African Studies Commons^™

Influence Of Credit Constraint On Technical Efficiency Of Farm Households In Southeastern Ethiopia, Hussien Hamda Komicha, Bo Öhlmer

International Conference on African Development Archives

Credit constraint not only affects the purchasing power of farmers to procure farm inputs and cover operating costs in the short run, but also their capacity to make farm-related investments as well as risk behaviour in technology choice and adoption. These, in turn, have influence on technical efficiency of the farmers. Although credit constraint problem has been recognized in economics literature, especially in those dealing with developing countries, little emphasis has been given to its effect on productive efficiency of farmers. In light of this, explicitly considering credit constraint, this paper estimated technical efficiency of credit-constrained (CCFH) and unconstrained farm …

The Contribution Of Farmers’ Breeders In Meeting Food Security: The Case Of Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench) In Ethiopia, Firew Mekbib

International Conference on African Development Archives

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the fifth most important cereal crop worldwide and it is the third most important crop in Ethiopia. The national average yield amounts 1302 kg/ha. In order to assess the achievement in farmer breeding various types of research were undertaken. These include survey research to quantify the trend in productivity, the level of and reasons for adoption of improved varieties, yield performance and preference evaluation of farmers’ varieties (FVs) and improved varieties (IVs). As per the trend analysis over the last four decades, total production and yield per hectare has increased by 11.63% and …

Agricultural Research And Development In Ethiopia, Efrem Bechere

International Conference on African Development Archives

To review past and current agricultural research activities and access their impact on agricultural development in Ethiopia and discuss some challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed.

U.S. Policy In The Horn Of Africa, James Swan

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Fiscal Response To External Finance: The Case Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Dawit Senbet, Aberra Senbeta

International Conference on African Development Archives

The importance of capital accumulation for economic growth and hence development was widely recognized long time ago. However, developing countries - especially Sub-Saharan African countries, are still trapped in ‘vicious circle of poverty’ and failed to finance desired level of investment from their own domestic savings. Earlier models of development argued that these countries would come out of stagnation only if they got assistance from the developed world (Rodan 1961, and Chenery and Strout 1966). The two-gap model of Chenery and Strout (1966) showed that these countries are constrained with little domestic savings and foreign exchange earnings. The model predicted …

The Role Of Exchange Rate Uncertainty And Political Risk On Foreign Direct Investment Into Africa, Blen Solomon

International Conference on African Development Archives

This study, examines the roles of macroeconomic uncertainty, political risk, as well as host country institutions, in affecting FDI inflows into African economies. The past few decades have witnessed a surge of FDI inflows to developing regions. However, FDI inflows to Africa still remain small when compared to other developing regions. What characteristics does Africa exhibit that deter FDI inflows into the region? Investor surveys show political instability, corruption and macroeconomic uncertainty to be strong deterrents of FDI inflows to Africa. However, there are very few studies in the literature that investigate rigorously the impact of macroeconomic uncertainty and political …

Aid, Growth And Poverty Alleviation In Ethiopia, Sintayehu Fissha

International Conference on African Development Archives

Ethiopia is one of the countries receiving large proportions of aid, especially since the introduction of the policy changes (1992) there is a substantial amount of aid flows. This lead to raise government expenditure on various productive activities, contribute either directly to the improvement of economic growth of the country (accelerator) and/or to the development of services (multiplier). In both ways I deem that the undergoing efforts made by the government using aid as an additional resource are contributing to the enhancement of the economic development of the country. But I still argue that the achievements made are not up …

Governance And Productivity: Microeconomic Evidence From Ethiopia, Daniel Zerfu

International Conference on African Development Archives

We used household survey data from the rural Ethiopia to investigate the importance of governance for agricultural productivity. We argued that the impact of governance is household specific and identified some governance indicators accordingly. Trust in government and government officials, strength of property rights and personal contact with local authorities are identified as governance indicators. A stochastic frontier production function is specified and estimated to capture the effects of governance on productivity or technical efficiency of households. Our results show that improvement in governance could reduce technical inefficiencies significantly and hence could considerably boost productivity.

Households’ Willingness To Resettle And Preference To Forms Of Compensation For Improving Slum Areas In Addis Ababa City, Alebel Bayrau, Genanew Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

The spatial, physical and socio-economic condition of Addis Ababa City, in general, is by far behind the requirements fundamental to sustain the livelihood of the City population. The limitations of its current developmental trend and the depth of the existing environmental problems, coupled with the requirements of the projected population of more than 3.5 million people by the year 2010, entail reexamination of constraints and opportunities with the aim of devising appropriate measures and strategies for action. The suggested government intervention strategies, as stated in the report by ORAAMP, include: Relocation and resettlement of residents for efficient utilization of potential …

Towards Resolving The Ethiopia-Somalia Disputes, Daniel Kendie

International Conference on African Development Archives

The 46-year-old dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia has been commonly called a “border dispute.” Contrary to that description, it may be more appropriate to portray it as a dispute that has been driven principally by economic interests and by the effort to control scarce resources. Among these interests and resources are the following: the struggle for water wells and fresh grazing pastures for nomads; the insecurity Somalia feels about the Juba and the Wabi Shibeli rivers, as their sources are in Ethiopia; the discovery of gas and oil in the Ogaden; Somalia’s challenging geographic shape that makes communication between the …

The Greater Horn Or Africa: Priming A Strategy And Mechanism For Greater Horn Of Africa Peace, Security And Development, Bt Costantinos

International Conference on African Development Archives

The paper will address threats to national security, real and potential, that include, among others: lack of constitutional order; incapacity to manage disputes; threats of invasion and destabilisation; terrorism; contested borders and natural resource jurisdiction – blood diamonds; small arms; poverty related unrest; ethnic conflicts; feeble governance institutions; human displacement and pandemics.

Commercial Offtake Of Cattle Under Smallholder Mixed Crop-Livestock Production System In Ethiopia, Its Determinants And Implications For Improving Live Animal Supply For Export Abattoirs, Asfaw Negassa, Mohammad Jabbar

International Conference on African Development Archives

The main objective of this study is to assess the current commercial offtake rates for cattle and shoats in the highland areas of Ethiopia in order to overcome the limited empirical information related to the offtake rates. The specific objectives are: (1) to analyze the ownership and marketing behaviour of livestock producers, and (2) to identify factors affecting the market participation and commercial offtake of live animals by livestock producers.

2 Building Democratic Institutions Of Governance & Civil Institutions, Erku Yimer

International Conference on African Development Archives

The purposes of this paper are threefold. 1. To create a basic understanding of the nature of civic organizations and the role they play in democratization of society as practiced in Western societies. 2. To examine the scope and diversity of some traditional organizations like Idir and Shimglena/Mehal Sefari as practiced in various regions of Ethiopia. 3. To develop ways and means of incorporating and integrating some selected and important civic functions particularly into Idir and Shimglena.

Estimating Remittances From The United States To Ethiopia, Gezahegne Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Status Of Local Governance At Woreda/District Level In Ethiopia, Meskerem Shiferaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

In Ethiopia, about 50% of the population lives below poverty line. Efforts have been exerted to reverse the situation both by Government and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs); so far however solid results have not been achieved as expected. The question of “what has gone wrong?” has been coiling around in the minds of development practitioners. The international communities point their fingers at poor governance, corruption, internal and regional conflicts for the underdevelopment of the country. It was the outcome of these kinds of questions along with suggestions made that brought about the idea of promoting good governance in developing countries. The …

The Political Economy Of Poverty Reduction Policies In Ethiopia, Abu Girma Moges

International Conference on African Development Archives

Poverty reduction strategies and policies have gained considerable popularity in recent policy discourse and international economic relations. These policies and strategies are framed in the context of the Millennium Development Goals that set specific quantitative targets to be achieved within a specified time framework. The goals specify the targets and require countries to design national poverty reduction strategies and achieve them with a generous financial assistance from the international community. However, the domestic political economic forces remain to shape the extent and effectiveness of such strategies in addressing and reducing the extent and depth of poverty in the reforming countries. …

Government’S Response To The Challenge Of Hiv/Aids In Ethiopia, Bedri Jebril Mohammed

International Conference on African Development Archives

Ethiopia is facing a huge threat to the survival of its people and the socio-economic development of the country from a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic. Ethiopia with an estimated 1.3 million HIV/AIDS infected people as of December 2006, is one of the worst-affected countries where HIV infection is concentrating among productive age group, thereby affecting productivity. The objective of this study is to examine the ways in which the government of Ethiopia has been dealing with the spread of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia and suggests the ways in which it can improve its strategies. More specifically, the study tried to investigate the …

Examining The 2005 Ethiopian Parliamentary Election Results Under Alternative Electoral Rules, John Ishiyama

International Conference on African Development Archives

As many scholars have noted, electoral systems exert a powerful influence on the process of democratization (Taagepera and Shugart, 1989; Horowitz, 1985; Ishiyama 1997). Indeed first competitive or “transitional” elections are crucial moments for newly democratizing countries. Although these elections mark only a beginning point in an often arduous journey, their outcomes crucially affect the future course of democratic transition and democratic consolidation (Olsen 1993; Schmitter 1992; Bermeo, 1987). Indeed, whoever wins the transitional election often has the opportunity to re-write the rules of the game to their advantage and, hence, significantly influence future political developments.

Farmers’ Preferences For Development Intervention Programs: A Case Study Of Subsistence Farmers From East Ethiopian Highlands, Wagayehu Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

The aim of this paper is to better understand farmers' perception of the relevance of different development intervention programs. Farmers’ subjective ranking of agricultural problems and their preference for development intervention are elicited using a stated preference method. The factors influencing these preferences are determined using a random utility model. The study is based on a survey conducted in the Hunde-Lafto area of the East Ethiopian Highlands. Individual interviews were conducted with 145 randomly selected farm households using semi-structured questionnaires. The study suggests that drought, soil erosion and shortage of cultivable land are high priority agricultural production problems for farmers. …

An Ethiopian Dilemma: Deep Structures, Wrenching Processes, Donald N. Levine

International Conference on African Development Archives

Please find attached my keynote address presented August 3 at the 4th International Conference of Ethiopian Development Studies at Western Michigan University. Organized by Professor Sisay Asefa, the Conference assembled an edifying blend of thoughtful, forward-looking Ethiopian scholars, and culminated with inauguration of the new Ethiopian Development Studies Association.

Do Foreign Direct Investment And Foreign Aid Promote Good Governance In Africa?, Adugna Lemi, Blen Solomon, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

The literature on the roles that governance/political and economic stability play to attract capital flows into African economies has been burgeoning. Good governance, liberalization, infrastructure, incentive packages have been regarded as cures to break the deadlock to reverse the economic plight, to attract inflow of capital and, in some cases, to reverse outflows of African economies. The flow of capital, however, has undesirable side effects on host economies’ working conditions, environmental standard, inequality, and culture, among others. These economic and social external or negative spillover effects are due to the phenomenon of “race-to-the-bottom” where companies invest in economies with lax …

The Global Response To The Darfur Crisis, Mehari Maru

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper examines the global response to the Darfur crisis. The term global refers to non-Sudanese actors in Darfur crisis including but not limited to: international and multilateral governance institutions such as United Nations and its family agencies (hereafter UN), International Criminal Court (hereafter ICC), African Union (hereafter AU), European Union (hereafter EU), North Atlantic Organization (hereafter NATO), and the Arab League; countries such as United States of America (hereafter USA), Peoples Republic of China, Chad, and Central African Republic; and international NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group and many other relief and humanitarian organizations, …

Leadership Perspective: Country Development And Transition To Free Market Economy, Kinfu Adisu

International Conference on African Development Archives

In the following essay, the author will examine the need for a clear understanding of the transition process and economic development in Ethiopia. The country’s move towards a free market economy will be critically analyzed as an important step to fight poverty. This will also raise the question of what policies need to be changed to make the nation competitive. A case method is taken into consideration to examine various experiences from African and Asian developing nations. The analysis will be from leadership perspective and takes a business approach to examining the issues and primarily utilizes free market transitional theories. …

Investors' Willingness To Pay For Urban Land: The Case Of Addis Ababa City, Alebel Bayrau, Genanew Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

The spatial, physical and socio-economic conditions of Addis Ababa City, in general, is by far behind the requirements fundamental to sustain the livelihood of the city. In addressing the problems of the city, the suggested government intervention strategies include, among others, the relocation and resettlement of residents for efficient utilization of potential sites, and bringing balanced and coordinated investment/development in different parts of the city. These strategies, so far, seam to concentrate on the supply side and neglected the effective demand of the majority of investors. This study, therefore, aims to assess determinants of investors' willingness to pay for a …

2007 International Conference On Ethiopian Development Studies (4th Iceds) A Multidisciplinary Conference On The Challenges Of Peace And Development In Ethiopia & The Horn Of Africa, Western Michigan University

International Conference on African Development Archives

Proceedings from the 2007 International Conference on Ethiopian Development Studies (4th ICEDS) A Multidisciplinary Conference on the Challenges of Peace and Development in Ethiopia & the Horn of Africa, held in Kalamazoo, Michigan (WMU), August 2-4, 2007.

Private Transfers, Informal Loans And Risk Sharing Among Poor Urban Households, Eskander Alvi, Seife Dendir

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper contributes to a growing literature that investigates the mechanisms of risk-sharing among poor households. There are two aspects of the paper that are particularly relevant in the context of the literature. First, it focuses on poor urban areas. The disproportionate focus in the literature on rural households has meant that we know relatively little about the risk-sharing practices of poor urban households. Given that formal insurance is largely absent even in urban areas of most developing economies, it is apparent that these households may be no less vulnerable to income risk than their rural counterparts. Furthermore, because of …

No. 45: Medical Recruits: The Temptation Of South African Health Care Professionals, Christian M. Rogerson

Southern African Migration Programme

Health workers are one of the categories of skilled professionals most affected by globalization. Over the past decade, there has emerged a substantial body of research that tracks patterns of international migration of health personnel, assesses causes and consequences, and debates policy responses at global and national scales. Within this literature, the case of South Africa is attracting growing interest. For almost 15 years South Africa has been the target of a ‘global raiding’ of skilled professionals by several developed countries. How to deal with the consequences of the resultant outflow of health professionals is a core policy issue for …

No. 47: The Haemorrhage Of Health Professionals From South Africa: Medical Opinions, Wade Pendleton, Jonathan Crush, Kate Lefko-Everett

Southern African Migration Programme

The health sector has been especially hard hit by the brain drain from South Africa. Unless the push factors are successfully addressed, intense interest in emigration will continue to translate into departure for as long as demand exists abroad (and there is little sign of this letting up.) Health professional decision-making about leaving, staying or returning is poorly-understood and primarily anecdotal. To understand how push and pull factors interact in decision- making (and the mediating role of variables such as profession, race, class, age, gender income and experience), the opinions of health professionals themselves need to be sought.

This paper …

Vol. 8, No. 1: South African Immigration Reform, Vincent Williams

Southern African Migration Programme

No abstract provided.

No. 46: Voices From The Margins: Migrant Women’S Experiences In Southern Africa, Kate Lefko-Everett

Southern African Migration Programme

The concept of the feminization of migration traditionally refers to the growth in numbers and relative importance of women’s migration, particularly from and within developing countries. In Africa, for example, the proportion of female migrants rose from 42% of the total in 1 960 to almost 50% at the present time. This process is a result, first, of the continued impoverishment and marginalization of many women in developing countries; and second, of the increasing demand for female labour in the service industries of industrial and industrializing countries.

The United Nations suggests that the full implications of migration and mobility for …