Economics Commons^™

Does The Ethiopian In The Diaspora Have A Role In Ethiopia’S Development?, Temesghen Hailu

International Conference on African Development Archives

Ethiopia is one of the economically poor nations in the world. It doesn’t take effort to identify what economic and social problem characterizes our country. Underemployment, malnutrition, subsistence farming, deforestation, erosion, poor transport and telecommunication services, inadequate access to drinking water and health care, high mortality and birth rates, low life expectancy, etc. All these are recipes of what can be considered as individuals living below poverty line, however specific it may be defined. A host of problems face our country. The solution, therefore become complicated because strategies to solve one problem may accelerates others. These problems are the result …

The Eprdf And The Crisis Of The Ethiopian State, Aregawi Berhe

International Conference on African Development Archives

Present day Ethiopia constitutes a multi-ethnic society where ethnic politics and ethnic mobilization had been the path to power and the pillars to maintain it, perceptibly since the Era of Princes (1769-1855). During that period, Ethiopia was parcelled or ‘decentralized’ in disorderly fashion among local princes, who drew support from their ethnic or sub-ethnic base. To this day, ethnic grounds have been the power base of Ethiopian political elites under various banners and forms.

Ethiopia is now facing yet another experimental policy under the autocratic regime of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) whose core element is the Tigray …

Impact Of Government Policies On The Development Of Ict In Ethiopia, Dawit Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

During the last decades Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the lives of a vast portion of the world’s population. Beyond any doubt, the impact of ICT on the human civilization will continue to be very important for decades to come.

Coffee-Enset-Livestock Interaction For Sustainable Livelihood In The Sidama Area Of Southern Ethiopia, Tsegaye Yilma

International Conference on African Development Archives

The coffee growing areas of Sidama, the midlands, are one of the densely populated areas in Ethiopia, with a population density of 500 persons per arable land. Coffee serves as the major cash source to the farm household, which expends the cash to its different uses one of which is asset formation through the purchase of livestock. Livestock of different type are reared with small herd size in the area. The population pressure brought land to be the most limiting production constraint. Due to its limitation the available land is mainly allocated to the major staple food of the area, …

Decision Making On Manure Use And Fallowing As Soil Fertility Maintenance Techniques In The Northern Highlands Of Ethiopia: The Case Of Ankober District, Senait Regassa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Degradation of the highly scarce agricultural resource, land, has been one of the notorious problems in Ethiopia. One form of degradation of land resource is soil nutrient depletion. Manure application as a source of major plant nutrients contributes to managing land resources towards sustainability through the improvement of physico-chemical properties of the soil. Fallowing too, allows for natural regeneration of the soil. However, decisions on how to manage the land are ultimately made by farmers and their decision-making process is influenced by several factors. This paper attempts to examine the effects of some important farm, family and institutional variables on …

Community Resource Management: The Case Of Grazing Lands In Northern Ethiopia, Berhanu Gebremedhin, John Pender, Girmay Tesfay

International Conference on African Development Archives

Communal grazing lands are important sources of livestock feed in developing countries (ILRI, 1998). In the presence of sufficient demand for livestock or livestock products, unrestricted access to the grazing lands will result in overexploitation of the resource and the scarcity rent of the resource remains unappropriated. Each individual user of the resource enjoys the full benefit of her use of the resource but bears only a fractional part of the cost. As a result, the traditional uncontrolled and free grazing system in many developing countries has caused severe degradation of the grazing lands.

The Evolution And Development Of The Public Health College And Training Center In Gondar: The History Of Che-Che-La, From An Italian Consular Office To Medical College /1910s- 1970s/, Solomon Getahun

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Farmer Perceptions Of The Severity And Yield Impact Of Soil Erosion: Evidence From Northern Ethiopia, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Scott Swinton

International Conference on African Development Archives

Farmers must perceive soil erosion as a problem before they will invest in preventing it. However, perceptions are often overlooked in the conservation literature. This study analyzes the levels and determinants of farmer perceptions of soil erosion in northern Ethiopia. Results are based on a survey of 250 farmers managing 900 fields during the 1995-96 cropping season. Farmer perceptions of the severity and productivity impact of soil erosion were measured at plot level as ordinal variables. Ordered probit and ordinary probit statistical regressions were used to analyze the levels and determinants of farmer perceptions.

Farmers were more likely both to …

The Elite And The Quest For Peace, Democracy And Development In Ethiopian: Lessons To Be Learnt, Merera Gudina

International Conference on African Development Archives

The present experiment involves the objective of accomplishing two historical tasks: the tasks of creating a country that houses 'nations, nationalities and peoples' of equals and ending an authoritarian rule by democratizing the Ethiopian state and society as a whole, a precondition for peace and development. However, as the result of the accumulated five grand failures of the Ethiopian elite in a century, the prennial quest for peace, democracy and development continue to be as illusive as ever. The most fundamental question is, therefore, what lessons to be learnt to move forward? This paper, which sums up the political history …

Participation Of Ethiopian Women In Education And Development, Sewnet Mamo Mengesha

International Conference on African Development Archives

The population of Ethiopia, which is about 55 million, is the second largest in Africa. According to the current growth rate it is projected to be doubled over the next 20 years. UN’s human development index states that Ethiopia is one of the lowest four countries in terms of social development. After the end of a long civil war in 1991, it is in the process of social and economical transformation.

Ethiopia is not only at a lowest stage of social development but also it is one of educationally disadvantaged countries in the world. Most of the school aged children …

A Review Of Distributed Generation Technologies And Their Applicability In Ethiopia, Haeran Fisseha, Yared Mengistu

International Conference on African Development Archives

This study has four parts. The first part reviews the current energy and electricity situation in Ethiopia by examining the consumption and supply patterns of energy in general, and the electricity sector in particular. The second part explores Distributed Generation, its definition and the reasons for its current popularity as the emerging electric power generation paradigm. The third part evaluates makes a preliminary financial analysis of the “Mega” hydro electricity vs Distributed Generation electricity. Finally, the concluding section summarizes the different issues raised, and comes up with a few recommendations.

Economic Reforms And Structural Changes In Ethiopia Since 1992; An Inquiry, Prabhakar Reddy Tada

International Conference on African Development Archives

Since the beginning of the nineties, Ethiopia has been experiencing significant political, economic and social changes. Despite the efforts of the Ethiopian government to strengthen market economy mechanisms and to decentralize and regionalize decision making structures, the country is still facing a number of problems such as poverty, soil degradation, regional conflicts etc. The elaboration of sound development strategies is essential to promote economic growth, and to alleviate poverty in the context of limited resources. In brief, the economy is undergoing the process of transformation in all most all the fields. In this context, the paper is an attempt to …

Agricultural Research System Of Ethiopia: Past History And Future Vision, Tesfaye Zegeye

International Conference on African Development Archives

Agricultural Research in Ethiopia began in Jimma and Ambo in 1952 and was extended to the then College of Agriculture at Alemaya in 1957 and later in 1965 included Debre Zeit. Realizing the importance of agricultural research in economic development the Ethiopian government established the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) in 1966 as a semiautonomous organization under the general supervision of the Ministerial Board of Directors.

The specific mandates of the Institution of Agricultural Research was to: Formulate national agricultural research policies, Coordinate national agricultural research Undertake research in its centers and sub-centers located in various agro-ecological zones of the …

Promoting Child Protection Through Community Resources: Care Arrangements For Ethiopian Aids Orphans, Steven L. Varnis

International Conference on African Development Archives

One of the key development challenges posed by AIDS in Ethiopia is providing care for the vastly increased number of orphans resulting from the pandemic. The organizational initiatives and policy responses will have an impact on a wide range of developmental indicators, as well as on the formative experiences of millions of Ethiopian children in the years to come. This paper explores the strategies and basic assumptions of community based care—which has become the orthodox approach to orphan care in Africa. Two limitations of this approach are discussed. First, it is often based on an outdated understanding and assessment of …

Hiv/Aids In Ethiopia: The Epidemic And Social, Economic, And Demographic Impacts, Helmut Kloos

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper reviews the epidemiology, driving forces and impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia and evaluates prospects for prevention and control. After the rapid spread of HIV infection in the 1980s and 1990s primarily by commercial sex workers, truck drivers and soldiers along major transportation routes, children, adolescents and the general population are increasingly infected. There is also evidence that infection rates are rapidly increasing in rural populations. But surveillance activities remain underdeveloped rendering the fragmentary data on the prevalence, incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS highly speculative and hindering the planning and implementation of prevention and control programs. Available …

Ethiopia: An Alternative Approach To National Development, Daniel Kendie

International Conference on African Development Archives

The existing Ethiopian constitution that is based on ethnicity should be discarded and replaced by another constitution that recognizes territorial nationalism, which manifested itself in historic Ethiopia as regionalism or provincialism. The historically established status of the provinces of Arussie, Bale, Gondar, Harar, Shoa, Sidamo, Tigrai, Wollo, Wollega, and so on, would have to be restored. A federal constitution which corresponds to Ethiopia’s historical experiences, but modified to suit its present conditions, and based on such principles as the rule of law, state secularism, a bill of rights, a system of checks an balances, political and economic pluralism, including the …

Technological Innovation, Adoption And The Management Of Vertisol Resources In The Highland Ethiopia, Gezahegn Ayele

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

From Marxism-Leninism To Ethnicity: The Sideslips Of Ethiopian Elitism, Messay Kebede

International Conference on African Development Archives

For many scholars, colonialism and neocolonial policies remain the root causes of Africa’s numerous impediments, ranging from the persistence of poverty to the ravages of ethnic conflicts. However, the number of scholars who prefer to ascribe these impediments essentially to the persistence of traditional views and methods and to the lack of reforms radical enough to trigger a sustained process of modernization is not negligible. My position contests this either-or debate and identifies the culprit as the rise of African elitism--a phenomenon implicating the specific effect of colonialism in conjunction with internal African contributions. I take the case of Ethiopia …

The Impact Of Globalization On Sustainable Management Of Natural Resources In African Economies, Livingstone Musoro

International Conference on African Development Archives

In this paper, we are not going to have a definitional discussion per se of what globalization is all about. So much has been done toward definitional discussion. Good coverage on the definitional aspects of globalization can be reviewed, for example, from the works of Kiely (in Kiely and Marfleet 1998) and Wolf (in Critical Review, Vol. 14, No. 1; 2001). My focus here is at a brief note on misconception or misunderstanding about the process of globalization, and then, at its impact on the sustainable management of natural resources in Africa.

Obstacles, Controversies And Prospects Surrounding Child Abuse Management In Addis Ababa, Getnet Tadele

International Conference on African Development Archives

Corporal punishment by parents or guardians, family members and relatives is an accepted cultural practice in Ethiopia. Aside from parents and other family members, many children are also abused (physically and sexually) by other persons who by chance meet them. At the same time, there are undergoing activities related to child abuse management by concerned institutions. Coordinated child abuse management involves various professionals and institutions. This paper examines the situation of child abuse and its management in Addis Ababa focusing on challenges and controversies revolving around this social problem. It assess pertinent issues involved in child abuse management on the …

Food Security And Rural Vulnerability In Ethiopia: A Development Perspective, Alemayehu Lirenso

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper analyzes current food security and rural vulnerability situation in present day Ethiopia from a development perspective. In the sections that follow: (i) various issues relating to food security and vulnerability are presented, (ii) current food aid management policies and practices are reviewed and their implications for overall agricultural development policy are evaluated, and (iii) alternative strategies for combating the risks of future famines are suggested. The analysis is based partly on my own previous studies and partly on review of other recent studies listed in the references.

Liquidity, Default And Crashes: Endogenous Contracts In General Equilibrium, John Geanakoplos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

The possibility of default limits available liquidity. If the potential default draws nearer, a liquidity crisis may ensue, causing a crash in asset prices, even if the probability of default barely changes, and even if no defaults subsequently materialize. Introducing default and limited collateral into general equilibrium theory (GE) allows for a theory of endogenous contracts, including endogenous margin requirements on loans. This in turn allows GE to explain liquidity and liquidity crises in equilibrium. A formal definition of liquidity is presented. When new information raises the probability and shortens the horizon over which a fixed income asset may default, …

Liquidity, Default And Crashes: Endogenous Contracts In General Equilibrium, John Geanakoplos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Introducing default and limited collateral into general equilibrium theory (GE) allows for a theory of endogenous contracts, including endogenous margin requirements on loans. This in turn allows GE to explain liquidity and liquidity crises in equilibrium. A formal definition of liquidity is presented. When new information raises the probability a fixed income asset may default, its drop in price may be much greater than its objective drop in value because the drop in value reduces the relative wealth of its natural buyers, who disproportiantely own the asset through leveraged purchases. When the information also shortens the horizon over which the …

A Practical Competitive Market Model For Indivisible Commodities, Zaifu Yang

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A general and practical competitive market model for trading indivisible goods is introduced. There are a group of buyers and a group of sellers, and several indivisible goods. Each buyer is initially endowed with a sufficient amount of money and each seller is endowed with several units of each indivisible good. Each buyer has reservation values over bundles of indivisible goods above which he will not buy and each seller has reservation values over bundles of his own indivisible goods below which he will not sell. Buyers and sellers’ preferences depend on the bundle of indivisible goods and the quantity …

Perfectly Fair Allocations With Indivisibilities, Ning Sun, Zaifu Yang

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

One set of n objects of type I, another set of n objects of type II, and an amount M of money is to be completely allocated among n agents in such a way that each agent gets one object of each type with some amount of money. We propose a new solution concept to this problem called a perfectly fair allocation. It is a refinement of the concept of fair allocation. An appealing and interesting property of this concept is that every perfectly fair allocation is Pareto optimal. It is also shown that a perfectly fair allocation is envy …

Accessible Pareto-Improvements: Using Market Information To Reform Inefficiencies, Michael Mandler

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study Pareto improvements whose implementation requires knowledge of only market prices and traded quantities, not utility and demand functions. Quantity stabilization gives agents the right to repeat the net trades they previously conducted, but requires policymakers to have records of those trades. While reasonable in some partial equilibrium contexts, such an assumption is implausible in general equilibrium. To diminish informational requirements further, we also consider price stabilization, which holds constant the relative prices that consumers face. Although price stabilizations do not achieve first-best efficiency, they lead to Pareto-improvements and production efficiency. Moreover, the production efficiency advantage persists under price …

Insurance Contracts Designed By Competitive Pooling, Pradeep Dubey, John Geanakoplos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We build a model of competitive pooling and show how insurance contracts emerge in equilibrium, designed by the invisible hand of perfect competition. When pools are exclusive, we obtain a unique separating equilibrium. When pools are not exclusive but seniority is recognized, we obtain a different unique equilibrium: the pivotal primary-secondary equilibrium. Here reliable and unreliable households take out a common primary insurance up to its maximum limit, and then unreliable households take out further secondary insurance.

Liquidity, Default And Crashes: Endogenous Contracts In General Equilibrium, John Geanakoplos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Introducing default and limited collateral into general equilibrium theory (GE) allows for a theory of endogenous contracts, including endogenous margin requirements on loans. This in turn allows GE to explain liquidity and liquidity crises in equilibrium. A formal definition of liquidity is presented. When new information raises the probability a fixed income asset may default, its drop in price may be much greater than its objective drop in value because the drop in value reduces the relative wealth of its natural buyers, who disproportiantely own the asset through leveraged purchases. When the information also shortens the horizon over which the …

If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?Belief Selection In Complete And Incomplete Markets, Larry Blume, David Easley

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper provides an analysis of the asymptotic properties of consumption allocations in a stochastic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous consumers. In particular we investigate the market selection hypothesis, that markets favor traders with more accurate beliefs. We show that in any Pareto optimal allocation whether each consumer vanishes or survives is determined entirely by discount factors and beliefs. Since equilibrium allocations in economies with complete markets are Pareto optimal, our results characterize the limit behavior of these economies. We show that, all else equal, the market selects for consumers who use Bayesian learning with the truth in the support …

Compromises Between Cardinality And Ordinality In Preference Theory And Social Choice, Michael Mandler

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

By taking sets of utility functions as a primitive description of agents, we define an ordering over assumptions on utility functions that gauges their implicit measurement requirements. Cardinal and ordinal assumptions constitute two types of measurement requirements, but several standard assumptions in economics lie between these extremes. We first apply the ordering to different theories for why consumer preferences should be convex and show that diminishing marginal utility, which for complete preferences implies convexity, is an example of a compromise between cardinality and ordinality. In contrast, the Arrow-Koopmans theory of convexity, although proposed as an ordinal theory, relies on utility …