Education externalities in rural Ethiopia: evidence from average and stochastic frontier production functions.

Education will have externality effects in agriculture if, in the course of conducting their own private economic activities, educated farmers raise the productivity of uneducated farmers with whom they come into contact. This paper seeks to determine the potential size and source of such benefits for rural areas of Ethiopia. Average and stochastic frontier production function methodologies are employed to measure productivity and efficiency of farmers. In each case, internal and external returns to schooling are compared. We find that there are substantial and significant externality benefits of education in terms of higher average farm output and a shifting outwards of the production frontier. External benefits of schooling may be several times as high as internal benefits in this regard. However, we are unable to find any evidence of externality benefits to schooling in terms of improvements in technological efficiency in the use of a given technology. This suggests that the source of externalities to schooling is in the adoption and spread of innovations, which shift out the production frontier.

Tackling Daughter Deficits in Tamil Nadu, India

A well-known demographic feature in several East and South Asian countries is the continuing decline in the proportion of girls to boys. In India, till recently, the skewed sex ratio was treated as a Northern and Western Indian phenomenon. However, analysis of the 2001 Census shows that some of the districts with the most unbalanced sex ratios lie in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. Notwithstanding its recent addition to the list of states exhibiting daughter deficit, the state has pioneered initiatives to prevent daughter elimination and to measure daughter deficit. The availability of district-level panel data on infant mortality and sex ratio at birth covering the years 1996-1999 and 2003, periods which may be characterized by sharp differences in programs and initiatives to reduce daughter elimination combined with spatial variation in these programs, provides an unusual opportunity to identify the causal effect of interventions on both, pre- and post-birth daughter deficit. We find evidence of daughter deficit in at least half the state’s districts with a majority of the deficit (60 to 70 percent) occurring before birth, potentially due to sex selective abortion as compared to after birth due to female infanticide and neglect. The temporal analysis over the period 1996-1999 and 2003, shows a 46 percent decline in post-birth deficit, without a corresponding increase in pre-birth deficit. Our difference-in-differences estimates suggest that at least 79 percent of the decline in post-birth deficit may be attributed to the set of policy interventions pursued by the state and civil society actors.

The effects of education on farmer productivity in rural Ethiopia

The Ethiopian education system is characterised by extremely low participation rates, particularly in rural areas. This paper challenges the hypothesis that demand for schooling in rural Ethiopia is constrained by the traditional nature of farm technology and lack of visible benefits of schooling in terms of farmer productivity. The effects of schooling upon farmer productivity and efficiency are examined employing both average production functions and two-stage stochastic frontier production functions. Data drawn from a large household survey conducted in 1994 were used to estimate internal and external benefits of schooling in 14 cerealproducing villages. Empirical analyses reveal substantial internal (private) benefits of schooling for farmer productivity, particularly in terms of efficiency gains. However, a threshold effect is identified: at least four years of primary schooling are required to have a significant effect upon farm productivity. Evidence of strong external (social) benefits of schooling was also uncovered, suggesting that there may be considerable opportunities to take advantage of external benefits of schooling in terms of increased farm productivity if school enrolments in rural areas are increased.

Mixed-methods approaches in health research in Nepal

Combining and integrating a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods in one single study is widely used in health and social care research in high-income countries. This editorial adds a few words of advice to the novice mixed-methods researcher in Nepal

Concealed preferences: parental attitudes to education and enrolment choice in rural Ethiopia.

Parental attitudes regarding the value of education may determine whether some, none or all school-aged children in a household are enrolled and how much formal education they will eventually complete. To the extent that attitudes are important and can be adequately measured, they should explain household demand for schooling in the absence of constraints. However, the attitudes which people express may be inconsistent with their behaviour when faced with schooling choices for their own children. If attitudes do not explain actual enrolment, the causes of the discrepancy must be addressed. This paper attempts to measure attitudes, explain their formation and investigate the role of attitudes in the allocation of human capital. Parental attitudes toward schooling are generally to be favourable, and differences in attitudes help explain household enrolment decisions. However, attitudes alone cannot account for low enrolment in rural Ethiopia. High direct and opportunity costs of schooling also limit school participation in the face of credit constraints.

Barriers to and facilitators of antiretroviral therapy adherence in Nepal: a qualitative study.

Patient's adherence is crucial to get the best out of antiretroviral therapy (ART). This study explores in-depth the barriers to and facilitators of ART adherence among Nepalese patients and service providers prescribing ART. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 participants. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and translated into English before being analyzed thematically. ART-prescribed patients described a range of barriers for failing to adhere to ART. Financial difficulties, access to healthcare services, frequent transport blockades, religious/ritual obstacles, stigma and discrimination, and side-effects were the most-frequently discussed barriers whereas trustworthy health workers, perceived health benefits, and family support were the most-reported facilitators. Understanding barriers and facilitators can help in the design of an appropriate and targeted intervention. Healthcare providers should address some of the practical and cultural issues around ART whilst policy-makers should develop appropriate social policy to promote adherence among ART-prescribed patients