Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ethiopia In The World Economy: Trade, Private Capital Flows, And Migration, Kenneth A. Reinert

International Conference on African Development Archives

Economic globalization can be evaluated with reference to at least three dimensions: trade, private capital flows, and migration. For each of these dimensions, pathways can be identified through which economic globalization can alleviate or contribute to poverty. This paper makes a preliminary examination of the pathways between globalization and poverty for the case of Ethiopia. As one of the world’s poorest countries, Ethiopia’s integration with the world economy takes on specific features. It is highly dependent on the exports of a few goods, has imported a large amount of arms, is largely excluded from global FDI flows, benefits from relatively …

Are The Millennium Development Goals (Mdgs) Feasible? Can The Deadlines Be Met Particularly For Education And Gender? The Case Of Ethiopia, Meskerem Shiferaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper addresses the feasibility of the MDGs in Ethiopia, in general and in particular Education and Gender issues in relation with the deadline of 2015 a target set by the UN millennium declaration. The paper will assess the possibility of achieving universal primary education by 2015 in Ethiopia, for all school age children. The role required by parents and the community, private sector and what has been so far to achieve these goals will be reviewed as a follow-up to my previous paper (educating the community, Western Michigan’s Ethiopian American Foundation International conference, 2003). Both for education and gender …

Ethnicity, Economic Conditions, And Opposition Support: Evidence From Ethiopia's 2005 Elections, Leonardo R. Arriola

International Conference on African Development Archives

Under what conditions will voters support opposition parties in the dominant party systems of sub-Saharan Africa? Scholars generally agree that most of the region’s ruling parties manage to win re-election by relying on a set of by now familiar strategies – distributing patronage, exploiting ethnic cleavages, and employing violence (van de Walle 2003; Adejumobi 2000; Diamond and Plattner 1999; Joseph 1997). While the incumbent’s deliberate manipulation of the electoral arena is well established in the Africanist literature (Takougang 2003; Makumbe 2002; Crook 1997), we still lack a clear conception of the factors which enable opposition parties to build popular support …

Electoral Systems, Ethnic Fragmentation And Party Systems Volatility In 31 Sub Saharan African Countries, John Ishiyama

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper thus addresses two primary issues. What is the relationship between the types of electoral systems that have been used to govern initial elections in the democratizing states of Africa and the degree to which party systems volatility has emerged? What other factors impact on the levels of volatility? I examine the above questions using data from 31 African countries. I find that most of the factors often cited as impacting on party systems development do not account for the level of legislative volatility. However, the dominance of the ruling party in the first election following democratic transition does …

Land Scarcity, Tenure Change And Public Policy In The African Case Of Ethiopia: Evidence On Efficacy And Unmet Demands For Land Rights, Tesfaye Teklu

International Conference on African Development Archives

Despite the apparent abundance of land, agricultural land with a dependable growing period represents a fraction of the total land area in Ethiopia. Moreover, land degradation is extensive and severe1, particularly in the highlands above 1500 meters above sea level, which account for about 40 percent of the total land area but home for 90 percent of the total population and 70 percent of livestock. Population continues to grow rapidly in these highlands and exert pressure on diminishing supplies of agricultural land, particularly arable land for cultivation and pasture. There are signs of declining farm size and fragmentation, and excess …

Socioeconomic Impact Of Export Oriented Agricultural Production On Farmers, In Eastern Ethiopia, Adem Kedir

International Conference on African Development Archives

This study was undertaken to assess the socio-economic impact of producing export oriented agricultural crops on the livelihoods of the farmers, in eastern Ethiopia. A random sample of 305 farmers was studied. Comparisons were made between producers and non-producers using the Z- test and regression analysis. It was found that producers of export oriented crops are better off than the non-producers in terms of sending children to elementary school, housing conditions and ability to finance their families’ food requirements. The impact of father’s education, number of children and livestock ownership on the improvements in the livelihoods of the farmers and …

Heterogeneity In Returns To Schooling: Econometric Evidence From Ethiopia, Sourafel Girma, Abbi M. Kedir

International Conference on African Development Archives

The paper investigates whether returns to schooling in Ethiopia vary across the wages distribution of individuals. To do so it adopts an instrumental variables quantile regression framework that allows for both endogeneity of schooling resulting from unmeasured ability, and possible heterogeneity in the impact of schooling. The empirical estimates indicate that education contributes more to the earnings of the individuals at a lower end of the income distribution. Under the assumption that the wage and ability distributions are related, this result is consistent with the notion that education and ability are substitutes.

The Economics Of Rotating Savings And Credit Association: Evidence From Ethiopia, Abbi M. Kedir

International Conference on African Development Archives

Using a unique individual level data on the membership of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) collected in 1994 from seven major urban centres in Ethiopia, we provide one of the few econometric tests of the economic theory of ROSCAs. In recognition of the heterogeneity of rosca types across space, we provide basic information about the characteristics of roscas in urban areas of Ethiopia. In addition, we use individual and household level data to describe the characteristics of both rosca participants and non-participants. The findings from the descriptive part of the analysis indicate that most of the rosca members are …

Democracy And Development: Lessons From Turkish Experience Applied To Ethiopia, Paul B. Henze

International Conference on African Development Archives

Ethiopia's development problems are not unique. Similar problems have been (and are being) encountered in many other countries. Turkey's successful transformation from a politically and economically backward, stagnant country into one of the most dynamic societies of our time offers an example of the kind of progress Ethiopia can hope for during the 21st century. How did Turkey transform itself in little over half a century? Turkey and Ethiopia have similarities. Both have complicated geography but lack major wealth in minerals and oil. Both have suffered strife and political turmoil. Both have unstable and aggressive neighbors. Both carry a heavy …

The 3rd Eaf-Earo & Wmu-Cadpr International Symposium On Ethiopian Development Studies, June 18-19, 2005, The Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Introductory remarks for Third International Conference on Development Studies in Ethiopia, June 18-19, 2005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Integrated Agricultural Development Strategies In The Anrs: Lessons From The Amarew Project, Brhane Gebrekidan, Yitayew Abebe, Fekadu Yohannes, Elias Zerfu, Habtemariam Kassa

International Conference on African Development Archives

The Amhara Micro-enterprise development, Agricultural Research, Extension and Watershed management (AMAREW) Project is a USAID/Ethiopia Mission funded initiative established in July 2002 to provide technical assistance in integrated agricultural development in the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS). The Project works to strengthen agricultural research, extension, watershed management, capacity building, and micro-enterprise development in the ANRS by collaborating with its ANRS partners in strategically selected two pilot watershed sites and five pilot food-insecure woredas.

The Project is being implemented by a Virginia Tech led Consortium (Virginia Tech, Cornell University, Virginia State University and ACDI/VOCA) in collaboration with its ANRS Primary Partners …

Concepts And Perspectives From The Economics Of Sustainable Development: Views Of Economists And Their Policy Implications For Ethiopia And The Rest Africa, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Sustainable development is a concept about the relationship between economic growth and the environment. The term was first used in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission for its Chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland). In the Commssion’s report, “our common Future”, it defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987. The aim of this paper is to explore the various dimensions of sustainability from an economic perspective by focusing …

Fiscal Federalism And Its Discontents: Theory And Policy, Abu Girma Moges

International Conference on African Development Archives

A number of countries have pursued fiscal decentralization within a broad context of political and economic reforms to improve the performance of their public sector. Fiscal decentralization can potentially improve the allocation efficiency of the public sector and increase the capacity of a nation to address its pressing economic, social and political problems. The sustainability of such an approach is conditioned by the existence of effective democratic institutions and implementation capabilities. When political imperatives dictate the adoption of fiscal decentralization, however, the process would confront problems of the commons, capacity constraints and externalities that would limit the potential efficiency gains …

The Need For Standardization Of Aggregates For Concrete Production In Ethiopian Construction Industry, Abebe Dinku

International Conference on African Development Archives

Concrete is one of the versatile and widely used building material in the world construction industry. Fine and coarse aggregates make about 70% by volume of concrete production. It goes without saying that the quality of concrete is thus strongly influenced by aggregate’s physical and mechanical properties as well as chemical composition of the parent aggregate making material. This calls for a critical identification and classification of aggregates so that they are used to meet the intended purpose.

In this article, the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of aggregates are reviewed. The sources and modes of production of coarse and …