The Impact of Aid on the Economic Growth of Developing Countries (LDCs) in Sub-Saharan Africa

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of Sub-Saharan African have been recipients of official development assistance for more than 5 decades; however they are still characterized by chronic problems of poverty, low living standards and weak economic growth. The hot question is: Is aid effective in promoting economic growth? Thus, this paper investigates the impact of aid on the economic growth of 12 least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa over a period of 20 years. I take a fixed effects instrumental variable approach and the results imply that aid has a statistically insignificant negative impact on economic growth. I therefore conclude that aid is ineffective in promoting growth, perhaps due to misallocation of aid or inefficient use

Fearless: Maurice Phiri

As the class of 2017 joins Gettysburg College, we recognize first-year student, Maurice Wezi Phiri, who already has already showed his fearless commitment to social justice. [excerpt

The Status of Civil Society in Zambia: Challenges and Future Prospects

This report analyses this multi-faceted nature of CSOs, whether formal or informal in nature, in order to gain a greater understanding of the characteristics that make them a valued partner in the development process, the challenges they encounter, and the capabilities most needed to play their expected roles

Can asymmetries account for the empirical failure of the Fisher effect in South Africa?

This paper investigates whether unobserved asymmetries can account for irregularities in the Fisher effect for the exclusive case of South Africa. This objective is attained by investigating unit roots within a threshold auto-regressive (TAR) models and estimating a threshold vector error correction (TVEC) models for the data. The empirical analysis depicts significant long-run Fisher effects whereas such effects are deficient with regards to the short-run. These results improve on those obtained in preceding studies for South Africa, in the sense of being closely emulated with the original hypothesis as presented by Fisher (1907).South Africa, Fisher effect, Inflation, Interest Rates, Threshold Co-integration

THE BLENDING OF PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS: WEALTH STATUS, GENDER AND THE ADOPTION OF IMPROVED FALLOWS IN ZAMBIA

Although there is increasing emphasis on targeting of improved technology towards poor and female farmers, few adoption studies assess the uptake of new practices by these groups in a comprehensive manner. In this study, community members used the wealth ranking method to identify the different wealth groups in their communities, to determine each household's wealth status, and to assess the association of wealth and different types of households with the planting of improved tree fallows, a practice for improving crop yields. There were no significant differences between the proportions of women and men planting improved fallows nor were there differences between single women and female heads of households who were married. There was some evidence of association between planting improved fallows and wealth. That 22% of the 'poor' group and 16% of the 'very poor' group were planting them suggests that there are no barriers preventing low-income households from doing so. Moreover, the proportion of females, poor, and very poor people planting improved fallows varied considerably among villages, suggesting that opportunities exist for increasing their use of technology. Whereas the use of mineral fertilizer is strongly associated with high-income, male farmers, improved fallows appear to be a gender-neutral and wealth-neutral technology. Poor farmers appreciate improved fallows because they permit them to substitute small amounts of land and labour for cash, their most scarce resource. Finally, the high degree of consistency among different key informants in classifying households among wealth groups confirmed the effectiveness and accuracy of the wealth ranking exercise.Adoption, agroforestry, Participatory research, Sesbania sesban, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Why latrines are not used : communities' perceptions and practices regarding latrines in a Taenia solium endemic rural area in Eastern Zambia

Taenia solium cysticercosis is a neglected parasitic zoonosis occurring in many developing countries. Socio-cultural determinants related to its control remain unclear. Studies in Africa have shown that the underuse of sanitary facilities and the widespread occurrence of free-roaming pigs are the major risk factors for porcine cysticercosis. The study objective was to assess the communities' perceptions, practices and knowledge regarding latrines in a T. solium endemic rural area in Eastern Zambia inhabited by the Nsenga ethno-linguistic group, and to identify possible barriers to their construction and use. A total of 21 focus group discussions on latrine use were organized separately with men, women and children, in seven villages of the Petauke district. The themes covered were related to perceived latrine availability (absence-presence, building obstacles) and perceived latrine use (defecation practices, latrine management, socio-cultural constraints). The findings reveal that latrines were not constructed in every household because of the convenient use of existing latrines in the neighborhood. Latrines were perceived to contribute to good hygiene mainly because they prevent pigs from eating human feces. Men expressed reluctance to abandon the open-air defecation practice mainly because of toilet-associated taboos with in-laws and grown-up children of the opposite gender. When reviewing conceptual frameworks of people's approach to sanitation, we found that seeking privacy and taboos hindering latrine use and construction were mainly explained in our study area by the fact that the Nsenga observe a traditionally matrilineal descent. These findings indicate that in this local context latrine promotion messages should not only focus on health benefits in general. Since only men were responsible for building latrines and mostly men preferred open defecation, sanitation programs should also be directed to men and address related sanitary taboos in order to be effective

Determinants of Moral hazard in Microfinance: Empirical Evidence from Joint Liability Lending Schemes in Malawi

Moral hazard is widely reported as a problem in credit and insurance markets, mainly arising from information asymmetry. Although theorists have attempted to explain the success of Joint Liability Lending (JLL) schemes in mitigating moral hazard, empirical studies are rare. This paper investigates the determinants of moral hazard among JLL schemes from Malawi, using group level data from 99 farm and non-farm credit groups. Results reveal that peer selection, peer monitoring, peer pressure, dynamic incentives and variables capturing the extent of matching problems explain most of the variation in the incidence of moral hazard among credit groups. The implications are that Joint Liability Lending institutions will continue to rely on social cohesion and dynamic incentives as a means to enhancing their performance which has a direct implication on their outreach, impact and sustainability.moral hazard, joint liability, dynamic incentives, group lending, Malawi, Financial Economics,

Colonial legacy and the role of society in the creation and demise of autocracy in Zambia, 1964 - 1991

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994

The social act of exchange in power relations: The study of the phenomenon of Nichekeleko at the weighbridges in Zambia

This article examines the widely practiced phenomenon of Nichekeleko at the Weighbridges (WBs) in Zambia. The commonly held understanding of Nichekeleko by the Zambian people is that, it is corruption; ranging from bribery, theft, embezzlement, gratification to favouritism. Sociologically, the phenomenon was conceived as a social act of exchange within the context of power relations by the actors who engage in it. Foucault’s notion of power relations and Bourdieu’s concepts of “practice” and “fields’’ provided the theoretical framework for the study. Power was considered as a system, and a network of relations, encompassing the whole society than a relation between the oppressed and the oppressor. Methodologically, this study was based on mixed method research; the large part of it involving participant- observation, interviews and administering of questionnaires The argument in this paper is that failure to analyse corruption from a linguistic and philosophical perspective implied in ‘Nichekeleko’ reduces the practice to mere violation of the law or moral rules. A much closer look at corruption from a language vantage point provides us with essential dimensions of the practice, why, and how it has persisted in Zambi

Effectiveness of blood transfusions and risk factors for mortality in children aged from 1 month to 4 years at the Bon Marche Hospital, Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo

Objective  To assess the effectiveness of blood transfusions in a hospital of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods  Prospective study of children admitted for severe anaemia. During admission, data were collected on clinical condition and haemoglobin levels, before and after blood transfusion. A linear regression model was built to explore factors associated with haemoglobin level after transfusion. Risk factors for mortality were explored through multivariate logistic regression. Results  Haemoglobin level (Hb) was below 4 g/dl in 35% (230/657), between 4 and 6 g/dl in 58% (348/657) and at least 6 g/dl in another 6% (43/657) of the transfused children. A transfusion of 15 ml/kg of whole blood increased the Hb from 4.4 to 7.8 g/dl. Haemoglobin level after transfusion was associated with baseline Hb, quantity of delivered blood and history of previous transfusions. Overall case-fatality rate was 5.6% (37/657). Risk factors for deaths were co-morbidities such as chest infection, meningitis or malnutrition, Hb ≥ 6 g/dl, impaired consciousness or jugular venous distention on admission, and provenance. Conclusion  Transfusion was a frequent practice, the use of which could clearly have been rationalised. While indications should be restricted, quantities of transfused blood should be adapted to needs