The purpose of this thesis was to assess the economic implications of an export promotion policy on poverty reduction and inter-industry growth of Ethiopia. The study was conducted in four steps. The first and the second steps involved simulation scenarios. Scenario 1 simulated the change in the incidence of poverty when FDI capital was selectively introduced into non-coffee export agriculture. Scenario 2 simulated a situation in which the coffee industry received the same policy treatment as other export agriculture in accessing FDI capital. Step three analyzed inter-industry growth under the two scenarios. In the fourth step, sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the possible outcomes of Scenario 1 and 2 under fluctuations in world coffee prices and changes in substitution parameters. A micro-simulated CGE model was constructed to determine optimum production, income and consumption. A Beta frequency distribution function and FGT poverty measures were used to examine the changes in three household groups' income distribution and prevalence of poverty. For these analyses, the National Accounting Matrix and the Household Income and Expenditure Sample Survey data set were used. At the macro level, growth in GDP due to expansion of export agriculture was significant. But at a micro level, the magnitude and dimension of economic changes were different with respect to each policy alternative. In the selective export promotion, for instance, only rural households were able to achieve statistically significant income changes. More particularly, about 10 percent of rural households were drawn out of poverty while only 1.7 and 0.5 percent of small and large urban households overcame poverty. When export promotion was assumed to be implemented across the board of all agricultural activities, the welfare gains were extended beyond rural household groups. In this policy alternative, statistically significant mean income changes were observed for both rural and urban household members. Specifically, about 12 percent of rural, 9 percent of small urban and 5 percent of large urban households were able to escape poverty. These achievements were attributed to higher intensification of coffee production and better linkages with other industries to efficiently allocate factors of production where they provided higher rates of return. The increase in income and consumption of millions of coffee dependent households has also stimulated more agricultural and some non-agricultural productions. Simulation results were observed to deteriorate when export promotion was evaluated under world coffee price fluctuation. The negative effect of a price shock, however, was observed to be minimized under alternative an export promotion approach. / Ph. D.

The effectiveness of foreign aid in reducing poverty has been a contentious issue in development economics. This paper focuses specifically on aid directed towards agriculture, a sector critical for rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation. It investigates the empirical relationship between agricultural aid flows and poverty levels in 46 developing countries between 1997-2020. Fixed effects panel regressions estimate models with the $2.15/day (based on 2017 PPP) poverty headcount ratio as the outcome variable. The key finding is that agricultural aid has a statistically significant poverty-reducing impact. The regression coefficients indicate that on average, a 1% increase in agricultural aid is associated with a 0.08-1.46% decrease in national poverty rates. This highlights the vital role of rural assistance for global poverty alleviation efforts. Furthermore, the results provide evidence that the poverty-lessening effects of agricultural aid strengthen with higher institutional quality, particularly property rights protections and legal contract enforcement. Beyond agricultural aid, the analysis also confirms past findings regarding the contribution of economic growth, government expenditure, and income inequality to poverty outcomes. Periods of GDP expansion, higher social spending, and more equitable income distributions are linked to falling poverty. In conclusion, the paper argues for prioritizing foreign aid to agriculture and rural sectors based on their higher growth elasticities compared to other activities. Agricultural assistance helps raise smallholder productivity and rural wages. However, complementary institutional reforms may enable aid to realize more significant effects on the incomes of the extremely poor over the long term. Targeted rural aid and economic governance initiatives should feature centrally in strategies for eradicating global extreme poverty.

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Development projects, including the Fetša Tlala Initiative, were designed to contribute to the National Development Plan, 2030. The objectives of this research assessed how effective the Fetša Tlala project was in improving food and nutrition security of women farmers and the degree of empowerment the project afforded them. A semi-structured interview guide was applied to 16 purposefully selected respondents during face-to-face interviews as the data collection method. The findings indicated that physical resources provided to beneficiaries contributed to the effectiveness of the project. However, the inconsistent institutional support provided by the project initiators were considered to detract from the effectiveness. The findings also revealed that the beneficiaries were empowered by the opportunities afforded through the initiative, but were further empowered by their own resilience in the face of adversity. The study concludes by recommending the continuation of the project with improved institutional support.

Dissertation presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Stellenbosch University. / Thesis (PhD (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Uncertainty of continued donor funding poses a risk to microfinance operations worldwide, and this study explores the circumstances under which African microfinance institutions (MFIs) will consider commercial funding as a viable alternative source of funding. This research aims to identify the factors that are associated with successful access to private capital for pro-poor financial institutions. It examines the suitability of new opportunities for accessing fresh capital by MFIs for development and poverty reduction using commercialisation as an option. In a world awash in private capital, it is vital to harness the power of the private sector to solve key development challenges (World Bank, 2007). As microfinance institutions grow, they increasingly find themselves in need of additional capital to finance expansion of services to cover more poor communities. The study undertook a cross-country data analysis of 103 microfinance institutions to help provide understanding of the critical success factors that underpin successful access to commercial capital. The study also tested the hypothesis on the viability of commercial finances, and developed and tested a commercialisation success model for tapping commercial funds. The prediction model based on firm-level data from a sample of 21 African countries between 1998 and 2003, aims to minimise chances of failure and act as a screening system by investors as well as a selfassessment tool for MFIs intending to seek commercial capital. On examining the direct and indirect impact of firm-level success factors on commercialisation, the study identified key predictors of success and guidelines for MFI financing’s integration with the larger financial system. The study finds that certain critical success factors (CSFs) define minimum pre-conditions for microfinance institutions considering commercial funding as an alternative source of finance. There is evidence to suggest that the desire to tap into the capital markets and capacity to link with commercial investors is a realisable vision for African MFIs. The research evidence is instructive of widened financing options for MFIs and capacity to relax growth constraint in the industry. Based on the CSFs, the study suggests how MFIs can break free from 'captive' donor funding as a necessary platform for the switch to commercial finance in the industry. However, the findings also suggest the need for MFIs to satisfy the interests and requirements of prospective commercial investors to overcome new challenges. In particular, the results show that the extent of organisational formalisation and transparency in financial reporting are absolutely essential in drawing commercial lenders to invest in microfinance. In addition the study establishes the reasons why traditional approaches to financing microfinance cannot work any longer. There are some concerns on mission drift; in particular whether the poor gain from commercialisation, and under what circumstances their interests are taken care of in order to preserve the long-term social value of microfinance as a poverty reduction strategy. The study was carried out based on a rather limited time series data. However, the number of firms and the diversity is considered adequate for the study, as well as sample representation across Africa. The study also used views of 'thought leaders' as the source of information. Other personnel calibre may have had different suggestions. Perceptions were drawn from commercial lenders/investors of microfinance programmes based in Africa. Needless to say, any generalisation of CSFs beyond the African microfinance context should be made with caution. This study is probably one of the first attempts to explore the possibility of a linkage between microfinance and capital markets and it will be of interest to MFIs, commercial banks, international donors and investment funds with an interest in investing in the microfinance industry. The findings suggest that the speed of increase in financial leverage per country depends as much on the dynamism of the market, as it does on the level of development of the finance sector. The results indicate that commercial investors will be attracted by good financial returns and administrative efficiency (return on assets, cash-flow adequacy and operating expense ratio), transparent reporting and information disclosure and clarity, as well as low inflation levels. Investors will also be looking for larger, regulated and profitable MFIs with a low-risk profile for their investment portfolios. The study found strong support to the hypothesis that the commercialisation index (CI) is a better measure of successful commercialisation than the LMA (leverage multiplier added), given the variables used. In all cases, compelling evidence shows that the CI has more explanatory power and is an accurate predictor of two-year success in commercialisation as examined by logistic regression. These results suggest that the superior predictive abilities of the CI commercial rating rule could be explored to guide screening efforts for winners, investment decisions and other binary classification investigations. Specifically, the model can be useful in guiding successful commercialisation schemes in Africa because it provides MFIs with a structured approach for achieving sustainable commercial microfinance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Onsekerheid oor volgehoue skenkerbefondsing is ’n risiko vir mikrofinansieringsinstansies wêreldwyd, en hierdie studie ondersoek die omstandighede waaronder Afrika se mikrofinansieringsinstansies (MFIs) kommersiële befondsing sal oorweeg as ’n lewensvatbare, alternatiewe bron van befondsing. Hierdie navorsing poog om die faktore, wat met die suksesvolle toetrede tot private kapitaal van pro-arm finansiële instellings geassosieer word, te identifiseer. Dit ondersoek die gepastheid van nuwe geleenthede vir MFIs om vars kapitaal te bekom en as ’n opsie te gebruik vir ontwikkeling en die vermindering van armoede deur kommersialisasie. In ’n wêreld met oorvloedige bronne van private kapitaal is dit lewensnoodsaaklik om die krag van die privaatsektor in te span om kern ontwikkelingsuitdagings op te los (World Bank, 2007). Soos mikrofinansieringsinstansies groei, het hulle ’n toenemende behoefte aan addisionele kapitaal ten einde die uitbreiding van dienste te kan finansier en om meer arm gemeenskappe te kan bereik. Die studie het data komende van 103 mikrofinansieringsinstansies uit verskeie lande ontleed om begrip van die kritiese suksesfaktore (KSFe), wat suksesvolle toegang tot kommersiële kapitaal onderskraag, te verkry. Die studie het ook die hipotese oor die lewensvatbaarheid van kommersiële finansiering getoets, en ’n model vir kommersialisasie-sukses ontwikkel en getoets om kommersiële fondse te bekom. Die voorspellingsmodel, wat gebaseer is op maatskappy-vlak data van ’n groep van 21 Afrika lande tussen 1998 en 2003, poog om die kanse op mislukking te minimeer en te dien as ’n siftingstelsel vir beleggers sowel as ’n selfondersoekmiddel vir MFIs wat beplan om kommersiële kapitaal te bekom. Deur die direkte en indirekte impak van maatskappyvlak suksesfaktore op kommersialisasie te bestudeer, het die studie sleutelvoorspellers van sukses asook riglyne vir die integrasie van MFI finansiering met die groter finansiële stelsel geïdentifiseer. Die studie bevind dat sekere KSFe minimum voorvereistes vaslê vir MFIs wat kommersiële befondsing as ’n alternatiewe bron van finansiering oorweeg. Daar is bewyse wat daarop dui dat die begeerte om toegang tot die kapitaalmarkte te verkry en die kapasiteit om met kommersiële beleggers te skakel ’n realiseerbare visie vir Afrika MFIs is. Die navorsing lewer insig wat aanduidend is van breër finansieringsopsies vir MFIs, en wat die beperkinge op groei in die industrie verslap. Gebaseer op die KSFe, stel die studie voor hoe MFIs uit die houvas van skenkerbefondsing kan loskom as ’n nodige stap vir die oorskakeling na kommersiële finansiering in die bedryf. Die bevindings dui egter ook op die behoefte van MFIs om aan die belange en vereistes van moontlike kommersiële beleggers te voldoen ten einde nuwe uitdagings te oorkom. Die resultate dui spesifiek daarop dat die mate van organisasie-formalisering en die deursigtigheid van finansiële verslagdoening noodsaaklik is om kommersiële uitleners te trek om in mikrofinansiering te belê. Verder bevestig die studie die redes waarom tradisionele benaderings tot die finansiering van mikrofinansiering nie meer kan werk nie. Daar is wel sekere bekommernisse oor die moontlike kompromittering van missie; in besonder is die vraag of die armes wel baat vind by kommersialisasie, en onder watter omstandighede daar na hulle belange omgesien word ten einde die langtermyn sosiale waarde van mikrofinansiering as ’n strategie vir armoede verligting te behou. Die studie is uitgevoer gegrond op tydreeksdata wat betreklik beperk is. Die aantal maatskappye en die diversiteit word egter as voldoende beskou vir die studie, asook dat die steekproef verteenwoordigendend was van lande regoor Afrika. Die studie gebruik ook die menings van ‘leierdenkers’ as ’n bron van inligting. Personeel van ’n ander kaliber mag verskillende voorstelle gehad het. Persepsies is verkry van kommersiële uitleners/beleggers van mikrofinansieringsprogramme wat in Afrika gebaseer is. Vanselfsprekend behoort enige veralgemening van die KSFe buite die Afrika mikrofinansieringskonteks met omsigtigheid gedoen word. Hierdie studie is waarskynlik een van die eerste pogings om die moontlikheid van ’n skakel tussen mikrofinansiering en die kapitaalmarkte te ondersoek en dit sal van waarde wees vir MFIs, kommersiële banke, internasionale skenkers en beleggingsfondse wat in belegging in die mikrofinansieringsbedryf belangstel. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat die spoed waarmee die effek van finansiële hefboom in ‘n land toeneem net soveel afhang van die dinamika van die mark as van die ontwikkelingsvlak van die finansiële sektor. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat kommersiële beleggers aangetrek sal word deur goeie finansiële opbrengste, administratiewe doeltreffendheid (opbrengs op bates, voldoende kontantvloei en die bedryfsuitgawe verhouding), deursigtige verslagdoening en duidelike openbaarmaking van inligting, sowel as lae inflasievlakke. Beleggers gee ook voorkeur aan groter, gereguleerde en winsgewende MFIs met ’n lae risikoprofiel vir hulle beleggingsportefeuljes. Die studie vind sterk ondersteuning vir die hipotese dat die Kommersialisasie-indeks (CI) ’n beter aanduiding van suksesvolle kommersialisasie is as die Leverage Multiplier Added (LMA), gegewe die veranderlikes wat gebruik is. In alle gevalle was daar sterk getuienis dat die CI ’n beter verduideliker is en ’n akkurate voorspeller is van die tweejaartermyn sukses in kommersialisasie soos deur middel van logistiese regressie getoets. Hierdie resultate dui daarop dat die superieure voorspellingsvermoëns van die CI se kommersiële beoordelingsreëls beproef kan word om die sifting van wenners, beleggingsbesluite en ander binêre klassifikasie ondersoeke te lei. Die model kan spesifiek nuttig wees om rigting te gee aan suksesvolle kommersialisasieskemas in Afrika omdat dit MFIs ’n gestruktureerde benadering gee tot die bereiking van volhoubare kommersiële mikrofinansiering.

<p>This paper examines how debt cancellation, given under the HIPC-initiative, has affected corruption over the period 2000-2006. The examination is foremost interesting due to earlier research showing that high corruption leads to unequal distribution of economic resources. This, combined with the objective of the HIPC initiative to reduce poverty, indicates that combating corruption must be successful in order to fulfill the goals of the initiative. A linear regression shows that countries that have benefited from the HIPC-initiative indeed have a lower corruption than other countries. A panel-data analysis shows on the other hand that no effect on corruption due to debt cancellation or reforms undertaken in the program can be confirmed.</p>

Combating poverty is a global issue. In the past, anti-poverty strategy heavily rely on in-kind and in-cash social assistance, until microfinance model had proved remarkable saving outcomes, and then its ideology had swept the world. After the concept of Grameen Bank is widely recognized by Taiwanese, fostering small business and fostering self-reliance to create a cycle of sustainability pave an innovative thinking for social assistance models, and modify the conventional social welfare paradigm. The aforementioned factor thus brings about the origin of Taiwan’s Microfinance Program. This research interviewed the program stakeholders to conclude strategies to improve cost-effectiveness, as the program performances, judged by most program stakeholders, remained unsatisfied for a while. The research consistently addresses the aforementioned issues in terms of bank design, borrower characteristics, and bank supportive services; then, the research paper draws a conclusion and recommendations to improve the program performance.

Submitted by William Justo Figueiro (williamjf) on 2015-07-03T11:58:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 23.pdf: 947947 bytes, checksum: 06d4c30cbfbb326f6b1a35c2c21b5583 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-03T11:58:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 23.pdf: 947947 bytes, checksum: 06d4c30cbfbb326f6b1a35c2c21b5583 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-27 / Nenhuma / Houve um aumento da riqueza e uma melhora na qualidade de vida das nações ao redor do mundo, notadamente desde o início do século XX. Neste contexto de crescimento econômico, percebe-se que nem todos os países cresceram da mesma maneira e que aproximadamente uma em cada seis pessoas vive em extrema pobreza atualmente. Uma alternativa para resolver este problema é a ajuda internacional e tem se estudado e debatido como ela pode acelerar o processo de crescimento econômico. Inúmeros fatores são mencionados na literatura como essenciais para este avanço. O presente trabalho debate os resultados de recentes estudos empíricos quanto aos impactos da ajuda internacional sobre o crescimento econômico dos países receptores. Assim, a partir da perspectiva das possibilidades de atuação para apressar o desenvolvimento econômico e abreviar a desigualdade de renda, este estudo avalia o crescimento econômico dos países menos desenvolvidos, sobretudo a pobreza, enfatizando o comportamento do continente africano. A seguir, são expostos os conceitos referentes à ajuda internacional para os países e sua evolução ao longo do tempo, buscando decompor os gêneros de assistência e suas finalidades. A revisão de literatura também contempla diferentes maneiras testadas na avaliação da eficácia da ajuda para os países favorecidos, identificando os métodos e indicadores que buscam elucidar a relação entre ajuda e crescimento. / Since the beginning of the XIXth century the world has been living in an era of economic prosperity and quality of life improvement. In this context of economic growth, there have been different kinds of growth among countries and there are about one in six people in the world that live in extreme poverty. One alternative that has been discussed to reduce poverty is foreign aid and how it can haste this process. The literature mentions several factors as essential to this progress. Thus, from the perspective of possibilities to accelerate economic development and shorten the income inequality, this paper aims to address the international aid as a motivator of progress. Initially, the study assesses the economic growth of less developed countries, especially the issue of poverty, emphasizing the behavior of the African continent. Then foreign aid is delimitated by actors, types and purposes. The literature review also addresses the different ways tested in evaluating the effectiveness of aid in recipient countries by identifying and selecting methods and indicators that explain the relationship between aid and growth.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (LAS) (Land and Agrarian Studies) / This study assessed the type, extent and modalities of intra-regional fish trade between South Africa and other SADC countries. Cross-border fish trade and its importance in boosting intra-regional fish trade between South Africa and the rest of SADC is poorly documented and as such, little systematic effort has been made to understand its type, extent and modalities in order to address the problems of those engaged in the activity. Regional fish trade continues to be important even though it is not always adequately reflected in official statistics. The qualitative research methodology formed the basis of this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with fish traders at Park City Central Bus Station in Johannesburg and in-depth interviews with selected key informants from customs, port, health and immigration officials at the Beitbridge and Lebombo border posts. Participants of the study were selected through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to digitise national boundaries, border posts and the routes used by fish traders from the sources to distribution points in Johannesburg. The study adopted the new regionalism, regional integration and regional trade conceptual frameworks and attempted to apply the pro-fish trade theory as the theoretical framework.

Agricultural system in Ghana underperformed because of limited financing, which constrained some small-scale maize and cassava farmers. The purpose of this case study design was to explore the methods that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers in Amankwakrom Subdistrict used in obtaining farm financing. Two themes from the literature review were a lack of collateral for small-scale farm financing and the small-scale farmers cooperative associations' role in farm financing. Regional-scale management sustainability index formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 8 fluent English speaking small-scale maize and cassava farmers who have obtained farm financing in the previous years. Using the Microsoft Excel and Non-numerical unstructured data indexing and theorizing software program for data analysis method, 3 major themes emerged: the farmer's membership benefits of working in cooperative associations; farmer's ability to provide the collateral requirements for the financial institutions; and farmer's good loan repayment history. The study findings indicated that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers obtained farm loans because they used the cooperative associations as their collateral assets in order to satisfy for the requirements of the financial institutions. Social implications include the potential to guide the small-scale maize and cassava farmers to access farm credits to use in expanding their farm sizes. Expansion in farm sizes may result in more maize and cassava production that can help eliminate hunger and reduce poverty in the Amankwakrom Subdistrict of Ghana.

<p>Previously, studies in the intersection of power and development have predominantly concentrated on power as domination; how powerful actors can force recipient countries into embracing specific policies due to economical asymmetries. Yet, with the introduction of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) approach to development employed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI), conditions on certain policies have decreased and it is said that the approach allows for country ownership as development strategies are written by the countries themselves. As a critical response, the conception of power is broadened here through the separate employment of governmentality theory and neo-Gramscian International Relations theory. They share among them a theoretical premise which allows for an understanding of power that extends beyond domination to the realm of discursive practices which, it is argued, allows for influence despite the notions of ownership and without power as domination.</p><p>The object of this thesis is to suggest how the discourses of the PRSP regime can influence subjects whom they addressed. The two theories have different assumptions here. More specifically, the neo-Gramscian theory argue that discursive practice may render ideological issues as common sense why they can come to be embraced by subjects, whereas the governmentality theory assume that discourses can, perhaps without conscious recognition, reshape the very identities of subjects. The theories differences are retained and bracketed when a discourse analysis of the PRSP regime is conducted which concludes that the BWIs require that suitable skills are embraced by subjects appropriate for a good governed market economy. These skills are located to basic capacities in calculating, accounting and social capital accumulation. Thereafter a practical example of discursive practice in a capacity building mission is reviewed to explicate how these skills are actualized through training modules enabling influence towards preferred standards of the BWIs without power as domination. The two theories are brought in for a discussion on how these discursive practices may be understood according to their respective premises, but also to discuss the usefulness of these theories for studies of this kind.</p><p>It is argued, among other conclusions, that the neo-Gramscian understanding of power as operating on the conscious level can fruitfully be coupled with the proposition of governmentality that powers also work on an unconscious level for understanding practises of capacity building. As concerning the weaknesses of the theories it is put forth that the neo- Gramscian theory suffers from an assumption of class identity presented as a “brute fact” before the realm of the political, whereas the governmentality theory suffers from an exclusive focus on discourse and leaves behind how different actor constellations may seek to appropriate discourses. To remedy these weaknesses, the thesis concludes with an argument that a combination of these theories can provide a lucrative foundation for further studies.</p>