Structural adjustment and market imperfections: a stylized village economy-wide model with non-separable farm households

Village economies and peasant households represent the main link between the economy and the environment in sub-Saharan Africa. The links from the macro level and down to the household level and further to the natural resource base are complex. It may therefore be difficult to predict the impact of macro policies and external shocks on the environment. This paper presents a typology of village economies and village economy-wide models. The framework is applied to a special case where a model is proposed and estimated to examine the impacts of external shocks, including structural adjustment policies, on cash-crop production and chitemene (shifting cultivation) in a remote Zambian village characterized by a missing (or negligible) labour market, input supply constraints, and credit rationing. Our findings indicate that structural adjustment policies, by decreasing the profitability of maize production, may encourage households to increase their chitemene production, resulting in more rapid deforestation.

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Adjusting Inequality: Education and Structural Adjustment Policies in Tanzania

Harvard Educational Review ◽

10.17763/haer.75.2.565v0213145413t5 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 174-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

FRANCES VAVRUS

Keyword(s):

Educational Policy ◽

Secondary Students ◽

Structural Adjustment ◽

National Policy ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Local Setting ◽

Adjustment Policies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Policy Fields ◽

The Impact

International economic forces increasingly affect policy at multiple levels and in multiple domains. The interplay of three levels — international, national, and local — are underresearched in the social and educational policy fields, which includes educational policy studies. In this article, Frances Vavrus employs ethnography to investigate how these interactions play out in a Chagga community in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. She examines how the lives of secondary students in Tanzanian schools are affected by structural adjustment policies, adopted by Tanzania at the advice of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in three domains: access to schooling, opportunities for employment, and the risk of HIV/AIDS infection. She makes a convincing case for the importance of understanding the local setting in the development of international and national policy, and for investigating the impact policy change in noneducational sectors has on educational realities. Vavrus's research also provides a glimpse into the multiple local consequences of the policy of user fees for school access that were implemented over the last fifteen years in Tanzania and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. She concludes with a call for the research community to consider the benefits of ethnography in the development and evaluation of policy.

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Causal Analyses of Public Debt and Structural Adjustment

International Journal of System Dynamics Applications ◽

10.4018/ijsda.2017010102 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 21-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John Pastor Ansah

Keyword(s):

Structural Adjustment ◽

Unintended Effects ◽

Economic Policies ◽

African Countries ◽

Structural Mechanism ◽

Bretton Woods ◽

Adjustment Program ◽

Unintended Effect ◽

Adjustment Policies ◽

The Impact

The impact of structural adjustment program on the economic situation in many African countries can not be overemphasised. Over two decades of implementing neo-liberal economic policies by the Bretton Woods institution, it is of great importance to document the lessons learnt. This paper elicits the structural mechanism representing the intended effect of structural adjustment policies and the unintended effects observed from the implementation of the structural adjustment policies. The assumptions and hypotheses implicit in the main structural adjustment policies, as well as the observed unintended effect of the policies are clearly elicited with a causal loop diagram.

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Food security impacts of industrial crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the impact mechanisms

Food Security ◽

10.1007/s12571-019-00988-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 105-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marcin Pawel Jarzebski ◽

Abubakari Ahmed ◽

Yaw Agyeman Boafo ◽

Boubacar Siddighi Balde ◽

Linda Chinangwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Food Security ◽

Crop Production ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Industrial Crop ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

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The impact of political liberalisation and democratisation on ethnic conflict in Africa: an empirical test of common assumptions

The Journal of Modern African Studies ◽

10.1017/s0022278x99003237 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 21-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Zeric Kay Smith

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Conflict ◽

Empirical Test ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Resource Base ◽

Sensitive Data ◽

Data Set ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Conflict In Africa ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

This article provides an empirical test of a set of common theoretical assumptions concerning the relationship between political liberalisation, democratisation and ethnic conflict in Africa. The theory in question posits that liberalisation will result in short-term increases in ethnic conflict and that democratisation will be followed by a decrease in ethnic conflict. The article employs a cross-national and time sensitive data set to test this hypothesis in the context of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. A compelling benefit of this methodology is that it allows for an explanation of variation in ethnic conflict both across states and over time.The results indicate that the relationship between political liberalisation and ethnic conflict is the reverse of what the common assumptions would predict. Liberalisation has had an inverse relationship to ethnic conflict in sub-Saharan Africa between 1988 and 1997. Democratisation does not have the hypothesised effect even when lagged variables are employed. Structural variables as represented by GDP per capita and infant mortality rates are also systematically related to ethnic conflict. The author concludes that policy makers and analysts should continue to pursue both liberalisation and democratisation but should not neglect the central role of an adequate resource base in reducing ethnic conflict in Africa. Political liberalisation and democratic institutions, while providing some measure of relief, are by no means silver bullets for the difficult challenges posed by ethnic conflict in Africa.

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Toward improving household livelihoods using rain water harvesting technologies in Matungulu sub-county, Machakos, Kenya

East African Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation ◽

10.37425/eajsti.v2i4.361 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Peter Wekesa ◽

John Muthama ◽

Jane Mutune

Keyword(s):

Significant Influence ◽

Crop Production ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Rain Water ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

County Government ◽

Water Harvesting ◽

Rain Water Harvesting ◽

Household Livelihoods ◽

The Impact

Better utilization of rainfall through rainwater harvesting can greatly increase agricultural productivity, improve food security and alleviate poverty. Water is the main limiting resource for crop production in arid sub-Saharan Africa. The biggest challenge currently is growing water shortage and dwindling rivers. This has impacted the livelihoods of rural population in arid and semi-arid counties. The introduction of novel rain-water harvesting (RWH) is, however, seeking to mitigate the effects of perennial droughts in arid areas. Successful adoption of such technologies has the potential to alleviate water problems faced by rural households. In Kenya, very little research has been conducted about adoption of water harvesting technologies and their role in curbing water shortages. Therefore, there was a need to interrogate the extent to which adoption of water harvesting technologies has impacted households in Matungulu Sub-County. Focus group discussions, interview with key informants, and structured questionnaires were used to collect data for the study which were then analyzed using SPSS version 22 software. The findings indicated that overall, a composite mean of 4.04 and a standard deviation of 0.699 of the respondents agreed that incentives from the county government significantly promoted water harvesting technologies. This was confirmed by a positively strong and significant correlation between the integration of RHT in the county development agenda and the impact on household livelihoods. A further regression analysis indicated that Integration of RHT had a positive and significant influence on household livelihoods (β= 0.755, t=22.351, p=0.000<0.05). Results of this survey indicate that rainwater technologies are financed mostly by household heads and county government initiatives have not been adequately felt. There is a strong indication from the study that water harvesting technologies had a statistically significant influence on the impact on household livelihoods. To ensure sustainability of rainwater harvesting technologies, the study recommends that Machakos

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Smallholder African farms in western Kenya have limited greenhouse gas fluxes

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-12-15301-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 15301-15336 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

D. E. Pelster ◽

M. C. Rufino ◽

T. Rosenstock ◽

J. Mango ◽

G. Saiz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Yields ◽

N Uptake ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

N2o Emissions ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Western Kenya ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Few field studies examine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from African agricultural systems resulting in high uncertainty for national inventories. We provide here the most comprehensive study in Africa to date, examining annual CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from 59 plots, across different vegetation types, field types and land classes in western Kenya. The study area consists of a lowland area (approximately 1200 m a.s.l.) rising approximately 600 m to a highland plateau. Cumulative annual fluxes ranged from 2.8 to 15.0 Mg CO2-C ha−1, −6.0 to 2.4 kg CH4-C ha−1 and −0.1 to 1.8 kg N2O-N ha−1. Management intensity of the plots did not result in differences in annual fluxes for the GHGs measured (P = 0.46, 0.67 and 0.14 for CO2, N2O and CH4 respectively). The similar emissions were likely related to low fertilizer input rates (≤ 20 kg ha−1). Grazing plots had the highest CO2 fluxes (P = 0.005); treed plots were a larger CH4 sink than grazing plots (P = 0.05); while N2O emissions were similar across vegetation types (P = 0.59). This case study is likely representative for low fertilizer input, smallholder systems across sub-Saharan Africa, providing critical data for estimating regional or continental GHG inventories. Low crop yields, likely due to low inputs, resulted in high (up to 67 g N2O-N kg−1 aboveground N uptake) yield-scaled emissions. Improving crop production through intensification of agricultural production (i.e. water and nutrient management) may be an important tool to mitigate the impact of African agriculture on climate change.

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Risk assessment for COVID-19 transmission at household level in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from DHS

Genus ◽

10.1186/s41118-021-00130-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Olusesan Ayodeji Makinde ◽

Joshua O. Akinyemi ◽

Lorretta F. Ntoimo ◽

Chukwuedozie K. Ajaero ◽

Dorothy Ononokpono ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elderly Person ◽

Household Wealth ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

Demographic And Health Surveys ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Habitat Conditions ◽

African Countries ◽

Household Level ◽

The Impact

AbstractHousehold habitat conditions matter for diseases transmission and control, especially in the case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). These conditions include availability and adequacy of sanitation facilities, and number of persons per room. Despite this, little attention is being paid to these conditions as a pathway to understanding the transmission and prevention of COVID-19, especially in Africa, where household habitat conditions are largely suboptimal. This study assesses household sanitation and isolation capacities to understand the COVID-19 transmission risk at household level across Africa. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys of 16 African countries implemented between 2015 and 2018 to understand the status of households for prevention of COVID-19 transmission in home. We assessed handwashing capacity and self-isolation capacity using multiple parameters, and identified households with elderly persons, who are most at risk of the disease. We fitted two-level random intercept logit models to explore independent relationships among the three indicators, while controlling for the selected explanatory variables. Handwashing capacity was highest in Tanzania (48.2%), and lowest in Chad (4.2%), varying by household location (urban or rural), as well as household wealth. Isolation capacity was highest in South Africa (77.4%), and lowest in Ethiopia (30.9%). Senegal had the largest proportion of households with an elderly person (42.1%), while Angola (16.4%) had the lowest. There were strong, independent relationships between handwashing and isolation capacities in a majority of countries. Also, strong associations were found between isolation capacity and presence of older persons in households. Household capacity for COVID-19 prevention varied significantly across countries, with those having elderly household members not necessarily having the best handwashing or isolation capacity. In view of the age risk factors of COVID-19 transmission, and its dependence on handwashing and isolation capacities of households, each country needs to use the extant information on its risk status to shape communication and intervention strategies that will help limit the impact of the disease in its population across Africa.

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A Strategic Approach to Value Chain Upgrading—Adopting Innovations and Their Impacts on Farm Households in Tanzania

Horticulturae ◽

10.3390/horticulturae6020032 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 32

Author(s):

Jesse Steffens ◽

Kathleen Brüssow ◽

Ulrike Grote

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Value Chain ◽

Crop Production ◽

Durable Goods ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Well Being ◽

Adaptive Lasso ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Farm Households ◽

The Impact

The level of agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa remains far below the global average. This is partly due to the scarce use of production- and process-enhancing technologies. This study aims to explore the driving forces and effects of adopting innovative agricultural technologies in food value chains (FVC). These enhancing FVC technologies are referred to as upgrading strategies (UPS) and are designed to improve specific aspects of crop production, postharvest processing, market interaction, and consumption. Based on cross-sectional data collected from 820 Tanzanian farm households, this study utilized the adaptive lasso to analyse the determinants of UPS. To measure the impact of their adoption on well-being, this study applied the propensity score matching approach (PSM). Results from the adaptive lasso suggested that access to credit, experience of environmental shocks and social capital were the main drivers of UPS adoption. In contrast, the engagement in off-farm wage employment impeded adoption. The results from the PSM suggested that UPS adoption has a positive and significant impact on well-being among sampled households, especially with respect to their total value of durable goods and commercialization. The paper suggests that the promotion of social capital and access to financial capital is pivotal in enhancing the adoption of innovative UPS in the farming sector.

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