Public investment in transportation forms a large part of the capital budget of many developing countries. In view of the scarcity of development capital, it is essential that the available capital be used to the best advantage. This indicates the need for careful analyses of proposed public investments in transportation. Until quite recently, transportation investment evaluation in underdeveloped countries was almost entirely within the preserve of engineers, with economists taking little active interest in the spatial aspects of economic activity. Economists have recently taken a much more active interest, and new methods of evaluation are constantly being developed and older ones improved. However, there are still some unresolved methodological problems in the evaluation of public transportation investment, and a number of deficiencies in the application of the concepts and methods which have been developed. The objective of this thesis is to describe and evaluate the methods of transportation investment analysis now in use, identify the deficiencies in the existing methods and in their applications, and to propose methods of overcoming the deficiencies. The research which has resulted in this thesis has been in three forms. One was a review of the published literature pertaining to public investment in transportation in underdeveloped countries. The second was in the author's experience in transportation investment analysis in Canada and overseas, for agencies such as the Government of Canada and the World Bank. This experience presented the opportunity of reviewing unpublished writings on the subject, and of reviewing the methodology used and results produced by various consultants and study groups in a wide range of transportation investment analyses in underdeveloped countries. Much of this material, particularly the consultants' reports, is held confidential by the World Bank and by the governments of the countries involved, and therefore cannot be specifically cited in references. The third source of information was in discussions with consultants working in this field, both in Canada and abroad; with representatives of the governments receiving foreign aid for transportation investments, and with the personnel of the World Bank. Chapter I of the thesis is a general introduction to the subject. It deals with the relative importance of transportation investment in underdeveloped countries, and states the objective of the thesis. In Chapter II the objective of public transportation analysis is established, and some of the principles which are basic to all analyses of public investment are considered. In considering the principles, some problems in their applications are identified and the recommended procedures are indicated. All acceptable analyses of public transportation investments must ultimately result in some form of comparison of the costs and benefits of the proposed investment or investments. In Chapter III the methods of measuring costs and benefits are described, and deficiencies in the current methods and their applications are identified. In the cases of relatively minor deficiencies, the correct methods and applications are shown in Chapter III. Possible solutions to the major problems identified are proposed in Chapter IV. The major deficiencies noted in Chapter III are the common failure to relate a proposed transportation investment on an individual link of the system, to the system as a whole, and the failure to relate the transportation system to the economy of the country. These deficiencies will almost invariably result in the incorrect measurement of costs and benefits. In Chapter IV, methods of overcoming these deficiencies are described and evaluated. The most recent published method of conducting a comprehensive analysis which takes account of these factors is the Harvard Model, which consists of two parts: a transportation model and a macro-economic model. The difficulty of applying this approach is considered, and it is concluded that, although the Harvard Model is conceptually the best approach which has thus far been developed, it cannot be applied as a practical method of evaluation at this time. An alternative approach is suggested, based on the methodology used in a recent land transportation study of Dahomey, Africa. The analysis of traffic flows is based on the transportation portion of the Harvard Model, while the economic methodology was developed primarily by the author while engaged in the Dahomey study. The conclusions are presented in Chapter V. It is concluded that transportation investment analyses could be greatly improved, and that most of the necessary improvements are incorporated in the Harvard Model. However, the Harvard Model has not yet been applied successfully, and this will probably be the case for at least the next five to ten years. The methodology used in the Dahomey study is recommended for use as a less sophisticated, but workable alternative, which is also more appropriate to the evaluation of specific investment proposals. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

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The potential of small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) in promoting economic growth in both developed and developing countries is widely accepted and documented by both scholars and policy makers. Lack of access to sufficient financing for these SMEs, especially in developing countries, has been identified as a major bottleneck in realising this potential. Bank credit is one of the major ways of addressing the challenge of inadequate funding that exists in the SME sector. This study was undertaken in order to explore the experiences of bank loan officers and SME borrowers in credit extension to the SME sector in Uganda. The research methodology used multiple methods of data collection which enabled an element of triangulation to be built into the study design. Data was collected both from the supply-side (bank loan officers) and the demand-side (SME borrowers), and entailed unstructured and semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey of loan officer and SME borrower experience. Further data was collected through direct observation of the interactive interviews between loan officers and borrowers, which enabled a unique opportunity to enhance the understanding of experiences of loan officers and borrowers. This method offers a development of extant methodologies that have been used to assess bank lending to SMEs, typically indirect methods such as verbal protocols and hypothetical business plans. The supply-side findings suggest that, in addition to the bank lending guidelines and procedures, the organisational context in terms of institutional structure, borrower attributes (especially their knowledge of bank lending guidelines and procedures) and level of congruence between loan officers and organisational goals are important determining factors of credit flow to SMEs. This implies that the context in which lending guidelines are implemented is as vital as the application of these guidelines. Banks are, therefore, challenged to ensure a favourable organisational context in order to facilitate loan officer decisions. On the credit demand side, it was found that borrowers seek to play an active role in the lender-borrower relationship which, in turn, influences decisions made by loan officers. It was established that, in pursuit of this role, borrowers deliberately pre-plan loan requests in an effort to influence the results of the evaluation of their loan applications by loan officers. At times, borrowers intentionally manipulate the information they disclose to loan officers in order to enhance their chances of obtaining credit from banks. The findings also suggest that, in most cases, the borrowers with some knowledge of bank lending guidelines and procedures find it easier to access credit than their counterparts who lack this knowledge. With regard to women-owned SMEs, while there little evidence of ‘official’ discrimination against women-owned SMEs by bank lending policies, there are systematic, cultural, social and legal impediments that lead most women-owned SMEs to access lower levels of credit than their male counterparts. The study recommends that banks should design lending guidelines that integrate both supply and demand factors, instead of focusing only on supply factors like project viability and collateral availability. It is also recommended that banks should develop comprehensive training programmes for borrowers about all aspects of the lending transaction in order to positively influence them. It is further recommended that there should be more consultations with loan officers and borrowers in order to develop a mutually acceptable set of lending policies. This approach, which integrates bank management, loan officers and borrowers in drawing up lending guidelines and procedures, is likely to minimise information asymmetry in SME lending decisions and create a more conducive environment for promoting credit availability to the Ugandan SME sector.

SARAs have been established to achieve dual objectives of improving efficiency and controlling corruption in tax administrations. Key question for this research include: why some SARAs have failed to effectively control opportunities for corruption and what should be done about it? To explore these questions, this thesis has set out an Anti-Corruption SARA Framework. The novel contribution of this thesis lies in developing the new lens (analytical framework) which causes us to see the topic of SARAs against corruption quite differently (due to differentiating between motivations and opportunities for corruption). In order to analyze the validity of the framework, a two-staged analysis of SARAs, labelled as the macro and micro analysis, was conducted for SARAs and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan. In the macro level of analysis (through secondary literature analysis), it was found that SARAs made partial progress to control corruption by focusing more on controlling motivations for corruption (through personnel autonomy) and lesser focus on controlling opportunities for corruption (through effective accountability). In the micro analysis (through semi-structured interviews and secondary literature), it was found that FBR remained ineffective in controlling both motivations and opportunities for corruption despite focusing more on controlling motivations for corruption (through personnel autonomy) and lesser focus on controlling opportunities for corruption (through effective accountability). In both macro and micro analyses, continued interference from Ministries of Finance (MoF) was found to undermine not only effective accountability for SARAs and FBR, but also undermining control of opportunities for corruption. Findings of both macro and macro level of analysis resulted in three main recommendations. These findings pointed towards a recommendation of reforming SARAs into an organizational form which is far more disaggregated from the parent ministry, such that SARAs have no accountability link with MoFs in the presence of other effective oversight bodies. It is recommended that SARA countries should develop this understanding about importance of balancing both autonomy and accountability mechanisms to be fully effective against corruption for controlling both motivations and opportunities for corruption. Thirdly, research findings point towards a case of converting FBR into a SARA in the form of Pakistan Revenue Authority, such that it is free from any direct oversight by the MoF, and in contrast should be subjected to effective oversight by other oversight bodies, such as already existing Cabinet Committee for Federal Revenue.