Large quantities of foreign development assistance continue to flow to many developing countries. At the same time, most of the aid-receiving countries have stagnated and become even more aid-dependent. This grim reality provokes vigorous debate on the effectiveness of aid. Despite the voluminous research on aid effectiveness, clear evidence to support the view that development aid stimulates economic growth remains scant. This thesis intends to extend the existing literature on foreign aid and economic growth. First we re-examine results from cross-country studies to provide new insights on the lack of robustness of results from this approach. We further explore and deepen the observation that cross-country results are fragile, particularly when the number of countries in the sample changes. Secondly, we study the impact of district-level aid disbursement on the growth of average night-time light density in Malawi. We use two plausibly exogenous determinants of within-country aid allocation to isolate the causal effects of aid. The results show a robust and quantitatively significant effect of aid flows in stimulating growth of light density. We find a hump-shaped growth response over three years. Finally, the thesis presents a theoretical model that explores how aid affects economic growth and welfare in an economy with subsistence constraints. The main results from this analysis are; (i) productive aid has higher long run growth and welfare effects than pure aid (ii) the rate of convergence depends crucially on how close the initial conditions are to the subsistence level (iii) while growth effects are maximised when all the aid is allocated to productive aid, we find that optimal welfare is reached when some proportion of aid is also allocated to pure transfers.

This thesis examines competing explanations of the rapid post-war economic growth of the New Industrialising Countries of East Asia (Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea). It pays particular attention to the role of the state and to the state's changing relations to other major centres of power. The general approach is then augmented by a detailed exploration using a case study of economic development in South Korea. The new wave of economic development in east Asian countries' has stimulated an vast amount of research from a wide variety of perspectives. Many studies have focused single-mindedly on the central position of the state and its guiding role in economic development, rather than taking a more holistic approach by looking at the complex and evolving interplay between the state and other social sectors. However, this present work attempts to demonstrate the utility of a perspective that places the economic success of east Asian NICs through a detailed examination of the Korean case within a broader context. This context takes account of the shifting international environment and its impact and the cultural factors which these four countries have inherited. It also explores the actions of the state in relation to the responses and strategies of other key groups of actors. In summary, the feature of the actions of state and the state autonomy have been' diversified in accordance with changes of its components. This is even more so in the case of Korea which was once under the military regime but is now civilian controlled by a government. Korea took a specific path to achieve its economic development by creating the chaebols, family-owned conglomerates. It can be said, therefore, that over the last three decades the soil was prepared for the power shift among the power blocs including the state, the chaebols and labour group. The power of the chaebols has grown from being dominated by the state in the 1960s to being more symbiotic with state power in the 1990s. The chaebols have carefully prepared the ground for this new relationship by consolidating their social networks in society. The thesis also examines the mass communication system, concentrating upon the way that shifting relationships between the major power groups impact on the mass media.

Infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), showed impaired body growth when compared to control infants. In terms of changes in the biochemical composition of the lung, BPD infants had higher DNA, soluble protein, collagen and desmosine contents as well as increased concentrations of DNA, collagen and desmosine in their lungs when compared to the growth patterns obtained for the lungs of control infants. Pathologically BPD was classified into 4 grades. Grade I BPD, was a phase of acute lung injury, grades II and III were proliferative phases. In grade IV BPD, lung structure returned towards normal. Evidence of fibrosis was seen by a significant increase in collagen concentration in grades II and III while desmosine concentration was seen to increase in grades III and IV suggesting that the increase in collagen and desmosine contents in the lungs of BPD infants may be controlled by two different mechanisms. Collagen type I/III ratio was seen to decrease progressively from grade II to grade IV BPD in comparison to age matched controls, indicating a higher proportion of type III collagen in the lungs of infants with BPD. From the clinical analysis and the results obtained from discriminant analysis procedure, it was seen that there was a high degree of correlation between the continuation of the disease and collagen accumulation in the lungs suggesting that pulmonary fibrosis with excessive collagen accumulation is an integral part of BPD. This fibrotic process seemed to correlate significantly with assisted ventilation and high oxygen supplementation received by the infants, but it was difficult to assess the individual contribution of the two treatments in the pathogenesis of BPD. Other variables such as severity of the initial disease and the length of survival of the infants, made the assessment of individual contribution much more difficult. / Medicine, Faculty of / Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of / Graduate

The morphological changes in arrangement of both cellular and extracellular material (ECM) during mouth formation in embryos of the asteroid Pisaster ochraceus, have been studied using LM, TEM, and SEM. In early gastrula, the ECM consists of small vesicles and amorphous material of an intermediate staining density, and "beaded strands" consisting of scattered intermediately stained fialments associated with densely stained granules. Initially, the ECM is found in the blastocoel immediately adjacent to the ectoderm and endoderm cells. In later stages, it extends further into the blastocoel, until it bridges the gap between the ectoderm and endoderm. As this occurs, less amorphous material is seen and increasing numbers of "beaded strands" are present throughout the region occupied by the ECM. These are particularly evident and appear better organized in the quadrant of the embryo in which the mouth will form. Between 59 and 90 hrs after fertilization, several events occur in rapid succession. The first involves the migration of cells from the endodermal epithelium at the tip of the archenteron into the blastocoel to form mesenchyme cells. Their departure leaves a hole in the endodermal epithelium of the archenteron tip which is covered by the endodermal basal lamina. Shortly after this, the presumptive stomodeal cells send filamentous and conical cellular processes into the blastocoel. The endodermal basal lamina covering the hole extends as a blister into the blastocoel. At the same time the archenteron has become bent toward the presumptive stomodeal region. In the blastocoel, mesenchyme cells are enmeshed in "beaded strands" located in the presumptive mouth region. At this stage, the strands are highly branched, and tend to be radially arranged, and have become almost completely encrusted with densely stained material.- Filopodia of the mesenchyme cells connect with the filamentous ectodermal processes described above. The cell bodies of the mesenchyme cells appear to be connected with either the basal lamina blister itself, or with scattered endoderm cells located within the blister, through small gaps in it. At a slightly later stage, the basal lamina blister is seen to be in contact with the conical ectodermal processes. Still later, a complete tube of basal lamina has formed between the ectoderm and endoderm. Initially, only scattered cells are associated with the surface of the tube. Later, the tube is occupied by endodermal cells and invaginated ectodermal cells forming the stomodeum . For approximately 24 hrs after it is formed, the mouth is plugged with an oral plate consisting of both ectodermal and endodermal cells. These cells eventually round up, loose their connection with their neighbors, and are lost to complete the formation of the mouth. The above observations suggest that the ECM components are secreted into the blastocoel by both the ectoderm and endoderm cells. The components then appear to undergo a self-assembly into a filamentous meshwork. This meshwork appears to form a scaffold in which the mesenchyme cells migrate. The change in orientation of the fibers in the meshwork and the increase in densely stained material associated with it after mesenchyme cells migrate through it, suggests that they may be responsible, at least in part, for these changes. Mesenchyme cells tend to be localized to the quadrant of the embryo in which the mouth will form, before and during mouth formation. This is also the region in which the ECM is highly organized. The increased organization of the ECM may guide and concentrate the mesenchyme cells to the presumptive mouth region where they form associations with both the filamentous processes of the stomodeal ectoderm and the blister of basal lamina, either directly or via connections through the basal lamina to cells within it. Once this contact has been made, contractile filaments, known to be located in the filopodia, could serve to pull the basal lamina blister across the blastocoel to make contact with the conical ectodermal spikes. This appears to be followed by fusion of the blister of the basal lamina with that of the stomodeum forming the endodermal tube. Once formed, the endodermal tube appears to provide a framework for the organization of both the ectodermal and endodermal cells which will form the mouth. / Medicine, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon arbors within the optic tectum are refined in development through a dynamic process of activity-dependent remodeling. The synaptic adhesion molecule N-cadherin is a candidate for mediating selective stabilization and elaboration of RGC axons due to its localization to perisynaptic sites and its modifiability by neural activity. RGCs of Xenopus tadpoles were co-transfected with plasmids encoding a dominant negative N-cadherin (N-cadDeltaE) and eGFP or eYFP. Using two-photon in vivo time-lapse imaging, we found that axons expressing N-cadDeltaE became less elaborate than controls over three days of daily live imaging. Shorter interval time-lapse imaging of axons expressing synaptophysin-GFP to visualize putative synaptic sites revealed that N-cadDeltaE expressing axons form fewer stable branches than controls and that stabilization of axonal branches at synaptic sites is altered. We conclude that N-cadherin participates in the stabilization of axonal branches in the Xenopus retinotectal system.

No description available.

The decline in agricultural productivity in Nigeria is linked to a host of factors ranging from unsustainable growth policies, inadequate funding and infrastructures, low levels of value added through processing, low commodity prices, unstable markets, poor extension services and low rates of literacy. It is now well recognised that there is a need to diversify Nigerian agriculture as well as improving production performances. This study investigates the potential of cassava root tuber (CRT), as a means to promote agricultural growth. It assesses cassava production, profitability, efficiency, marketing structures and channels, constraints in production, the potential to add value by processing cassava into gari (a fermented, roasted, and dried granule) and its marketing at the farm level. These were supplemented by a critical review of policies and programmes, including trend analysis of cultivated area, production, yield and prices of major crops including cassava at the national level covering the period 1970–2009. The study surveyed 315 cassava producers (including 278 gari processors), 105 marketers involved in cassava marketing and 30 stakeholders from three regions in the Delta State, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the socio-economic characteristics of the sample. In addition, profitability of CRT and gari and their marketing were assessed by benefit-cost analysis. Furthermore, productivity and efficiency of CRT and gari and their determinants were analysed using non-parametric DEA followed by Tobit regressions. Results indicate that cassava production and processing is profitable in all regions and for all farm size categories. The BCR is estimated at 2.83 and 1.22 for CRT and gari, respectively. However, the yield level of CRT and gari is very low, estimated at 7.7 t/ha and 4.7 t/ha, respectively. Also, efficiency levels are very low and vary by farm size as well as regions, with large scale producers relatively more efficient. Marketing of cassava in any form is profitable and efficient (Marketing Efficiency>1 in all cases) and profitability varies widely across regions. Provision of water was identified as the main constraint in processing, followed by shortage of electricity and poor marketing infrastructure. The review of past policies and trend analysis revealed inconsistent policies and fluctuations in agricultural productivity, but also showed increases in total production mainly driven by expansion of the area cultivated during later years, for cassava in particular. The policy implications include: (a) increased provision of modern technologies, use of improved varieties and modern technology; (b) land reform policies to consolidate farm size; (c) investment in elements of marketing infrastructure; and (d) improvements in extension services. Despite inconsistencies in policies, cassava stood out as a robust and resistant crop which provides confidence that targeted investment in the cassava sector will contribute to development of Nigerian agriculture.

Formal savings accounts can be an effective device for households to accumulate assets over time and thus have more funds available to better afford an expensive one-time payment, in the form of either addressing an economic shock or paying for an important life event. I explore this relationship using a field experiment in rural Malawi conducted from 2008-2010, and find that adoption of a formal savings account has no effect on the frequency of economic shocks that a household experiences, nor does it affect how households respond to shocks. However, I find that account adoption does significantly increase the frequency of a household’s expenditures on the life event of payment of secondary school fees. These findings indicate that, given enough time, adoption of a formal savings account allows a household to better accumulate its excess income, and therefore better afford expenditures that involve a decision by the household, as economic shocks tend to be exogenous and payments surrounding life events endogenous. These results support the effectiveness of a policy that extends formal financial services to rural, poor populations who may not have access to such services, as households can use excess funds to finance important life events that help future generations to escape a poverty trap.

In 1992, the World Bank Group’s success rate - as evaluated the Bank’s unit, the Independent Evaluation Group - had substantially declined. In response, the Bank formed a task force to determine what factors had caused the decline. The Task Force report detailed several problems with the Bank’s project selection and implementation process. A review of the report and other literature concludes that projects often fail to achieve their goals because of overly optimistic ex-ante appraisals, and project delays. The project selection and design process should attempt to mitigate the risk of project delay by ensuring that financing is available on time, site conditions are stable, and the supply of materials is adequate. A regression analysis based on projects implemented in the 21st century investigates how project success has changed since the report, and how the Bank can continue to improve its project selection process. It concludes that the Bank’s projects are more successful when implemented in countries with a political environment conducive to businesses. In addition, projects experience more delays and are less successful when the borrowing country is responsible for funding a large percentage of the project.