Human Capital Development (HCD)

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Breaking the Mismatch: Government Structure vs. School Participation
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Adeolu Adewole, Musiliu Adeolu
Nigeria has made significant strides in expanding access to education through largescale programmes such as UPE and UBE. However, despite these efforts, disparities in school participation persist across different regions of the country. This study aims to shed light on the historical factors that contribute to these disparities, specifically looking at the relationship between pre-colonial centralization and investment in Koranic education on school participation.One of the key findings of this study is that areas under highly centralized political systems are more likely to participate in large-scale school expansion programmes such as UPE and UBE. This is in line with previous research that has shown a positive relationship between state centralization and development outcomes. However, the study also finds that areas with heavy investment in Koranic education have a negative effect on school enrolment, even when these areas before colonialism had highly centralized political structure. The findings highlight the mismatch between the demands of modern economic life and the skills possessed by a large section of the population. The contemporary world does not require Koranic education to make either regional or national advancement possible, yet many areas with heavy investment in Koranic education are falling behind in the education race. This calls for well-thought-out policies to address this mismatch and accelerate inclusive economic development.
Does every Cloud have a Silver Lining?
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Chakraborty, Kritika Sen; Villa, Kira
Climate change disproportionately affects rural economies, particularly in poorer regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where livelihoods depend on weather fluctuations. South Africa, a middle-income country located within a drought belt, has experienced exacerbated drought conditions in recent years. In 2015-2016, the country suffered the worst drought in decades, which substantially decreased food production (World Bank Group, 2021). To cope with weather events, households employ several strategies, including adjusting the human capital investments and labour supply responses of household members as a form of ‘self-insurance’. Rainfall shocks, as a proxy for agricultural productivity shocks, can affect the school–work decisions of adolescents and young adults in rural South Africa. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable as they may be forced to enter the labour market to cope with shocks, resulting in school termination and, consequently, long-lasting negative effects on human capital accumulation. Exploring the weather shocks-human capital nexus is crucial for South Africa, which has around 207,714, out-of-school adolescents and a low net secondary school enrollment rate of 70.3 % in 2019 (UNESCO, 2019).
Educate Teachers Educate Children
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-05-14) Sitati, Melap; Murebu, Rosemary
Teachers play a critical role in the education system. As a result, teacher costs rake up 58 percent of public expenditure on education in Kenya. Despite this investment, leaner performance in numeracy and literacy remains below average with wide variability registered across counties. Low learner performance hinders a country's economic growth and limits opportunities for higher education or employment, leading to a cycle of poverty and inequality.
Estimating Efficiency Levels of County Health Facilities in Kenya Pre and During COVID 19 Period using DEA Methodology
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Lutta,Paul; Munialo, Sussy; Ngeno, Haron; Muhonja, Faith
Health efficiency remains high before and after COVID-19. This could be attributed to devolved hospital management system which has brought public financial management services closer to the hospital and increased effectiveness in delivery of services. Similarly, there were also variations on health efficiency with some hospitals recording low and high efficiencies, which can also be attributed to hospital management.
From Mothers to Children: The Implications of Work on Education in Senegal
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) NDOYE, Mamadou Laye; ATCHADE, Bénédicte
Despite the implementation of a universal education policy in Senegal, the academic achievements of children by the end of the primary school cycle remains a major problem. Besides the acquisition of knowledge on the classical subjects that are taught in school, several other reasons related to family life were highlighted as determinants in academic achievements of learners. We pay specific interest to the impact of the mother’s labour in a context whereby women are more and more involved in the labour market and are faced with serious difficulties in being able to reconcile their professional roles with their maternal obligations. Indeed, in Senegal, the employment of women, mostly in precarious and low paying jobs, prevents them from balancing their professional obligations with their maternal responsibilities, which has a negative impact on the academic achievements of their children.
Learn or Perish
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Omotoso, Kehinde Oluwaseun; Adewole , Ololade Grace; Gbadegesin, Taiwo Frances
Like most countries, Nigeria implemented a lock-down policy restricting all movements except for essential services and functions in order to contain the COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 pandemic is one of such crises that seem to have brought unprecedented emergencies in the education sector. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s education sector has been considered fragile and fraught with inequality in access to schooling and learning experiences. Access to digital tools and equipment, particularly portable ones like smartphones, tablets or laptops, and the Internet, which served as an alternative learning platform during the lockdown, were relatively low before the pandemic.
My Mother's Education or my Death
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Lamisso, Barro; Aïcha, Tiendrebeogo; Issa, Nana; Landy, Ky
Education levels in Burkina Faso, especially those of women, remain low, despite the efforts by policy makers and international organisations in trying to implement goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it is observed that there are difficulties in arriving at the economic and social empowerment of women. Indeed, in Burkina Faso the unemployment rate of women has been at an average of 6% over the past five years, which is relatively high and way above the global average of unemployment rates (World Bank, 2021). Also, according to the African Development Bank, 65.4% of women in Burkina Faso work in the informal sector. Equally, Burkina Faso’s rates of mortality for children are relatively high; they were at 56.68 per 1000 for infant mortality and 26.98 per 1000 for neonatal mortality, and 93.96 per 1000 for child mortality over the period 2015-2019. These rates remain higher than the sub-Saharan average. It is, therefore evident that Burkina Faso’s low level of women’s education level and low levels of women’s empowerment, are related to a high rate of child mortality in the country; This study aims to examine the impact of the education of mothers on mortality through a focus on women’s economic empowerment.
Shaky Pillars or Strong Pillars?
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Eigbiremolen, Godstime O.; Orji, Anthony
Substantial empirical evidence now exists in the literature that shows that higher education is a determinant of income, can produce both private and societal benefits, facilitates economic growth, and improves technological catch-up. There is also, now, a general recognition that higher education is a key driver of economic competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy, which has made higher education more important than ever before in a developing region like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Thus, access to higher education provides a pathway to sustainable growth and development, which is also in line with the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4). Although more recent evidence on the benefits of higher education has led to an acknowledgment of the importance of higher education in Ethiopia and other SSA countries, little or nothing is known about the life-cycle determinants (i.e., how education and wealth from an early stage of life affect education opportunity in the future) of access to higher education in Ethiopia and the wider SSA region. Apart from current socio-economic factors, early child and family characteristics could play an important role in determining access to higher education.
Skills over Scarcity
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Lionie, Mafang; Dumas, Tsambou André; Gnilane, Diouf Ndeye Marie; Bertin, Malou Jonas
Skills that Shine
(African Economic Research Consortium, 2024-03-30) Macharia, John; Onsomu, Carol Bisieri; Mwangi, Stephie
In Kenya, youth unemployment rate is 3 times higher than adult unemployment and remains on an upward curve, despite efforts of the Government of Kenya (GOK) to bridge the gap through implemented and ongoing reforms like the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP)
The Peril of Ignoring Human Capital
(2024-03-30) Yelwa, Mohammed; Anyanwu, Sarah O.
Nigeria's economic growth and productivity depend on the development of human capital.However,Nigeria's human capitaldevelopmentis still low,particularly among low-income rural families who lack the means to investin their children's future. The lack of resource endowment in most households and cultural prejudices against girls are two main factors contributing to inadequate human capital development in Nigeria. Decisions about investing in human capital are also influenced by family size and per capita income. Therefore, nderstanding how family human capital investment decisions affect children's development is crucial for combating poverty and promoting sustainable development in Nigeria.

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