African Studies Commons^™

Exports, Trade Liberalization And Economic Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa, Seid Hassan

International Conference on African Development Archives

Despite the various efforts made to promote sustainable economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, there had been little achievement in terms of progress in standard of living and poverty reduction in this part of the world. Given the absence of a perfect strategy to overcome these problems, most Sub-Saharan African countries have tended to place undue emphasis on export promotion in the context of worldwide economic liberalization and globalization. Moreover, as a result of opening up their economies in the 1990s, especially in the export/import sector of these economies, it has been reported, some Sub-Saharan African countries have experienced some positive …

The Macroeconomics Of Foreign Aid To Ethiopia: Internal Balance And Fiscal Response-An Alternate Framework, Getnet Alemu

International Conference on African Development Archives

Foreign aid recipient fiscal response in developing countries is studied using utility/welfare maximization principle. The underlying assumption of this function (utility/welfare can be maximized by narrowing the deviations of the actual values from their desired values subject to the constraints of finance) doesn’t capture the interplay between project aid inflows and the adjustment process of the government budget. This paper proposes an alternative framework in conceptualizing the recipients fiscal response. This was possible due to the special feature of this paper that aid is disassociated from foreign capital inflow and also identified by its usage which is not the case …

Health And Education Issues In Ethiopia, Meskerem Shiferaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper is written for use in the International Conference on Contemporary Development Issues in Ethiopia that will be held, at Western Michigan University, from August 16-18, 2001. It is written for participants of the conference who are interested to know about the current situation of health and education sectors in Ethiopia, in the overall framework of the country's economy. In the paper, the earlier and existing policies and their impact on the development of the sectors is touched up on.

Looking At African Value System Through Cultural Dimensions: How Do African Countries Culturally Differ Among Themselves And From The United States?, Habte G. Woldu

International Conference on African Development Archives

The study through a variety of cultural dimensions, measures the cultural differences and similarities of four different African countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa. The national cultures of the four African countries are analyzed through a methodology for systematically assessing cultural differences. The African countries are compared with that of the United States of America. The output of the study clearly shows that there are cultural differences among the African countries as well as between the African countries and the United States. African respondents demonstrated significantly higher cultural traits in collective & hieratical relations, being/feeling & risk avoidance related …

The Conflict Of Ethnic Identity And The Language Of Education Policy In Contemporary Ethiopia, Teshome G. Wagaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper examines the current language policy of Ethiopia, especially its significance for the educational systems of that country. The policy in its present form was proclaimed in 1991 after the present government drove out the former Marxist-Leninist military junta, which had ruled the country for the preceding twenty years2. The language policy, along with other human rights and ethnic-related policies, was incorporated into the new constitution that took effect in 1996. Among other things, the policy provides for Ethiopia’s more than 90 language groups to develop and use their respective languages in the courts, in governmental and other political …

Women's Higher Education In Ethiopia Under Three Regimes, 1950-1997, Alem Habtu

International Conference on African Development Archives

A recent World Bank report sums up the condition of the "typical" Ethiopian woman as follows: "She is a victim of her situation, without the capacity to initiate change within the quagmire of her poverty, high fertility, poor health and domestic drudgery" (cited in Ethiopia, NPA, April 1995, pp. 14-15).

Generally speaking, most Ethiopian women live in impoverished subsistence. They are expected to marry early, and bear many children. They lack knowledge of hygiene, nutrition or family planning. They live in conditions of very high maternal, infant and child mortality. Lack of education, high fertility, infant mortality, and generally poor …

Colonizing Ideas: A Comparative Look At Receptivity To The Adoption Of Western Education In Japan And Ethiopia, Getachew Felleke

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper examines the challenges and promises that accompanied the introduction of modern education into two non-modern societies. The study is motivated by an interest to fathom some of the causes and sources of Ethiopia’s multifaceted social and economic problems. Taking as its point of departure the view that, over the long run, evolutionary progress of societies should be the norm, the study seeks to identify the impediments that have blocked such a normal pace of progress in Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s early experience in building up its education system is compared and contrasted with that of Japan’s. The roles played by …

The Effects Of Food Aid And Household Composition On Child Farm Labor Supply In Rural Ethiopia, Takashi Yamano

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper determines the effects of household demographic composition and food aid on child farm labor supply controlling for household fixed effects. The results indicate that a child has a higher probability of working on farm if he or she is living with younger children, suggesting that older children are reducing resource constraints. The results on food aid indicate that receiving free distribution has relatively larger positive effects on the probability of girls working on farm than boys, while participating in food for work has relatively larger negative effects.

Causes Of Seasonal Food Insecurity In Oromiya Zone Of Amhara Region: Farmers' View, Degefa Tolossa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Ethiopia is currently facing challenging problems, ranging from those induced by environmental crises to those caused by demographic and socio-economic constraints which adversely affect peoples` production system. The country is generally characterized by extreme poverty, continued and high population growth rate, severe environmental degradation and recurrent drought (Getachew 1995; Markos,1997, NOVIB, 1999). Resulting from these, the performance of agriculture, the sector that makes livelihood for 85% of the country’s population, has been poor over the last few decades, to the extent that the country could not adequately feed its population from domestic production. This has been manifested in the prevailing …

Emerging Informal Land Markets: A Quest For Equitable And Efficient Land Tenure Systems, Tesfaye Teklu

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper is motivated by the need for an informed analytical discussion on land issues and policy options. “There is a danger that if a process of learning and policy dialogue on land tenure issues is not started soon, Ethiopia, like a number of other African countries, will adopt ‘ready made’ land tenure reforms that are based on ideological considerations and misconceptions about current problems” (Bruce, Hoben and Rahmato, 1994). This paper shares this view (or, warning) and follows it as a guiding principle.

Simulating Strategy Options For Enhancing Hyv-Maize Technology Adoption In Oromia, Ethiopia, Bedassa Tadesse

International Conference on African Development Archives

Using a sample selection induced bivariate probit model fitted to data collected from small scale, resource poor farmers in Western Oromia (Jimma, Ilu-Ababaor, Estern and Western Welega zones), I define and simulate different strategy (Pure and Mixed) scenarios. The scenarios provide the extent to which the adoption of maize technology package (HYV-seeds, fertilizers and planting methods) among currently non-adopter maize growers could be increased with the use of different strategies. Among the scenarios evaluated, I find a strategy that emphasizes information approach, as a pure strategy, or when integrated with education and/or the agent approaches-in a mixed strategy, significantly influential …

Supply Response Of Ethiopian Farmers To Price And Non-Price Factors, Abrar Suleiman

International Conference on African Development Archives

The main purpose of this study is to examine the responsiveness of peasant farmers to changes in price and non-price factors. To this end, quadratic production and restricted profit functions are fitted to farm-level survey data from Ethiopia. The results indicate that farmers respond significantly to price incentives, but the effect of prices on output supply and fertilizer demand is negligible. The most important finding is that non-price factors are far more important in affecting production and resource use than price incentives. The results underscore the need to strengthen market incentives through effective policies that will improve farmers’ access to …

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 …