VIEW PUBLICATIONS BY:
→ RESEARCH THEME
→ GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS
→ PUBLICATION DATE
SAGA
B16 MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-8931
Fax (607) 255-0178
saga@cornell.edu
|
SAGA PUBLICATIONS
Included here are Working Papers and Conference Papers. Publications on this page are organized by author:
RETURN TO MAIN AUTHORS PAGE
Wako, Adan
Women’s Groups in Arid Northern Kenya: Origins, Governance, and Roles in Poverty Reduction
June 2006
Coppock, D. Layne, Solomon Desta, Adan Wako, Ibrahim Aden, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera, and Chachu Tadecha
Collective action can be effective means of local development and risk reduction among rural people, but few examples have been documented in pastoral rangeland areas. We conducted extensive qualitative interviews for 16 women’s groups residing in settlements in northern Kenya during early 2005. Our objectives were to understand how groups were formed and governed and what activities they have pursued. Other questions included to what extent such groups can mitigate drought crises and reduce poverty for their members, and what most threatens group sustainability. At the time of interviews, our groups had existed for an average of 10 years, with two being 18-19 years old. Charter memberships averaged about 24 women, 20 of whom were typically illiterate. Half of the groups had been formed after facilitation by a GO or NGO partner and half formed spontaneously. Groups are governed under detailed constitutional frameworks outlining rights and responsibilities of members. All groups have eventually been registered with the Kenya government. Chairladies of the groups are typically elected to two-year terms. Group applicants and candidates for office are carefully screened. Groups primarily form to improve living standards of the members. Groups undertake a wide variety of social and economic activities founded on savings and credit schemes, income diversification, small business development, and expansion of education, health service, and natural resource management functions. The livestock and non-livestock economies become intermixed—commercialized livestock activities provide capital for small business ventures as well as the reverse. Groups have taken an active role in mitigating drought impacts on their members and the scope of drought mitigation appears to expand as groups mature over time. Interview respondents gave many examples of group members that have lifted themselves up from destitution. Relatively few of the groups we interviewed have experienced abject failure, but many have struggled. The greatest threats to the sustainability of these women’s groups come from external factors such as drought, resource scarcity, poverty, and political incitement as well as internal factors such as unfavorable group dynamics and illiteracy. Principles of good group governance and wisdom in business creation and management were repeatedly stated by respondents as the key ingredients for long-term success; making linkages to external development partners is also vital to secure access to technology and small grants. Groups have ambitious plans to further improve their social and economic circumstances; evidence is shown that rates of group formation in the region appear to be increasing. In a highly risky and poverty-stricken environment such as northern Kenya, such groups help create relatively deep pools of social, human, and diversified economic capital. Many of these processes fill large gaps in public service delivery and should be encouraged by policy makers. At the micro-level groups and their GO and NGO facilitators need continued support to strengthen groups. At a macro-level, investments that lead to broader economic development and greater access to formal education in the rangelands may permit further proliferation of sustainable efforts towards collective action. Presented at the Policy Research Conference on
“Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa,”
held in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27-28, 2006.
Wallace, Servais Edoh
Optimiser la participation communautaire au financement et à
l’accroissement de l’offre éducative
November 2005
Wallace, Servais Edoh
La situation de l’éducation de base au Togo reste critique. Elle pâtit lourdement des difficultés sociopolitiques de cette dernière décennie. “Aujourd’hui, environ, 30% de la population scolarisable
n’a pas encore accès à l’éducation de base.” Le taux net de scolarisation se situe autour de 65% pour le cycle primaire en 2000. Une décadence effroyable quand on sait qu’au début des années 1980, le Togo faisait partie des pays à fort taux de scolarisation de la sous région ouest africaine.
En effet, à partir de 1985, les conditions macro-économiques particulièrement difficiles conjuguées
aux effets du programme d’ajustement structurel conduisent à un ralentissement de l’expansion du
système éducatif. Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005
Wangila, Justine
Welfare Dynamics in Rural Kenya and Madagascar
February 2006
Barrett, Christopher B., Paswel Phiri Marenya, John McPeak, Bart Minten, Festus Murithi, Willis Oluoch-Kosura, Frank Place, Jean Claude Randrianarisoa, Jhon Rasambainarivo and Justine Wangila
This paper presents comparative qualitative and quantitative evidence from rural Kenya and Madagascar in an attempt to untangle the causality behind persistent poverty. We find striking differences in welfare dynamics depending on whether one uses total income, including stochastic terms and inevitable measurement error, or the predictable, structural component of income based on a household’s asset holdings. Our results suggest the existence of multiple dynamic asset and structural income equilibria, consistent with the poverty traps hypothesis. Furthermore, we find supporting evidence of locally increasing returns to assets and of risk management behaviour consistent with poor households' defence of a critical asset threshold through asset smoothing.
In Journal of Development Studies 42(2): 248-277, 2006
In Understanding and Reducing Persistent Poverty in Africa, Christopher Barrett, Peter Little, Michael Carter (eds.), Routledge, 2007.
Wanjala, K. B.
Conflict Minimizing Strategies on Natural Resource Management and Use: The Case for Managing and Coping with Conflicts between Wildlife and Agropastoral Production Resources in Transmara District, Kenya
June 2006
Nyamwaro, S.O., G.A. Murilla, M.O.K. Mochabo and K.B. Wanjala
It is now well known that a large proportion (up to 90%) of the wildlife population is not
contained within the designated areas (the national parks and game reserves) in Kenya. The
wildlife thus coexists and interacts with humans and livestock. Research was initiated in
Transmara district of Kenya to identify and document factors contributing to competition for and
conflicts over management and use of wildlife interactions with agro-pastoral production
resources. The research was aimed at finding out: (a) causes leading to competition for and
conflicts over multiple land uses, (b) whether the policy on Wildlife Compensation Schemes* is
necessary and sufficient, (c) extent of losses incurred and benefits received by local communities
due to wildlife interactions, and (d) how the conflicts are managed. Informal and formal socioeconomic surveys were undertaken to collect both secondary and primary information on
perceptions of communities about the stated issues.
About 97% of the respondents indicated that wildlife is the major cause of conflicts affecting
local human communities. Elephants, baboons and leopards were the most destructive and
dreadful wild animals. Losses that were incurred by the local communities in the past one year
were in the form of human deaths (9%) and injuries (7%), cattle deaths (35%) and injuries
(15%), and sheep and goats’ deaths (80%) and injuries (23%). The most affected gender groups
were the school-going children (56%) and male adults (21%). Some of the local people (32%)
indicated that they used to receive indirect benefits in terms of social amenities that are no
longer being received. Most respondents (65%) pointed to a unanimous view that wild animals
provided little benefits but destruction to people. Majority of the respondents (72%) appeared to
be aware that Wildlife Compensation Schemes were in existence but on the other hand most of
them (73%) did not necessarily know why the schemes are there for or how they operated. The
most cited solutions to minimize and manage such conflicts were putting up a perimeter fence
around Mara National Game Reserve, getting rid of wildlife using every means possible, and
increasing and expanding wildlife compensation rates. Respondents also proposed that equitable
sharing of earnings from wildlife resources be initiated and implemented in an acceptable and
amicable manner. The respondents further suggested that for the new proposals to be actualized
they should be incorporated into a reviewed broad-based wildlife policy. This would go a long
way in contributing to poverty alleviation for the Maasai pastoralists and agropastolarists.
*Compensation Schemes are Acts of Parliament first enacted in 1976 and amended in 1989 stating the rules, regulations and procedures of getting compensated either in monetary terms or in kind by the government when
land owners and their livestock are killed or injured and their properties destroyed. Presented at the Policy Research Conference on
“Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa,”
held in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27-28, 2006.
Wegoye, Jonah
Escaping Poverty and Becoming Poor in 36 Villages of Central and Western Uganda
February 2006
Krishna, Anirudh, Daniel Lumonya, Milissa Markiewicz, Firminus Mugumya, Agatha Kafuko, Jonah Wegoye
Twenty-four per cent of households in 36 village communities of Central and Western Uganda have escaped from poverty over the past 25 years, but another 15 per cent have simultaneously fallen into poverty. A roughly equal number of households escaped from poverty in the first period (ten to 25 years ago) as in the second period (the last ten years) examined here. However, almost twice as many households fell into poverty during the second period as in the first period. Progress in poverty reduction has slowed down as a result. Multiple causes are associated with descent into poverty and these causes vary significantly between villages in the two different regions. For nearly two-thirds of all households in both regions, however, ill health and health-related costs were a principal reason for descent into poverty. Escaping poverty is also associated with diverse causes, which vary across the two regions. Compared to increases in urban employment, however, land-related reasons have been more important for escaping poverty in both regions.
In Journal of Development Studies 42(2): 346-370, 2006
In Understanding and Reducing Persistent Poverty in Africa, Christopher Barrett, Peter Little, Michael Carter (eds.), Routledge, 2007.
Weinberger, Katinka
The role of local organizations in risk management: Some evidence from rural Chad
July 2005
Katinka Weinberger and Johannes P. Jütting
This paper analyses the role of local organizations in Southern Chad in helping poor people
to deal with risk. Different categories of risks are identified and set into relation to response
strategies at the community level. Membership in local organizations is mainly motivated by
the desire to reduce the occurrence of risks, however the actual impact of membership is risk
mitigation. Using regression analysis we establish that while local organizations help people
to mitigate risks via access to information, saving and credit and social networks, a “middle
class effect” of participation materializes. The exclusion of the poorest parts of the population should seriously be taken into account when donors set up or support local organizations.
Presented at the International Conference on "Shared Growth in Africa," July 21-22, 2005,
Accra, Ghana
Welch, Matthew
Measuring Recent Changes in South African Inequality and Poverty Using 1996 and 2001 Census Data
October 2005
Leibbrandt, Murray, Laura Poswell, Pranushka Naidoo, Matthew Welch
and Ingrid Woolard
The paper analyses poverty and inequality changes in South Africa for the
period 1996 to 2001 using Census data. To gain a broader picture of wellbeing
in South Africa, both income-based and access-based measurement approaches
are employed. At the national level, findings from the income-based approach
show that inequality has unambiguously increased from 1996 to 2001. As
regards population group inequality, within-group inequality has increased;
while between-group inequality has decreased (inequality has also increased in
each province and across the rural/urban divide). The poverty analysis reveals
that poverty has worsened in the nation, particularly for Africans. Provincially,
the Eastern Cape and Limpopo have the highest poverty rates while the Western
Cape and Gauteng have the lowest poverty rates. Poverty differs across the
urban-rural divide with rural areas being relatively worse off than urban areas.
However, due to the large extent of rural-urban migration, the proportion of the
poor in rural areas is declining. The access-based approach focuses on type of
dwelling, access to water, energy for lighting, energy for cooking, sanitation
and refuse removal. The data reveal significant improvements in these access
measures between 1996 and 2001. The proportion of households occupying
traditional dwellings has decreased while the proportion of households
occupying formal dwellings has risen slightly (approximately two-thirds of
households occupy formal dwellings). Access to basic services has improved,
especially with regard to access to electricity for lighting and access to
telephones. On a provincial level, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape display the
poorest performance in terms of access to basic services. The paper concludes
by contrasting the measured changes in well being that emerge from the income
and access approaches. While income measures show worsening well being via increases in income poverty and inequality, access measures show that well
being in South Africa has improved in a number of important dimensions.
In Poverty and Policy in Post Apartheid South Africa, edited by Haroon Bhorat and Ravi Kanbur. Cape Town, South Africa: HSRC Press, 2006.
Whitehead, Ann
Persistent Poverty in North East Ghana
February 2006
Whitehead, Ann
This paper explores local poverty and wealth inequality in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana in the period from 1975-89. Land was not scarce and the social management of household membership and household labour were critical to household security, but this social management was not independent of wealth status. There was a virtuous circle between wealth and household labour supply and a vicious circle between poverty and small household size. Poverty traps existed so that those with too little labour and too little wealth engaged in strategies which entrenched them in poverty.
In Journal of Development Studies 42(2): 248-277, 2006
In Understanding and Reducing Persistent Poverty in Africa, Christopher Barrett, Peter Little, Michael Carter (eds.), Routledge, 2007.
Winter-Nelson, Alex
Understanding the Differential Impact of Institutions and Institutional Interventions on Smallholder Behavior and Livelihoods in Rural Ethiopia
May 2007
Liverpool, Saweda Onipede, Alex Winter-Nelson and Shahidur Rashid
This paper focuses on making the case that: 1) there is differential impact of modern technology adoption on livelihoods for rural households of different asset poverty typologies; 2) this difference can be explained in part, by the differential impact of services provided by various institutions on participation in these modern agriculture practices amongst rural households in different poverty classes; 3) there is a need to assess more closely the nature of constraints faced by different classes of poor agricultural households and the packages offered by different institutional interventions geared towards encouraging farmer participation in various agricultural practices expected to increase their productivity and improve livelihood; and 4) this analysis shows that recognizing target group differences (e.g. using asset poverty typologies) are an important consideration in program development as well as program evaluation. Prepared for the AERC-Cornell Conference on “Bottom-Up Interventions and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa,” May 31-June 1, 2007,
Nairobi, Kenya
Wittenberg, Martin
The mystery of South Africa’s ghost workers in 1996: measurement and mismeasurement in the manufacturing census, population census and October Household Surveys
October 2004
Martin Wittenberg Absences can be as telling as presences, as Sherlock Holmes reminds us. Some times,
however, it is difficult to know whether one is really dealing with an absence or not.
In the case of South African labour economics some absences have attracted attention:
the surprisingly small size of the informal sector, or the surprisingly small rate of job
creation during the 1990s. To these mysteries can be added another: the disappearance
of about 300 000 manufacturing workers from the 1996 population census. Presented at the DPRU-TIPS-Cornell University Forum on "African Development and Poverty Reduction: The Macro-Micro Linkage," October 13-15, 2004,
Cape Town, South Africa
Wobst, Peter
The Road to Pro-Poor Growth in Zambia: Past Lessons and Future Challenges
December 2004
James Thurlow and Peter Wobst
Zambia is one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Almost three-quarters
of the population were considered poor at the start of the 1990s, with a vast
majority of these people concentrated in rural and remote areas. This extreme poverty
arose in spite of Zambia’s seemingly promising prospects following independence. To
better understand the failure of growth and poverty-reduction this paper first considers
the relationship between the structure of growth and Zambia’s evolving political
economy. A strong urban-bias has shaped the country’s growth path leading to a
economy both artificially and unsustainably distorted in favor of manufacturing and
mining at the expense of rural areas. For agriculture it was the maize-bias of public
policies that undermined export and growth potential within this sector.
A series of poverty profiles are developed and compared to the structure of
growth during the structural adjustment period. Substantial policy-changes led to rapidly
rising poverty, especially in urban areas. The costs of adjustment were particularly
pronounced given the big bang approach to reform. Concurrent trade liberalization and
privatization collapsed the formal sector with persistent macro-economic instability
undermining necessary private investment. Middle income urban households were
hardest hit, with more-educated workers moving into informal activities and the less educated
migrating to rural areas. Agricultural liberalization prompted changes in the
structure of rural production, with a general shift away from maize towards export-crops
for medium-scale farmers and more sustainable staples crops for small-scale farmers.
While overall rural poverty increased during the 1990s, its depth has declined
considerably. Poor market access and low agricultural productivity were key constraints
facing small-scale and more remote rural households. The urban core of the economy
therefore collapsed under structural adjustment but agriculture and rural areas have
continued to grow. Since this growth has occurred at the lowest end of the income
distribution, there is some evidence of ‘pro-poor’ growth in Zambia under structural
adjustment despite national stagnation.
Sustained investment and economic growth during recent years suggest a possible
change of fortune for Zambia. In light of this renewed growth, the paper uses a dynamic
and spatially-disaggregated economy-wide model linked to a household survey to
examine the potential for future poverty-reduction. The findings indicate that the current
growth path, while positive, will be insufficient to substantially alleviate poverty. The
large increases in growth that would be required suggest that finding a more pro-poor
growth path should be a priority for public policy. The paper examines alternative
growth paths and finds that diversification through an agriculture-led development
strategy is likely to prove the most pro-poor. This is particularly pronounced for staples-led
growth, although this option is contingent on improving productivity and market
access, especially in remoter rural areas. Although agricultural growth is essential for
substantial poverty-reduction, the country’s large poor urban population necessitates
growth in non-agriculture. The findings suggest that returning to a copper-led growth
path is not pro-poor and that non-mining urban growth, although undermined by foreign
exchange shortages and inadequate private investment, is likely to be preferable for
reducing poverty. Presented at the International Conference on "Shared Growth in Africa," July 21-22, 2005,
Accra, Ghana
Wolf, Susanna
Export Performance and Investment Behaviour of Firms in Ghana
July 2004
Susanna Wolf and Daniel Bruce Sarpong A strong relationship between export performance and investment behaviour at the firm level is
expected to complement market access in diversifying Ghana’s exports. A 2003 survey of 100
enterprises in Ghana is used to analyse the factors that influence the investment and exporting
behaviour of firms using a simultaneous equation model to allow for the endogeneity of
investment and exporting. In addition the different factors that influence the investment and
export decisions in different sectors are investigated. However, no significant positive
relationship between exporting and investment could be found. There seems rather to be a
negative association which might be explained by constraints in the access to capital. On the
other hand there are several factors that work in the same direction, for example, younger firms,
larger firms and more efficient firms are more likely to invest and more likely to export. In Ernest Aryeetey and Ravi Kanbur (editors), The Economy of Ghana: Analytical Perspectives on Stability, Growth and Poverty, James Currey, 2008. Presented at the ISSER-University of Ghana-Cornell University International Conference on "Ghana at the Half Century," July 18-20, 2004, Accra, Ghana
Return to MAIN AUTHORS PAGE
|
Return to TOP OF PAGE
HOME | RESEARCH |
PUBLICATIONS |
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE |
CONFERENCES |
GRANTS |
PARTNERS |
PROJECT PERSONNEL |
PROGRESS REPORTS |
LINKS |
CONTACT US | SEARCH
© 2017, 2016–2004 SAGA
|
|