e-Library, has not only enhanced cost-effectiveness, but also broadened reach and standardised the teaching of elective courses across the network universities. The AERC procured Class Zoom Technology to enhance instruction and improve learner engagement; additionally, the consortium acquired Copyleaks Plagiarism and AI Content Detector (including ChatGPT), and Zumedi examination proctoring facilities, for enhanced examination integrity. There has been a deliberate effort towards enhancing inclusivity by gender and regionally in both research and training programmes. Technical training on mainstreaming gender into research and several affirmative actions have been taken to enhance women’s participation in both research and graduate training.
However, these achievements have not been without challenges. A decline in funding continued to be experienced as current and potential funding institutions adjusted their funding commitments in response to the continuous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukrain conflict. Additionally, due to political changes, some funding governments shifted their foreign policy and funding priorities. Furthermore, the funding environment continued to be one where funders preferred project funding to core funding. Thus, AERC will direct more efforts to go towards diversifying the resource base as well as designing all programmatic activities to make them increasingly attractive and cost effective in implementation.
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AERC Annual Report 2022/2023
(AERC, 2023) AERC
The 2022/2023 fiscal year marks 34 years since the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) was established as a premier capacity building network in the advancement of research and graduate training in economics to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The AERC began the year with great enthusiasm to accelerate the pace of activities, especially with it being the third year of the 2020-2025 strategic period. The AERC Strategic Plan 2020-2025 is anchored on three key themes of improving quality that will create its momentum for sustainability and expanding policy influence. Each of these three themes provide a new and dynamic structure for how research, training and policy engagement will address the capacity building developments and the emerging constraints over the five-year planning cycle. Additionally, the strategy seeks to respond to pressing issues facing the region – increasing youth unemployment, widening inequality and persistent poverty - as stated by Ernest Aryeetey and Frances Stewart in the 2015-2020 AERC Strategic Evaluation Report. The AERC has had great achievements in the last 34 years by bringing rigour and evidence to policy making. However, it is imperative to change the delivery along the research and policy value chain by opening up to new approaches to enhance relevance, building upon the unique convening power of the organisation and scaling up AERC’s services to support policymakers in their efforts to build a stronger economic foundation and future, both nationally and regionally. By becoming a valued partner and encouraging other interested institutions and organisations to join up, the AERC is expanding capacity for economic policy making across the region as well as policy impact for positive development outcomes in SSA economies. While implementing the 2020-2025 strategy, the AERC has adopted a new approach for capacity building, which has fundamentally changed its operations by moving from an objectives-based approach to a theme-based approach and focused on outcomes and impact measurement in both the short and long-term.
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AERC Annual Report 2020/2021
(AERC, 2021) AERC
The year 2020/21 marks the first year of implementation of the AERC Strategic Plan for 2020-2025, which was approved by the AERC Board at its meeting in March 2020. It also marks 33 years since the AERC was established as a premier capacity building institution through research and graduate training in economics. The main objective being to inform economic policies and strengthen institutions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The 2020-2025 planning cycle recognizes the changing policy landscape and attendant economic challenges; effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that has challenged the health care infrastructure, increasing youth unemployment, widening inequality, and rising poverty. Some of these challenges were well stated by Ernest Aryeetey and Frances Stewart in the 2015-2020 AERC Strategic Evaluation Report. The AERC has had great achievements in the last three decades in bringing rigour and evidence to policy making in SSA. Going forward, the AERC is changing the modality of delivery along the research and policy value chain. This includes opening new approaches to enhance relevance, building upon the unique convening power of the organization and scaling up AERC’s services to support policymakers in their efforts to build a stronger economic foundation for SSA economies. By becoming a valued partner and encouraging other like-minded institutions and organizations to join in partnership, the AERC will expand capacity for economic policy making across the region as well as policy impact for positive development outcomes in SSA economies. In implementing the Strategic Plan 2020- 2025, AERC will enhance the mark of improved quality, that will define its own momentum for sustainability and create a new era and platform for policy influence in SSA economies. This is the new approach that AERC has adopted for capacity building in the current planning cycle. This approach will fundamentally change the way AERC operates, moving from an objectives-based approach to a theme-based approach, and focusing on outcome pathways and impact measurement, in both the short- and long-term periods.
The core of AERC’s efforts to improve the quality of thematic research will be driven by the collaborative research model. In this case, Resource Persons will develop collaborative research projects that will attract young researchers across Thematic Groups and this path will raise the quality of research in Thematic Groups and provide a supply of research themes for young researchers, including the Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) students. Teams of researchers will evolve from individual thematic research projects, prescreening of new proposals by thematic group resource persons, and methodological technical workshops and mentorships will be conducted to enhance analytical skills of early career researchers.
Quality improvement in the training programme will involve reviewing the curriculum of all core and elective courses and adopting digital learning in all collaborative training programmes. Reforms in CPP thesis research are also envisaged to advance novel ideas that are well articulated with scientific evidence to influence policy and increase the number of publications by CPP students in internationally refereed journals. A cohort of new professors/lecturers of high academic calibre within network universities and other reputable institutions will be appointed to ensure high quality level training in line with the quality target research defined by AERC and ensuring that the training meet the skills needs for African labour market as well as supply of researchers for the AERC network. At the same time, the training targeting government officials on the continent in the design and evaluation of policies will be considered a priority to facilitate the emergence of sustainable economic policies and the promotion of quality governance.
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AERC Annual Report 2018/2019
(2019) AERC
The following Annual Report encapsulates the impact and achievements we have made over the last year as we endeavor to support policy makers and researchers through the continued, rapid transformation and economic development of the region. Fiscal year 2018-2019 was a pivotal time period for AERC as it marked our 30th anniversary of bringing rigour and evidence to economic policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. We made a number of particularly notable achievements. Major projects that we recently embarked on are progressing very well and many new opportunities are opening up for our programmes. Among AERC’s key delivery channels for achieving the desired outcomes are the thematic research programmes centred around the enduring Biannual Research Workshops and capacity building activities, Joint/Shared Facilities for graduate training Electives, Africa-wide Senior Policy Seminars, Regional Policy Forums and National Policy Workshops. Implementation of the Bridge Programme for inclusive capacity building is making notable progress in addressing the under represented due to factors like gender, language, conflict and post conflict as well as fragile contexts. These are all on course as we look forward to a very exciting future. Informed by the evolving needs and current development imperatives in Africa, our current strategy focuses on inclusivity and enhanced visibility for policy impact, alongside the promotion of African stakeholdership for the long-term sustainability of AERC. We have here provided some of our key achievements over the last year within our defined strategic objectives.
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AERC Annual Report 2016/2017
(2017) AERC
The year 2016/2017 marks the second year of the implementation of the Strategic Plan, 2015-2020. The Strategy, which was approved by the Board at its meeting in March 2015, is contextualized within the evolving African economic environment and challenges. About thirty years since its establishment, AERC has fostered an enduring, integrated capacity building framework anchored in three pillars: research, collaborative graduate training and policy outreach, complemented by a vast network of institutions, researchers, resource persons, and policy makers. This is its primary niche. This niche has enabled AERC to address the gap between research and policy making, while contributing towards sustainable individual and institutional capacity building.
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AERC Annual Report 2015/2016
(2016) AERC
The year 2015/16 marks the first year of the implementation of the Strategic Plan 2015-2020. The Strategy, which was approved by the Board at its meeting in March 2015, is contextualized within the evolving African economic environment and challenges. More than 25 years since its establishment, AERC has fostered an enduring, integrated capacity building framework anchored in three pillars: research, collaborative graduate training and policy outreach. These are complemented by a vast network of institutions, researchers, resource persons, and policy makers. Today, the economic environment in Africa has greatly changed for the better, and growth is robust, resilient and generally diversified. This can be attributed to improved capacity for economic policy analysis in the continent, better policies and a new breed of policy makers, who are evidence driven. Many of these policy makers are alumni of AERC. The novel features of the current strategy are inclusive capacity building and quality enhancement, global linkages and private sector engagement, enhanced visibility and policy impact, and promoting African stakeholder-ship and long-term sustainability of AERC.
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AERC Insight_Issue 09_October 2024
(AERC, 2024) AERC
We are enthusiastic to share with you some exciting updates and news from the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). We are back with another edition themed “Strengthening Partnerships: Collaborating for Sustainable Development in Africa,” packed with all the latest news and insights. In this issue, we share a lot of material including the forthcoming and past AERC Biannual Research Works; the latter on “Youth Demographic Dividend, Migration, and Economic Opportunities in African Economies” was key in tackling the complex and challenging issues relating to education and job creation for the youth, women and the most vulnerable. This was also an opportunity for AERC to reaffirm its commitment to providing evidence-based research for uptake into policy to reduce the huge unemployment gap across the continent. We have been busy re-establishing strong connections and raising the institution’s profile across international DFIs, policymakers, the private sector and global development partners. This new visibility and strategic relationship drive includes AERC’s courtesy call to the Governor, Central Bank of Kenya and also a call on the Kenya Bankers Association; participation in the 2024 African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings and the Annual General Meetings of the Eastern and Southern Africa Trade and Development Bank (TDB) amongst other events as you will see in this edition. Embarking on a new creative and impactful journey like this is never easy. Our latest newsletter will bring you face-to-face with a depiction of a bestselling periodical, while also immersing you into the vital gender mainstreaming agenda at AERC. You will all receive this publication once every quarter as you discover the magic and impact that the AERC achievements bring to the life of citizens across the continent, as the organization marks its thirty-sixth anniversary. In these over three decades of accomplishments, AERC has built a solid core of highly credible research that has enhanced the professional stature of our network both locally and internationally – as we focused our attention on issues critical to Africa’s development.
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AERC Insight_Issue 08_May 2024
(AERC, 2024) AERC
Gender mainstreaming is at the heart of the African Economic Research Consortium’s (AERC) activities. Despite progress made in recent years, gender inequalities persist in various domains within the consortium. Gender mainstreaming at AERC begins by acknowledging that women encounter barriers when pursuing and maintaining careers in economics. These obstacles can manifest as conflicts between domestic duties, professional aspirations, and financial constraints. At AERC, we are dedicated to providing equal opportunities for women to prevent them from being disproportionately affected compared to men. There is a growing willingness within the organisation to “mainstream” concerns about academic gendered impacts in our research and training programmes, as evidenced notably by the adoption of policies that are geared towards women’s empowerment. Gender is the main theme of this newsletter and gender mainstreaming is clearly essential for securing social justice for women. As these efforts to mainstream gender get traction at AERC, it is important to assess ways that existing provisions on gender help or hinder the achievement of gender equality. In this newsletter, we endeavour to define some of the metrics against which to gauge whether some of our policies are meeting gender equality objectives. The stories published here will enable us to identify and suggest ways to design gender-responsive measures for inclusion in future programmes. This issue of the AERC INSIGHT also encapsulates events, including workshops, conferences, and seminars, which provide you with a taste of AERC’s outputs. On events, we feature the AERC Biannual Research Workshop and Celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD). There is also a section on programme activities and human resource news. I look forward to connecting with you each quarter. Please read this AERC INSIGHT and share it with your friends. I welcome any feedback, comments and questions that you may have about the information provided therein and suggestions of topics you would like to see in future newsletters.
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AERC Insight_Issue 06_June 2023
(AERC, 2023) AERC
We are excited to share some thrilling updates and news from our organization. It’s a pretty exciting moment for me, and the edition is packed with all the latest insights. I hope it will inform and inspire you in equal measure. As I take the wheels of this prestigious institution as the first ever Francophone West African Executive Director, I will strive to ensure that the AERC continues its journey to build a more sustainable and inclusive world for all our African citizens. I haveembarked on a significant transformation of AERC to meet the expectations of our diverse range of stakeholders on a global scale. The world has undergone a seismic shift, and our continent faces new challenges and opportunities that we cannot ignore. AERC must transform to remain relevant and impactful in its various activities and collaborations. We must strive for excellence in all our endeavours. Research standards have evolved, and stakeholder demands have become more robust. AERC must Accept this change, Adapt to it, and adjust to it. AERC must speak to the rest of Africa, not only Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. I would like to see AERC recognized as an international institution of excellence in knowledge generation and dissemination, capable of influencing policies on the continent. Stories that form the content of this newsletter include a lead article on “Recovery Agenda from Multiple Shocks”. In the last two decades, African economies have suffered global economic shocks that the Covid-19 pandemic compounded. They have, however, remained resilient in the face of the pandemic’s impacts which affected the core of key macroeconomic indicators. In the newsletter, we also cover activities within the research and training programmes, new publications, and significant events the organization has hosted during the quarter. I look forward to connecting with you each quarter and providing as much information as possible on the incredible work accomplished by the staff and the AERC network. So please enjoy this read and share it with your friends. I welcome all feedback, comments, and questions about the information provided and suggestions for topics you would like to see in future newsletters. I want to thank the AERC, staff, Board of Directors, and the AERC network for trusting me with the leadership of this important institution. I will make it my mission to uphold the institution’s reputation and legacy as we battle into the future.
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AERC Insight_Issue 05_March 2023
(2023) AERC
In this issue, we are sharing a lot of information including the forthcoming AERC Senior Policy Seminar on Human Capital Development in Africa; The 57th Plenary Session of the AERC Biannual Research Workshop, which was on African Economies: Recovery Agenda from Multiple Shocks; Maturation and Admission of Universities; Modernisation of AERC’s Digital Ecosystem; Collaborative Research Projects; Alumni as well as other significant events. I know that by closely following AERC’s activities, we can see how the organisation is taking intentional and conscious steps to transform lives. We have for more than 30 years come up with many innovative research initiatives as well as designed steps on how we can navigate the continent’s terrain to influence economic policies to transform lives in Africa. Thus, it feels like an exciting time to be at AERC and share these research outputs. The theme for this issue of the INSIGHT is pretty consistent with the many African problems, given the fact that Human capital—the education, skills, and health of people — plays a pivotal role in the transformation of African economies. And it is important to note that sub-Saharan Africa scores the lowest of all the world’s regions on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, which is a measurement of how well countries invest in the next generation of workers. AERC continues to showcase its considerable influence across the continent, and this latest manifestation comes in the form of the appointment of our former Executive Director, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, as Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning for the Republic of Kenya. This is an immense honour for us, and for the whole network of AERC. I wish to acknowledge the incredible work and legacy left behind by Prof. Ndung’u, one of the most fervent supporters of AERC and its mandate for the continent. I hope this newsletter will offer you something of value as we strive as an organisation to build a solid foundation for significant and sustainable changes across so many sectors. I’m looking forward to receiving comments from you to help us improve on subsequent issues. I welcome all feedback, observations, and questions you may have on the various topics and news items in this edition. Feel free to read on and share with your friends. It’s free, and most importantly, it’s fun!
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AERC Insight_Issue 04_September 2022
(2022-09) AERC
The carefully curated content will help you stay constantly on top of our news and understand how AERC is bringing change and impact across the continent. As you may know, we have in the recent past made important decisions about streamlining our brand portfolio, now featuring an improved website and more impactful social media dissemination. And our purpose is to refresh the network with insightful news as well as make a difference, even as we continue to invest in partnerships with our stakeholders across the globe. A central focus for this quarter is to look at some of our current and former students that have benefitted from the schemes and programmes offered by AERC. We wanted their first-hand testimonials on how the AERC had impacted their academic and professional horizons, and how they are bringing these skills and knowledge into the policy sphere. Additionally, we are developing a discussion platform for AERC alumni. In this edition of the AERC Insight, we also share proceedings of the 56th of June 2022, Biannual Research Workshop on the theme, “Poverty, Growth, Redistribution, and Social Inclusion in Times of Covid-19 Pandemic in Africa”. It is important to note that in sub-Saharan Africa, we are constantly at risk of being pushed back into extreme poverty during economic downturns and other external shocks. The pandemic has worsened the situation for many countries, and without steps to address these disparities, the risks this trend poses will continue to grow. African governments must therefore adopt a progrowth poverty reduction strategy as a key policy element to achieve sustainable poverty reduction. This conclusion generated from the frontier work by the AERC shows that growth significantly reduces poverty and supplemented by targeted social protection programs will flatten inequality in the long run. We also give insights into a roundtable discussion on the theme, “Modelling Kenya’s future” emanating from the Kenya Country Study: Current Path and Scenario Analysis Report. Other events included in this issue are Admission of the Third Francophone University into the AERC CPP Programme; Induction of former AERC Executive Director, Prof. Lemma Senbet as AIB Fellow; How AERC is Staying on Top of Cybersecurity Threats; AERC Alumni narratives; Summer Master Class on Research Methods; Blended Learning; AERC Thematic and Collaborative Research Projects and Workshops, among other activities. Our strategy continues to be underpinned by global goals and specific context-based targets as outlined in some of the articles here. They will enable us to measure our progress toward reaching our vision, namely, sustained development in sub-Saharan Africa, grounded in sound economic management and an informed society. I do hope that we have hit on a few of your favourites reads in this latest issue!
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AERC Insight_Issue 02_February 2022
(AERC, 2022) AERC
This issue of AERC Insight is dedicated to Climate Change and Economic Growth in Sub-Sahara Economies. This is also the theme of the next AERC Senior Policy Seminar that is scheduled for late March 2022. That climate change is having a growing impact on the African continent, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources is not news. The increasing threat of climate change has a negative impact on human health, food and water security are already affecting socio-economic development in Africa. This project has provided an important off-shoot: In our research themes, climate change and central banking in Africa with an objective of developing supply side monetary policy instruments to deal with supply shocks. We also know that the Covid-19 pandemic and effects linger on and may not be resolved soon. Restrictions on domestic and/or international travel are likely to continue being imposed in the coming days and this will continue to affect the implementation of AERC’s activities that cannot be conducted virtually. Given that this was the theme for the recent plenary of the AERC Biannual Research Workshop, viz. “Poverty, Growth, Redistribution and Social Inclusion in Times of Covid-19 Pandemic in Africa,” it is also a major item in this issue. Programmatically, we also share in the AERC Insight recent research and training activities including thematic and collaborative research as well as the Joint Facility for Electives, as AERC flagship activities. We have lined up for you various articles on policy forums, development of the new website and testimonials from network members among other items of interest. I will appreciate all feedback and questions you may have on anything about the information provided, and suggestions of topics you would like to see in future newsletters. We look forward to your response. Welcome!
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Differential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education in Nigeria: Implications for Policy Review
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024) Omotoso, Kehinde O.; Adewole, Ololade G.; Gbadegesin, Taiwo F.
COVID-19, a World Health Organization (WHO)-declared pandemic and infectious disease caused by coronavirus, adversely affected various aspects of economies worldwide, with over two million fatalities, and millions of individuals and families affected. Like most countries, Nigeria implemented a lockdown policy restricting all movements except for essential services and functions, to contain the virus. This raises questions about the specific shocks, the catalytic trigger, mitigating strategies, emergent e-learning initiatives, and challenges. This paper investigates the various ways through which COVID-19 influenced the education sector in Nigeria. The study adopted a concurrent mixed method to examine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on learning activities in Nigeria. It employed the General Household Survey (GHS) panel 2018–2019 Wave 4, the 2020 Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Surveys (COVID-19 NLPS) and a difference-in-difference method under a natural experiment scenario, complimented by qualitative data collected through organised stakeholder panel interviews across three significant zones: Abuja, Ile-Ife (Osun State) and Port Harcourt (River State). Educational (learning & teaching) shocks emerged due to the lockdown. The paper reports the interconnectivity of shocks that exposed lapses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the governance of the educational system, school environment, home front and learners’ reactive strategies. The variants of the specific shocks and reactive strategies categorically feature multidimensional outlook within the context of private stakeholders (parents and learners) and public stakeholders (education ministry and school administration). The lockdown-induced shock increased the probability of using digital tools to assess learning materials in 2020 compared to 2018/2019, though there was generally low access to digital tools for learning by those affected by the lockdown-induced shock. Several e-learning challenges were identified as many educators were technically deficient due to inadequacy or lack of internet facilities and capacities for new learning styles, android phones/laptops, lack of network coverage or network failures, full subscription to learning platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams not budgeted for, power failure, uneven distribution of new learning facilities during COVID-19 and unpreparedness for the shock. Policy recommendations include the provision of e-learning platforms and projects in schools, and reduction of inequality in the access to e-learning.
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Impact of Teacher Qualification and Experience on Early Grade Achievement in Kenya
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-23) Sitati, Melap; Murebu, Rosemary; Ngugi, Rose; Onsomu, Eldah
The importance of teacher quality on early grade achievement of cognitive skills is the current policy discourse. Teacher quality is a key factor that influences learner’s achievement at all levels of schooling. This paper uses a multiple regression technique on Public Expenditure Tracking (PETs) and Service Delivery Indicators survey data (2014/2015) to interrogate the impact of teacher quality in terms of qualification in teacher training and experience on early grade achievement of cognitive skills in Kenya. Although the study reveals that teacher qualification in terms of training is the single-most important attribute that impacts on learner achievement, there is no significant difference between the teacher level of training on learner performance regardless of the time taken to acquire those qualifications. Interestingly, results showed that learners taught by certificate holders in teaching performed better than the ones taught by diploma holders. Pedagogical training, which is taught at certificate level, for teaching at primary education level is significant in affecting learner performance compared to diploma, yet the latter takes more duration and resources. The evidence also shows that teacher experience significantly affects learner performance especially in reading. However, further research could investigate how different type of school interventions amplify or weaken the effects of teachers on learners’ cognitive skill. The study recommends enhanced teacher professional development, more focus on in-service training on pedagogical skills acquired at the primary certificate level, equitable teacher distribution, and provision of adequate teaching and learning materials in school. It is also important to ensure that newly employed teachers have the required pedagogical skills and that they are provided with adequate pedagogical training programmes.
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Rainfall, Human Capital and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Rural South Africa
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-22) Chakraborty, Kritika Sen; Villa, Kira M.
Rural households rely on several strategies to cope with weather variability, including school-work transitions of adolescents and changes in human capital investments. Using rich longitudinal data from rural South Africa linked with geospatial data on climate indicators, we examined the effect of rainfall realizations on the schooling and work decisions and education expenditures of adolescents and young adults. We exploited the exogenous within-individual variation in exposure to district-level rainfall realizations over age. Our results suggest that current and lagged growing season rainfall increases adolescent human capital investments on the intensive margin among both female and male adolescents. While current rainfall decreased labour market participation among adolescents in non-agricultural households, current rainfall increased female labour supply in agricultural households. We also found that previous-period rainfall positively affected work propensity among all male adolescents. Our results documented schooling and labour supply adjustments among adolescents in agricultural and non-agricultural households, in response to rainfall fluctuations.
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Child Development and Family Human Capital Investment Decisions in Nigeria: A Study of Selected States in the Six Geo-Political Zones
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-22) Yelwa, Mohammed; Anyanwu, Sarah O.
The study examined child development and family human capital investment decisions in Nigeria. The study focused on household per capita income and family structure using the Nigeria living standard survey for 2018/2019 for the secondary data analysis and a field survey conducted by the researchers in six states in each of the geopolitical zones in Nigeria for the primary data analysis. The study was anchored on household utility maximization theory using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method to analyse the secondary data. Four different results were obtained. First, the result of findings from the OLS estimate revealed that per capita income had no significant impact on Family Human Capital Investment Decisions (FHCID) and male perception of the cost of education had a significant positive impact on FHCID. On the contrary, multi-dimensional poverty index and female perception of the cost of education had an inverse significant impact on FHCID. The second result revealed that average household size, family residence from 1 to 30 minutes proximity to school and 31 minutes and above proximity to school had no significant impact on FHCID. Dependency ratio showed an inverse significant impact on FHCID and family literacy level showed a significant positive impact on FHCID. The third result from the binary logistics regression showed that age, occupation and place of residence of the household head had no significant impact on FHCID. Gender (female-headed household) and education showed an inverse significant impact on FHCID. However, household head years in business or paid employment showed a positive impact on FHCID. The fourth result from the binary logistics regression revealed that marital status had no significant impact on FHCID; family size had a significant negative impact on FHCID; and family structure (type of parents) and number of girl child in the household had a direct impact on FHCID. This study showed complementarities in the home utility function, such that the marginal product of investments rises as family living standards rise. These findings highlight lifetime inequalities and necessitates a special focus on treatments for low-income households. Understanding human capital development and how diverse elements interact is critical to combating poverty and its intergenerational transmission. As a result, this study made several recommendations. First, the importance of persistent action by the government and other donor agencies such as the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The World Bank to address the problems of income inequality and pervasive poverty ravaging Nigeria’s economy. The study strongly recommends that family, especially parents, maintain justice and fairness within the home, to foster constructive, sympathetic and peaceful home, encouraging most children to exhibit excellent academic performance. Third, government agencies and hospitals, especially in rural areas, intensify family planning and birth control campaign to help reduce household size. Fourth, children of the poor be given opportunities for paid employment, to enhance their performance in the school. Fifth, children from poor homes be provided with access to scholarships, free instructional materials and books. Sixth, government and its agencies on education intensify sensitization and campaign for families to embrace Western education, especially in the northern region, promote compulsory primary basic education for all children and prosecute parents of out-of-school children or child labour to serve as a deterrent to others. Finally, the study recommends that non-governmental and religious organizations preach peace and tolerance within the family for the well-being and human capital development of their wards.
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Precolonial Centralization, Koranic Education and School Participation in Nigeria
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-22) Adeolu, Adewole Musiliu
Several studies have documented the persistence of economic development outcomes across space and over a long period of time. Other studies have argued that there has been a reversal of fortune over time and space. Since different areas of current Nigeria were once under the rule of states with different degrees of political centralization and later investment in Koranic education, this study sought to explore whether areas or districts under more centralized political system are more likely to participate in large scale school expansion programmes such as the 1976 Universal Primary Education (UPE) and 1999 Universal Basic Education (UBE). To check for evidence of reversal of fortune, we determine whether degree of state centralization on school participation was more or less in areas that have large investments in Koranic education. The important motivation for this study was the observation that participation in the tuition-free large-scale school expansion programmes implemented nationwide have not closed the disparity in school participation across the various regions of Nigeria. Even more surprising is that regions, such as the North-West and North-East, which fell under pre-colonial states with complex political arrangements have fallen behind in the education race relative the South-East, often regarded as a stateless society, and to some extent the South-South region which had a less complex political structure. This is contrary to the findings of several studies which show a positive relationship between this historical measure of state centralization and several indices of contemporary development outcomes. To explain this special case, we hypothesized that regions that had intensive and extensive contacts with Islamic culture and by extension Koranic education before the onset of Christian missionaries were unlikely to reap the full benefits of pre-colonial centralization. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) results showed that while the index of state centralization has a positive and significant impact on enrolment in UPE and UBE programmes, the effect is negative and statistically significant for those with heavy investment in Koranic education (measured by district fraction of 1914-1946 cohorts with Koranic education). The results are robust to an adding extensive range of explanatory variables and a range of other specification tests. While the structure of the economy at the onset of Islamic activities in Nigeria may have made investment in Koranic education worthwhile, the contemporary world does not require Koranic education to make either regional or national advancement possible. Thus, there is a clear case of mismatch between the demands of modern economic life and the skills possessed by a large-section of it. Thus, well thought out policies are required to address this mismatch and accelerate inclusive economic development
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Credit Constraints in Higher Education Attendance: Longitudinal Evidence from Ethiopia
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-22) Eigbiremolen, Godstime O.; Orji, Anthony
This paper examines the household wealth–higher education attendance relationship and the evidence on credit constraints in post-secondary schooling. Using unique longitudinal data that link household wealth and measures of cognitive ability age 12 years to higher education attendance at age 19–22 years, we differentiated short-term credit constraints from long-term credit constraints and directly tested the relative importance of short and long-term credit constraints in schooling decision. We found that both short-term and long-term credit constraints determine the household wealth–higher education attendance relationship. Therefore, we recommend complementing short-term policies like financial aid with long-term interventions that empower households to continue to invest in human capital development over the child’s life cycle, which will crystalize in higher cognitive ability and readiness for
higher education.
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Maternal Education, Economic Empowerment, and Infant Mortality in Burkina Faso
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-22) BARRO, Lamissa; TIENDREBEOGO, Aïcha; NANA, Issa; Mawuvi KY, Landry Paul Armand
Education levels in Burkina Faso, especially among women, remain low despite efforts made by government authorities and development partners to implement priority area 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This situation presents difficulties for women in terms of their being economically and socially empowered. At the same time, the infant mortality rate in Burkina Faso is higher than the average for sub Saharan Africa. This study therefore used data derived from health and population surveys to provide evidence of the combined impact of the level of education and economic empowerment of women on infant mortality, using an instrumental variables approach on a linear probability model. The results highlight the positive impact of the education levels of women understood through the aspect of literacy and their economic empowerment, in terms of probability of gain, decision-making power in relation to those gains and in relation to the family’s level of expenditure. Nevertheless, the impact of the level of economic empowerment of mothers remains mixed. In regard to economic policy, emphasis should be laid upon the strengthening of policies related to education of girls to ensure their empowerment in the future.
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Digital Innovation Ecosystem Development for Financial Inclusion and Market Access: The Case of Tanzania
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-08-15) Mwighusa, Dennis; Diyamett, Bitrina
There is now consensus that innovative financial services that are provided in a more equitable and inclusive way are the cornerstone of social and economic development. In this regard, although Tanzania has recorded a significant growth in the level of financial service provision and has reached out to a good number of people in the country, especially through digital means, the country might not benefit from this wide coverage of financial services because it faces a glaring gap in inclusiveness. The reasons for the persistence of such exclusion – in spite of policies to address the challenges – are not clearly known. This work is an attempt to close this knowledge gap – basically towards understanding the factors contributing to both gender and location-related exclusion with the purpose to inform inclusion policies. The findings indicate that the major challenges revolve around inappropriate marketing strategies for the digital financial services for the poor; inappropriate products in terms of price and context fitness; and cost related to product development and service provision on the part of the providers. The existing inclusion policies did not seem to have helped much as they have some serious gaps in their design.