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SAGA PUBLICATIONS

Included here are Working Papers and Conference Papers.
Publications on this page are organized by research themes:


Green diamond Schooling, education, and human capital

Green diamond Health and nutrition

Green diamond Risk, vulnerability and poverty dynamics

Green diamond Empowerment and institutions


SCHOOLING, EDUCATION AND HUMAN CAPITAL
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The Evolution of Groupwise Poverty in Madagascar, 1999-2005
August 2010
Stifel, David, Felix Forster, and Christopher B. Barrett

This paper explores whether there exist differences in groupwise poverty in Madagascar; that is, whether there is a pattern over time of consistently poorer performance among subpopulations readily identifiable by one or more identity markers. Three key messages come out of this analysis. First, there exists a core type of household that remained persistently poor over the 1999-2005 period. These households were largely not members of the dominant ethnic group, land poor, lived in remote areas, and were headed by uneducated individuals, most commonly women. Second, in addition to establishing the existence of persistent differences in poverty across groups, relative differences in returns to education, land and remoteness underscore the existence of differences within groups, as one characteristic affects the returns to another. Third, persistent differences in groupwise poverty is associated with multiple different identities, some of which are offsetting and some of which are reinforcing. For example, women’s higher education tends to offset the disadvantages associated with being a head of household, while remoteness compounds the disadvantages associated with living in female-headed households.
Paper presented at workshop hosted by the Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE): The Persistence of Inequalities, Department of International Development, University of Oxford, April 4, 2008
In Journal of African Economies 19(4):559-604, August, 2010



Early Academic Performance, Grade Repetition, and School Attainment in Senegal: A Panel Data Analysis
January 2010
Glick, Peter and David E. Sahn

Little is known in developing country environments about how a child’s cognitive skills manifested in the first years of schooling are related to his or her later educational success, because the panel data needed to analyze this question have been lacking. In this study we take advantage of unique data from Senegal, combining test score data for children from the second grade with information on their subsequent school progression from a follow-up survey conducted seven years later. We find that measures of skills from early in primary school, corrected for measurement error using multiple test observations per child, are very strongly positively associated with later school progression. A plausible interpretation is that parents invest more in a child’s education when the returns to doing so are higher. The results point to the need for remedial policies to target lagging students early on to reduce early dropout. A current policy targeting poorly performing students is grade repetition, which is pervasive in Francophone Africa. Using variation across schools in test score thresholds for promotion to identify the effects of second grade repetition, we find that a repeated student is more likely to leave school before completing primary than a student with similar ability who is not held back (and also does not learn more), pointing to the need for alternative measures to improve skills of lagging children.
In World Bank Economic Review 24(1): 93-120, January, 2010

Family Background, School Characteristics and Children’s Cognitive Achievement in Madagascar
December 2008
Glick, Peter, Jean Claude Randrianarisoa, and David E. Sahn
CFNPP Working Paper, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
This paper uses linked household, school, and test score data from Madagascar to investigate the relation of household characteristics and school factors to the cognitive skills of children ages 8 to 10 and 14 to 16. In contrast to most achievement test studies in developing countries, the study uses representative rather than school-based samples of children and combines detailed information on school and family background. Schooling of mothers matters far more for learning than schooling of fathers, perhaps reflecting differences in parental time spent with children on schoolwork. Even these effects, however, are significantly attenuated when controlling for choice of residence or school. Skills are also affected by aspects of primary schools, including teacher experience and infrastructure.


Policy Impacts on Schooling Gender Gaps in Developing Countries: The Evidence and a Framework for Interpretation
February 2008
Glick, Peter

In many regions of the developing world girls continue to receive less education than boys. This paper reviews the evidence on the effects of policies in the education sector and outside it on household schooling investments in girls and boys, distinguishing between policies that are ostensibly gender neutral and those that explicitly target girls. It is frequently (but certainly not universally) found that the demand for girl’s schooling is more responsive than boys’ to gender neutral changes in school cost or distance as well as quality. Although these patterns can be interpreted in terms of parental preferences, this paper shows that they can also plausibly be explained within a human capital investment framework through assumptions about the nature of schooling cost and returns functions. Among these policies, increasing the physical accessibility of schools emerges as a measure that may result in disproportionate enrollment gains for girls. Where gender gaps are large or persistent, however, direct targeting of girls is probably necessary. Formal evidence from a number of demand or supply side interventions, including subsidies to households and to schools to enroll girls and the provision of girls-only schools, suggests the potential for targeted measures to yield substantial gains for girls. Many other policies, such as subsidized childcare or flexible school scheduling that address the opportunity costs of girls’ time, hold promise but for the most part have yet to be subject to rigorous assessment. The paper discusses methodological problems in such assessments and concludes with suggestions for future research on policies to close schooling gender gaps.
This is an expanded version of a paper published in World Development 36(9): 1623-46, 2008.



Inequality and Poverty in Africa in an Era of Globalization: Looking Beyond Income to Health and Education
August 2007
Sahn, David E. and Stephen D. Younger

This paper describes changes over the past 15-20 years in non-income measures of well- being – education and health – in Africa. We expected to find, as we did in Latin America, that progress in the provision of public services and the focus of public spending in the social sector would contribute to declining poverty and inequality in health and education, even in an environment of stagnant or worsening levels of income poverty. Unfortunately, our results indicate that in the area of health, little progress is being made in terms of reducing pre-school age stunting, a clear manifestation of poor overall health. Likewise, our health inequality measure showed that while there were a few instances of reduced inequality along this dimension, there was, on balance, little evidence of success in improving equality of outcomes. Similar results were found in our examination of underweight women as an indicator of general current health status of adults. With regard to education, the story is somewhat more positive. However, the overall picture gives little cause for complacency or optimism that Africa has, or will soon reap the potential benefits of the process of globalization.
Presented at the UNU-WIDER Conference on “The Impact of Globalization on the Poor in Africa,” Johannesburg, South Africa, 1-2 December, 2005



Decomposing World Education Inequality
August 2007
Sahn, David E. and Stephen D. Younger

We decompose global inequality in educational achievement into within- and between- country components. We find that the former is significantly larger. This is different than results for international income inequality, but similar to results for international health inequality.



Living Standards in Africa
August 2007
Sahn, David E. and Stephen D. Younger

This paper substantiates two claims — that Africa is poor compared to the rest of the world and that poverty in Africa is not declining consistently or significantly, in contrast to other regions of the world. We consider poverty in the dimensions of health and education, in addition to income, stressing the inherent conceptual and measurement issues that commend such a broader perspective. We note a lack of consistency in the movement of the poverty measures. During similar periods, we often find them moving in opposite directions. We therefore discuss the need go beyond examining each poverty measure individually, and present an approach to evaluating poverty reduction in multiple dimensions jointly. The results of the multidimensional poverty comparisons reinforce the importance of considering deprivation beyond the material standard of living and provide insight into how to reconcile differing stories that arise from examining each indicator separately.
Forthcoming in Sudhir Anand, Paul Segal, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, Debates in the Measurement of Global Inequality, Oxford University Press, 2008.



Cognitive Skills among Children in Senegal: Disentangling the Roles of Schooling and Family Background
June 2007
Glick, Peter and David E. Sahn

We use unique data to estimate the determinants of cognitive ability among 14 to 17 year olds in Senegal. Unlike standard school-based samples, tests were administered to current students as well as to children no longer—or never—enrolled. Years of schooling strongly affects cognitive skills, but conditional on years of school, parental education and household wealth, as well as local public school quality, have surprisingly modest effects on test performance. Instead, family background primarily affects skills indirectly through its impacts on years of schooling. Therefore closing the schooling gaps between poor and wealthy children will also close most of the gap in cognitive skills between these groups.
Presented at the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005
This is an expanded version of a paper published in Economics of Education Review 28(2): 178-188, April, 2009.


Labor Market Activities and Fertility
December 2006
Younger, Stephen D.

“This paper focuses on one aspect of the demographic transition, women’s labor market activity, and how it relates to the basic variables of fertility and poverty. Just as there are differences in fertility and mortality in rich and poor countries, there are differences in women’s time use. In rich countries, women tend to work outside the home, usually in wage employment on a fixed hourly schedule. In poor countries, women tend to work at home or, especially in Africa, on their family’s farm or at own- account activities where time use is more flexible. Understanding the relationship between the demographic transition and these differences in time use is our main theme...”
Presented at the AERC/Hewlett Foundation Workshop, “Poverty and Economic Growth: The Impact of Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health Outcomes in Africa” in Brussels, Belgium, November 5-6, 2006



Changes in HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Testing Behavior in Africa: How Much and for Whom?
September 2006
Glick, Peter and David E. Sahn

Demographic and Health Survey data from six African countries indicate that HIV prevention knowledge is improving and that more Africans are getting tested. Still, in many cases fewer than half of adult respondents can identify specific prevention behaviors; knowledge appears particularly inadequate in countries not yet fully gripped by the epidemic. Schooling and wealth impacts on prevention knowledge generally have either not changed or have increased, meaning that initial disparities in knowledge by education and wealth levels have persisted or widened. HIV messages therefore need to be made more accessible to and/or better understood by the poor and less educated.
Paper prepared for the conference “African Development and Poverty Reduction: The Macro-Micro Linkage” Cape Town, South Africa October 2004
Forthcoming in Journal of Population Economics


The Policy and Practice of Educational Service Provision for Pastoralists in Tanzania
June 2006
Bishop, Elizabeth

This paper will explore the context within which policies concerning education in pastoralist areas in Tanzania have been formulated and implemented. It will look at the way in which international and national agendas concerning pastoralism and education are manifested in the policy and practice of educational service provision in pastoralist areas in Tanzania. It will also examine the practice of educational provision in these areas, and assess the impact this provision is likely to have in terms of pastoralist poverty.
Presented at the Policy Research Conference on “Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa,” held in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27-28, 2006.



Influencing and Developing Good Policy in Early Childhood Development (ECD) amongst Pastoralist Communities in East Africa: The Case of Samburu in Kenya
June 2006
van de Linde, Tanja

What do we mean by a good ECD policy and are there special elements that are particularly relevant to children from pastoralist societies? Let’s start by a quick deconstruction of ECD: early childhood and development. By early childhood we mean the period of a child’s life, starting at conception and including the first years of primary school usually up to age eight. We look at child development holistically, meaning physical, social, intellectual, language, cultural and emotional development. A working definition of “good” or “quality” ECD is “one that meets the developmental and cultural needs of young children and their families in ways that enable them to thrive”. (Bernard van Leer Foundation). It can also be defined as that program which does not alienate the developing young generation but prepares them to fit into their society.
Presented at the Policy Research Conference on “Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa,” held in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27-28, 2006.



Livelihood Choices and Returns among Agro-Pastoralists in Southern Kenya
June 2006
Radeny, M., D. Nkedianye, P. Kristjanson, and M. Herrero

This article addresses livelihood choices and income diversification strategies among agro-pastoralists and pastoralists in southern Kenya, and the factors influencing the returns to the diverse livelihood strategies being pursued. We explore how variability in income and wealth levels across households can be explained by household-level versus geographic factors. We find that household livestock asset levels, education level, landholdings, and diversification of household income sources can largely explain how well households are doing. Geographic factors such as distance to the nearest town, permanent water source, and Nairobi National Park, as well as pasture potential also matter in some cases, but relatively little compared to household-level factors. Investments in livestock remain key to how well households are doing and in some cases appear to be driving livelihood diversification strategies that keep them from falling into poverty. While relatively few households are yet receiving wildlife conservation-related income, for those that are, it is a more lucrative option than cropping, from which very few are earning positive returns. This information can contribute to more evidence-based decision making occurring across pastoral areas and inform policy decisions regarding conservation of wildlife and poverty reduction strategies.
Presented at the Policy Research Conference on “Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa,” held in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27-28, 2006.




Robust Multidimensional Spatial Poverty Comparisons in Ghana, Madagascar, and Uganda
May 2006
Duclos, Jean-Yves, David E. Sahn, and Stephen D. Younger

We investigate spatial poverty comparisons in three African countries using multidimensional indicators of well-being. The work is analogous to the univariate stochastic dominance literature in that we seek poverty orderings that are robust to the choice of multidimensional poverty lines and indices. In addition, we wish to ensure that our comparisons are robust to aggregation procedures for multiple welfare variables. In contrast to earlier work, our methodology applies equally well to what can be defined as "union", "intersection," or "intermediate" approaches to dealing with multidimensional indicators of well-being. Further, unlike much of the stochastic dominance literature, we compute the sampling distributions of our poverty estimators in order to perform statistical tests of the difference in poverty measures. We apply our methods to two measures of well-being, the log of household expenditures per capita and children’s height-for-age z-scores, using data from the 1988 Ghana Living Standards Survey, the 1993 Enquête Permanente auprès des Ménages in Madagascar, and the 1999 National Household Survey in Uganda. Bivariate poverty comparisons are at odds with univariate comparisons in several interesting ways. Most importantly, we cannot always conclude that poverty is lower in urban areas from one region compared to rural areas in another, even though univariate comparisons based on household expenditures per capita almost always lead to that conclusion.
In World Bank Economic Review 20(1):91-113



The Demand for Primary Schooling in Madagascar: Price, Quality, and the Choice Between Public and Private Providers
February 2006
Glick, Peter, and David E. Sahn

We estimate a discrete choice model of primary schooling and simulate policy alternatives for rural Madagascar. Poor households are substantially more price-responsive than wealthy ones, implying that fee increases for public schools will have negative effects on equity in education. Among quality factors, multigrade teaching (several classes being taught simultaneously by one teacher) has a strongly negative impact on public school enrollments. Simulations indicate that providing teachers to reduce by half the number of multigrade classes in public schools would lead to modest improvements in overall enrollments, would be feasible in terms of costs, and would disproportionately benefit poor children. In contrast, consolidation of primary schools combined with quality improvement would be ineffective because of the negative effect of distance to school. Other simulations point to limits to a strategy of public support for private school expansion as a means of significantly increasing enrollment rates or education quality; such an expansion may also reduce overall education equity.
In the Journal of Development Economics 79(1):118-145, 2006.



Income Risk and School Decisions in Burkina Faso
December 2005
Harounan Kazianga

There is a large literature which explores how negative income shocks impact human capital accumulation (especially education) when financial markets are incomplete and households can neither insure nor borrow to smooth their consumption. The main conclusion is that households in these circumstances allocate child time to more labor and to less schooling. Such ex-post use of child time as a self-insurance mechanism translates into lower human capital (lower years of education completed) over time which is detrimental to economic growth. There has been, however, little research on the cumulative effects of (perceived) income uncertainty on child education. The intuition is that households that face more a volatile income stream have greater incentives to build up a buffer stock to insure against unforeseen adverse shocks, and non-enrollment can be part of such strategy. This paper fills this gap on the literature which focuses on income shocks and education in developing countries. The empirical work uses data from rural Burkina Faso, an environment where school enrollment rates are low and households face frequent income shocks. Controlling for current economic shocks, household wealth levels and child characteristics, I find that income uncertainty (expressed as income variance) consistently reduces a number of education outcomes, including current enrollment status, education expenditures per child, the number of years of education completed and the probability of having been ever enrolled. The estimation results suggest that income uncertainty might have large welfare costs in terms of human capital.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Public Education Expenditure and Defence Spending in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation
November 2005
Michael Adebayo Adebiyi and Oderinde Oladele

In this study, we set out to empirically investigate the empirical relationship between public education expenditure and defence spending in Nigeria, using annual time series data from 1970 to 2003. Some statistical tools are employed to explore the relationship between these variables. The study examines stochastic characteristics of each time series by testing their stationarity using Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillip Perron (PP) tests. This is followed by estimating the error correction model of public education expenditure. The effects of stochastic shocks of public education expenditure and defence spending are explored, using vector autoregressive (VAR) model. Although it is contended by some that the military may contribute towards the promotion of the modernization of developing societies through the enhancement of the quality and quantity of human capital by, among others, dismantling social rigidities, there is limited conclusive evidence to support this view. In fact, a negative trade-off between defence spending and public education expenditure (used as a proxy for human capital formation) is generally expected. A regression analysis of the relationship between military spending and public education expenditure in Nigeria between 1970 and 2003 is positive and statistically significant in all the techniques employed. It should be pointed out that the statistical analyses conducted in this study are concerned only with reported public expenditures on education. Inasmuch as private education and private expenditures on public education are excluded, the data employed understate the country’s commitment to education. With this caveat in mind, the study concludes that it is not unlikely that military activity has served to enhance the productive capability of the Nigerian economy via some modernizing effect. Thus, in the short and long run, the impact of military expenditure on Nigeria’s stock of human capital, particularly education, has been positive.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Impact de la pauvreté sur la scolarisation et le travail des enfants de 6-14 ans au Togo (Effect of poverty on schooling and child labor in Togo)
November 2005
Vissého Adjiwanou

Based on “Family, migrations and urbanizations” the survey was carried out on 2000 by the Unity of Research in Demography (University of Lomé). This paper aims to estimate the effect of poverty on schooling and child labor. About 2946 children were interviewed with 46% girls; 28% go only to school, 49% combine school and work, 15% work only, and 7% do neither work nor go school. The obtained results are based upon the bivariate probit model. The results point out that household poverty is one of the factor that discourages parents to send children to school.

Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Education, Allocation, Unemployment and Economy Growth in Nigeria: 1970-2004
November 2005
J. O. Ajetomobi and A. B. Ayanwale

This paper examined education expenditure trend, higher education student enrolment and linkage with unemployment and economic growth in Nigeria. Data for the study came from several issues of Central Bank of Nigeria annual reports and statement of account, Federal Ministry of Education and National University Commission (N.U.C). The results show that Government funding is unstable and unpredictable, capital and recurrent funding since 1970 are only a very small fraction of the nation’s budget, total enrolment contrasts sharply with level of employment because government could not limit enrolment to a level which fund made available could adequately cater for and the proportion of GDP that goes to education is still low.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Economic Analysis of Private Returns to Investment in Education in Cameroon
November 2005
Amin, Aloysius Ajab and Wilfred J. Awung

Since 1960, the Cameroon Government has invested very heavily in Cameroon’s educational system—nursery through to higher education level. There has been pressure on the government to put more emphasis on the primary level rather than on tertiary level. The paper’s findings strongly suggest that emphasis should be on all the educational levels, and more so, on the tertiary level. The conclusion is drawn from the earnings function model from which estimates are brought out on the average rate of return to education with the marginal return referring to additional year of education at the different levels.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Long Run Relationship between Education and Economic Growth in Nigeria: Evidence from the Johansen’s Cointegration Approach
November 2005
Babatunde, Musibau Adetunji and Adefabi, Rasak Adetunji

This paper investigates the long run relationship between education and economic growth in Nigeria between 1970 and 2003 through the application of Johansen Cointegration technique and Vector Error Correction Methodology. It examines two different channels through which human capital can affect long run economic growth in Nigeria. The first channel is when human capital is a direct input in the production function and the second channel is when the human capital affects the technology parameter. The Johansen Cointegration result establishes a long run relationship between education and economic growth. A well educated labour force appears to significantly influence economic growth both as a factor in the production function and through total factor productivity.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Improving Schools in a Context of Decentralization: Findings from Research in West Africa – Benin, Guinea, Mali and Senegal
November 2005
A. De Grauwe and C. Lugaz (IIEP); D. Odushina and M. Moustapha (Bénin) ; D. Baldé (Guinée) ; D. Dougnon (Mali); and C. Diakhaté (Sénégal)

Discussions on decentralization have increased in complexity in recent years because of the deepened realization that the ‘school’ as an institutional unit is a core actor in ensuring educational quality. A growing number of studies demonstrate that the management of a school, the relationships between the different actors (the head teacher, the teachers and the community) and the school’s own involvement in defining and evaluating its improvement have a profound impact on the quality of education. This ‘autonomization’ of the school in combination with the more traditional forms of decentralization, has led to greater diversity in the policies implemented in different countries.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




L’impact des niveaux de qualification de la main d’oeuvre sur la productivité des enterprises: analyse appliquée au secteur industriel sénégalais
November 2005
Dia, Abdoul Alpha

Sur la question des effets du capital humain, les études consacrées aux pays africains sont relativement rares, et en grande majorité, il s’agit d’ailleurs soit d’analyses macroéconomiques, soit d’études consacrées au secteur agricole. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous nous proposons d’analyser l’impact des niveaux de qualification de la main d’oeuvre industrielle sur les performances productives des entreprises. Plus particulièrement, quatre catégories de main d’oeuvre sont ici prises en compte : (i) les cadres, (ii) les techniciens supérieurs, (iii) les techniciens et agents de maîtrise, et enfin (iv) les employés ouvriers et manoeuvres. Les résultats obtenus ici n’indiquent globalement pas un impact considérable de la structure des qualifications (et plus particulièrement des catégories de main d’oeuvre les plus qualifiées) sur les performances productives, et ce quelle que soit la spécification retenue (Cobb-Douglas ou Translog). Assurément, il s’agit ici d’un résultat très largement contre-intuitif, qui s’oppose autant aux postulats de la théorie économique qu’aux résultats de la recherche internationale consacrée à cette question (cf. plus particulièrement les études conduites en France, aux Etats Unis ou en Grande Bretagne). En ce qui concerne les facteurs en mesure d’expliquer un tel résultat, ils sont de plusieurs ordres : la faible qualité des formations dispensées (et donc la forte inadéquation formation/emploi), le poids très minime de la main d’oeuvre qualifiée au sein des entreprises (on serait donc en présence d’un effet de seuil), la répartition très inégale de la main d’oeuvre industrielle (et plus particulièrement l’hypertrophie des services administratifs au détriment des services “productifs”), et enfin les caractéristiques structurelles du secteur industriel sénégalais (cf. notamment le faible niveau de progrès technique caractérisant la plupart des entreprises, lequel aurait donc globalement tendance à limiter le potentiel productif du capital humain).
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




La dimension économique de l’efficacité externe de l’éducation en Afrique de l’Ouest
November 2005
Duret, Elsa, Mathias Kuepie, Christophe Nordman, and François Roubaud

Les analyses ciblant l’efficacité externe1 des systèmes éducatifs s’intéressent à l’influence de l’éducation reçue par les individus après qu’ils sont sortis des écoles et établissements de formation pour mener à bien leur vie d’adulte au sein de la société. Ces effets sont de deux ordres, économiques dans un sens étroit, sociaux dans une conception plus large, et peuvent être lus à travers deux dimensions complémentaires : individuelle d’une part, collective d’autre part. Le croisement de ces deux perspectives offre un tableau synthétique des différentes analyses qui peuvent être conduites dans ce domaine...
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Causes of low academic performance of primary school pupils in the Shama Sub-Metro of Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) in Ghana
November 2005
Kafui Etsey

Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) is one of the district assemblies in the Western Region of Ghana. It is one of the three metropolitan assemblies in the country. The other two are Accra-Tema and Kumasi. SAEMA is located about 210 kilometres along the coast, west of Accra and is divided into three sub-metro district councils which are Shama, Sekondi and Takoradi. The twin city of Sekondi-Takoradi is both the district capital and the regional capital. The Shama sub-metro is made up of Shama and Inchaban circuits. The poor academic performance of pupils in the Shama sub-metro of the Shama Ahanta Metropolis has been a concern for the metropolitan assembly over the past few years. The schools have shown poor performances in all public examinations and as one director puts it, ‘their BECE results have been appalling’...The purpose of this study therefore is to obtain evidence of the factors that are responsible for the poor academic performance of pupils in the Shama sub-metro...
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Strategies to Reduce Repetition in Cameroon Primary School
November 2005
George Fonkeng

Repetition is one indicator of the internal inefficiency of an educational system. In Cameroon, primary school repetition is high (40%) and as such, constitutes wastage particularly, and of course problematic to the state, parents and individual pupils/victims. It is conceptualized that efficiency as applied to educational achievement combines both qualitative and quantitative variables and relates inputs to outputs. An efficient educational system should enable students graduate within the time frame prescribed. If students spend more time than is required there is wastage. To combat this phenomenon in the primary school system in Cameroon, the government has resorted to experiment on some strategies namely: Compensatory Education, Competency-Based Teaching Approach, Automatic/ Administrative Promotion in addition to the New Pedagogic Approach with apparently, significant results in the reduction of repeating. It is concluded that these strategies based on a pupil-centred philosophy/pedagogy tend to promote learning and consequently, increase promotion in primary schools.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005



Household Level Social Capital and Children’s Schooling Decision in Cameroon: A Gender Analysis
November 2005
Johannes, Tabi Atemnkeng

This paper re-examines and incorporates household level social capital amongst the determinants of children schooling in Cameroon. Reduced form demand equations of schooling for the entire sample, male and female children as well as for rural and urban children are estimated separately. Results indicate that social capital especially female related, mothers’ education and income strongly influences parental decisions towards a child schooling. However, social capital as well as its female component is more important as both male and female children are equally given the opportunity to school and there is neither gender bias nor rural-urban difference in children schooling outcome when parents participate in groups or associations. Thus, we recommend the building of social capital by strengthening local community networks.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Les dépenses publiques d’éducation sont elles pro pauvres? Analyse et Application au cas du Sénégal
November 2005
Niang, Birahim Bouna

La lutte contre la pauvreté constitue aujourd’hui une des principales priorités des pouvoirs publics des pays d’Afrique au Sud du Sahara et des partenaires au développement qui apportent leur soutien à cette région du monde. Le Sénégal n’est pas une exception à cette règle. La volonté de faire reculer la pauvreté apparaît àtravers la structure des dépenses publiques qui est caractérisée par un arbitrage en faveur des secteurs sociaux notamment l’éducation. En effet, les dépenses d’éducation représentent le premier poste du budget de l’Etat alors que les dépenses sociales représentent près du tiers des dépenses totales...
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Earning and Learning in the Rural Area of Sub-Saharan Africa: An Inquiry into the Cocoa Sector
November 2005
Guy Blaise Nkamleu

The challenge of a child labor policy is to remove children away from work and toward schooling. To this end, there is a need to better understand the reality of the interplay between work and schooling as well as household’s behavior with respect to child’s time allocation. This paper investigates child labor issue in the cocoa sector in Cote d’Ivoire, with the aim to identify determinant factors that can help to design a multi-angle policy approach towards the elimination of child labor. The present study is based on a survey done in 2002, over a representative sample of more than 11000 cocoa-households’ members. The paper presents model, which portrays the child labor decision as a three-stage sequential process. Study reveals that child labor’s contribution in cocoa farm as well as non-enrollment in school are considerable. More, numerous children are involved in potentially dangerous and/or injurious tasks. Results of econometric analysis using sequential probit model show that child Characteristics, parent characteristic as well as household characteristics are all pertinent in explaining the child work/schooling outcome in the cocoa sector of Cote d’Ivoire. Confirming the need of a multi-angled policy approach towards the elimination of child labor. The important variables highlight in this study should be taken into consideration in efforts to design an array of policy instruments to promote good development of children in the cocoa sector.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Child Schooling in Nigeria: The Role of Gender in Urban, Rural, North and South Nigeria
November 2005
Benjamin Chiedozie Okpukpara and Nnaemeka A. Chukwuone

This research was conceived as a result of increasing drop out of children from school as well as high incidence of children combining schooling with some economic activities in Nigeria. Though many researches have been conducted in areas of school enrolment of the children in Nigeria, little or none of these researchers has bordered much on the role of child, parent, household and community characteristics on child schooling. Previous works centre mainly on explorative studies rather than econometric causes of the observed trends in school enrollment.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




L’augmentation des budgets suffit-elle à la qualité des systèmes éducatifs? Cas du Gabon (Is a rise of public expenditures enough to improve the quality of educational systems? The Gabonese evidence.)
November 2005
Jean Rémy Oyaya

The present survey is a contribution to the means to reach the objective education of quality for all. So it contributes at first to set out the dysfunctions of the Gabonese education system to justify the rise of the budget for the education. Using an econometric model of analysis, it thereafter contributes to the identification of the main determinants of the evolution of these public expenditures. But a rise of these expenditures is not enough to improve the quality of the educational system. So the study pleads subsequently for the stake of a preventive system of education. It concludes while putting the accent on the necessity of the State to fight against the corruption and to hold its liability, the one guarantee to the success of the reforms that a quality system of education for all supposes.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Do Mothers’s Educational Levels Matter in Child Malnutrition and Health Outcomes in Gambia and Niger?
November 2005
A. S. Oyekale and T. O. Oyekale

Despite past policy interventions and supports, malnutrition remains one of the major problems confronting children in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). This study analyzed the effect of mothers’ educational levels on child malnutrition. Data from the 2000 End-Decade Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey by the United Nations International Children Emergency Funds (UNICEF) for Gambia and Niger were used. Data were analyzed with Foster-Greer-Thorbeck approach and Probit regression. Results show stunting, wasting and underweight head counts are higher in Niger rural and urban areas, while stunting, wasting and underweight head count, depth and severity are higher among children whose mothers had no secondary education for all the countries. The Probit analysis reveals that attainment of secondary education by the mothers, urbanization, presence of pipe water, presence of mother and father at home, polio vaccination, ever breast fed and access to radio and television significantly reduce the probability of stunting, wasting and underweight, while infection with diarrhea, fever and age at first polio vaccine significantly increase it. It was recommended that to reduce malnutrition and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Gambia and Niger, institutional arrangements for catering for secondary education of girls and ensuring consistency in child health programs must be strengthened, among others.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005.




Analyse critique des normes EFA-FT de production de service éducatif dans l’enseignement primaire des pays de l’UEMOA
November 2005
Célestin Venant C. Quenum

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries adopted the program “Education For All Fast Track Initiative” (EFA-FT) to achieve the goal of universal elementary education. Although the EFA-FT deals with some constraints that hinder universal education, it has some shortcomings that should be addressed to avoid any perverse effects in the short to medium run. For instance, the teachers’ pay under the EFA-FT seems unequitable and may even be counterproductive in the national context. Moreover, under the current terms the states will be unable to sustain the funding required for this program beyond the year 2015.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005.




Primary School Enrollment and Gender Gap of Rural Households’ Children in South Western Nigeria
November 2005
Rahji, M. A. Y.

The study examined school enrollment and gender gap of rural household children at the primary level. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in data collection. Probit model was used in analyzing the data set. Evidence from the analysis indicated that more boys were enrolled than girls. The factors considered affect male and female children differently. Father’s education variable is significant for boys. It is not significant for girls. Mother's education variable though positive in both cases is not significant. The probit model predicted a gender gap of 12.56% in favour of boys. Most of the gap is due to differences in the ways households perceive male and female children. There is thus a preference for boys over girls in the demand for schooling. Based on the findings of this study, incentives for the enrollment of more girls were recommended. These include: differential fees, free tuition, and increased public subsidies for female education.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005.




Education et développement humain en Afrique de l’Ouest: des hauts et des bas. Les cas du Burkina-Faso, de la Côte d’Ivoire et du Sénégal
November 2005
Jean Claude Saha

Nous proposons une estimation de l’apport de l’éducation au processus de développement humain au Burkina-Faso, en Côte-d’Ivoire et au Sénégal. Le développement humain est entendu au sens du Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD). Suivant une approche par la valeur de Shapley, nous décomposons les variations annuelles de l’Indicateur de Développement Humain (IDH) de ces pays. D’après les résultats obtenus, le secteur éducatif ivoirien a contribué pour 146,75% au progrès de développement humain réalisé par ce pays entre 1990 et 2004, celui du Sénégal pour 23,77% et celui du Burkina-Faso pour –13,35 %. Mais on déplore l’absence de synergie entre le secteur éducatif ivoirien et les autres aspects du développement humain dans le pays (la santé et le revenu par tête), tout autant que l’on s’inquiète devant le rôle marginal que joue l’éducation au Sénégal et surtout devant le sort du Burkina-Faso où le secteur éducatif a considérablement freiné le développement humain depuis 1990. Un échange d’expérience entre pays de la sous-région est alors souhaitable.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Corruption, Croissance et Capital Humain: Quels Rapports
November 2005
Seka, Pierre Roche

The objective of this paper is to explain some of the reasons of the high rate of dropout observed in the system of higher education. It has been shown theoretically that corruption is one of the major factors. Indeed, very talented students, who otherwise could have pushed further their studies, suddenly drop out when they compare the level of well being of those who are well educated with that of those who are not but enriched through corruption. Where do they go? They join the latter in their corruptive activities. Such practice, that somehow is rational, endangers the whole education system. An econometric model has been estimated to show the negative impact of corruption on the registration rate for higher education. The paper ends by calling for the attention of the public authority that if nothing is done to retribute better well educated people, the education system is at high risk of extinction, endangering development efforts that have been made so far.
Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on “Education in West Africa: Constraints and Opportunities” in Dakar, Senegal, November 1-2, 2005




Optimiser la participation communautaire au financement et à l’accroissement de l’offre éducative
November 2005
Servais Edoh Wallace

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




Public Expenditure and Human Capital in Nigeria: An Autoregressive Model
July 2005
Michael Adebayo Adebiyi

In this study, we set out to empirically investigate the direction of causality between human capital (i.e. education and health) expenditures and defence spending including debt service obligations in Nigeria, using annual time series data from 1970 to 2000. Some statistical tools are employed to explore the relationship among these variables. The study examines stochastic characteristics of each time series by testing their stationarity using Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillip Perron (PP) tests. Then, the effects of stochastic shocks of each of the endogenous variables are explored, using vector autoregressive (VAR) model. The evidence from the Granger causality tests shows that, in Nigeria, debt service obligations determine human capital expenditure such as education. Also, from impulse response analysis, the result shows that unanticipated effect of debt service obligations or defence spending on human capital expenditure is ambiguous in Nigeria.
Presented at the International Conference on "Shared Growth in Africa," July 21-22, 2005, Accra, Ghana



Women Education and Economic Empowerment in Tanzania: A Women Business Survival Model Analysis
July 2005
Aurelia N. Kamuzora

This paper examines the survival analysis of credit supported women businesses in Tanzania using various survival models. Survival models have been used in studies of lifetime bonds, labour strikes, market preferences, and business survival. By examining several predictor variables, the analysis demonstrates some variables can be used to business mortality. We use Product limit estimators, life table method, Cox Product Hazard Models to investigate women businesses over 22 years period. The median (half-life) of all businesses is exact 3.6 years. It was found, however, that level training and level of education before credit provision to have an impact on business survival. In this paper, the dataset of women businesses in Kagera region-Tanzania was analyzed by employing Survival models. Through applied non-nested econometric model that was conceptualized in order to determine the women business survival, we have found out that there many variables that can predict women business survival in Tanzania. Two of them were found to be the level of profit and training. The baseline hazard ration was estimated. It was found out that after receiving credits so as to start businesses, the women in Tanzania the median (half-life) survival time of all women business in Kagera region were found to be 3.06 years. The methods used in estimating survival function are no-parametric univariate model (KM), parametric (Weibull distribution), and semi parametric multivariate models. Then the product limit estimator (Kaplan-Meyer), life table method, and Cox proportional hazards model was used. They’re several types of Cox hazard models. In this study, Weibull distribution function was used. Weibull distribution is the commonly used in econometric (Greene, 2003). This paper examines the survival analysis of women businesses in Tanzania, using various survival models. Survival analysis have been used to study life unemployment spell, labor strike, household of durable goods, number of women worked in the labourforce, vocational expenditure (Greene, 2003), market preferences, life time bonds and many other areas (Gregoriuou, 2002). During recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the analysis of clustered data. Observations from the same cluster usually share certain unobserved characteristics and as a result tend to be correlated (Hung, et.al. 2004). Data are analyzed based on index function and latent regression function of duration models based on survival and hazard functions.
Presented at the International Conference on "Shared Growth in Africa," July 21-22, 2005, Accra, Ghana



Costs and Financing of Basic Education and Participation of Rural Families and Communities in Third-World Countries
April 2005
N’Dri Assié-Lumumba

This paper focuses on the various types of educational costs, expenses, and financing and the roles of families and communities. It presents a case study of educational costs and financing in rural communities in countries around the world, then focuses on the case of Côte d’Ivoire before the December 1999 Military coup followed by armed conflicts that started in 2002 leading to the de facto division of the country. The paper considers the substantive and more general family and community participation in the educational process beyond material support. The conclusion summarizes the main findings and points to new areas of research using comparative approach. It is however likely that, while the political configuration may change, the administrative structure that constitutes the framework for educational policy will remain the same. Therefore this analysis has relevance even for the post-conflict reconstruction and implementation of education policy implementation including past and new types of community schools.



Les écoles communautaires de base au Sénégal: Contribution à la scolarisation universelle, l’éradication de la pauvreté, et la mise en place d’un programme national pour le développement durable
April 2005
Assié-Lumumba, N’Dri, Mamadou Mara, and Marieme Lo




The Progression through School and Academic Performance in Madagascar Study: Preliminary Descriptive Results
March 2005
Peter Glick, Harivelo Rajemison, Arsène Ravelo, Yolande Raveloarison, Mamisoa Razakamanantsoa, and David E. Sahn

This paper is a preliminary analysis of the Etude sur la Progression Scolaire et la Performance Academique en Madagascar (EPSPAM). The study is based on a nation-wide household survey with a special focus on schooling, complimented by academic and life skills tests and additional surveys of local schools and communities. The survey was designed to investigate the household, community, and school-level determinants of a range of education outcomes in Madagascar: primary and secondary enrollment, grade repetition and dropout during primary and lower secondary school cycles, transitions from primary to secondary school, and learning — both academic (math and French test scores) and non-academic ('life-skills'). It also seeks to understand the association of early academic performance, on the one hand, and subsequent school progression and scholastic attainment, on the other. The study also investigates the knowledge and perceptions of parents about the schools in their communities. In addition, the policy environment in education in Madagascar has been very dynamic in the last several years. Therefore the study also evaluates the implementation and impacts of several important recent policies in education, including the elimination of public primary school fees and the provision of books and supplies, as well as a series of administrative reforms such as the professionalization of the chefs CISCO and efforts to make school finances more transparent.



Rural Poverty Dynamics: Development Policy Implications
March 2005
Christopher B. Barrett

This paper summarizes a few key findings from a rich and growing body of research on the nature of rural poverty and, especially, the development policy implications of relatively recent findings and ongoing work. Perhaps the most fundamental lesson of recent research on rural poverty is the need to distinguish transitory from chronic poverty. The existence of widespread chronic poverty also raises the possibility of poverty traps. I discuss some of the empirical and theoretical challenges of identifying and explaining poverty traps. In policy terms, the distinction between transitory and chronic poverty implies a need to distinguish between "cargo net" and "safety net" interventions and a central role for effective targeting of interventions. Prepared for invited presentation to the 25th International Conference of Agricultural Economists, August 17, 2003, Durban, South Africa.

In Reshaping Agriculture’s Contributions to Society, David Colman and Nick Vink (eds.), Oxford: Blackwell, 2005



Progression through School and Academic Performance in Senegal: Descriptive Survey Results
March 2005
Dumas, Christelle, Peter Glick, Sylvie Lambert, David E. Sahn, and Leopold Sarr

This report provides a preliminary descriptive analysis of some of the data from The Progression through School and Academic Performance in Senegal Study, a joint research project of Cornell University, Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée (CREA), and INRA. This project is based around a nation-wide household survey with a special focus on schooling, complimented by academic and life skills tests and additional surveys of local schools and communities. The topics covered in this report focus on the household survey and test score data and include: enrollment rates; school attainment; grade repetition; dropouts and progression to secondary school; academic and life skills test scores; and perceptions about education and schooling.



Pareto’s Revenge
January 2005
Kanbur, Ravi

Consider a project or a policy reform. In general, this change will create winners and losers. Some people will be better off, others will be worse off. Making an overall judgment on social welfare depends on weighing up the gains and losses across individuals. How can we make these comparisons? In the 1930s, a strong school of economic thought led by Lionel Robbins held that economists qua economists have no business making such judgments. They only have a basis for declaring an improvement when no such interpersonal comparisons of gains and losses are involved. Only a change which makes nobody worse off and at least one person better off, can be declared an improvement. Such a change is called a Pareto Improvement (PI). If no such changes are possible, the state of affairs is described as being Pareto Efficient (PE), a Pareto Optimum, or Pareto Optimal (PO). Named after Vilfredo Pareto, PI and PE are central to post 1945 high economic theory. After all, PE makes an appearance in the two fundamental theorems of Welfare Economics. These are that every competitive equilibrium (CE) is PE, and every PE allocation can be achieved as a CE, under certain conditions. Through these theorems, the post second world war economic theory of Kenneth Arrow and Gerard Debreu links back to Lionel Robbins and Vilfredo Pareto, and thence to Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand of competitive markets. From there the links come full circle back to stances taken in current policy debates on the role of markets and government.
In Journal of Social and Economic Development 7(1): 1-11, 2005


Buffering Inequalities: The Safety Net of Extended Families in Cameroon
December 2004
Eloundou-Enyegue, Parfait M. and David Shapiro

Extended family systems play an important role in buffering socioeconomic inequality in African societies, notably through fosterage of children across nuclear family units. Yet, there is concern that this support system would break down under the influence of globalization and recent economic crises. Whereas previous scholarship to address this concern has focused on trends in rates of family extension/ fosterage, we argue in this paper that a full account of trends in the buffering influence of extended families requires simultaneous attention to trends in (a) fosterage rates, (b) the distribution of fosterage opportunities, (c) the ameliorative effects of fosterage. This study focuses on the buffering influence of fosterage on schooling inequalities. Taking Cameroon as a case study and using the retrospective fosterage and schooling histories of 2,257 children, we examine the historical trends in these three proximate determinants of the buffering influence of extended families. Findings suggest that while the ameliorative effects of fosterage (once children are fostered) have not changed over time, both the rates and the distribution of fosterage opportunities have changed in ways that raise concern for children at the bottom quintile of the resource distribution.



The Demand for Education for Orphans in Zimbabwe
October 2004
Craig Gundersen, Thomas Kelly and Kyle Jemison

We examine the effect of orphan status on school enrolment in Zimbabwe, a country strongly impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic with a rapidly growing population of orphans. Using data from 2003, after controlling for other determinants of enrolment we find that orphans are less likely to attend school than non-orphans. The result is robust to our correction for selection bias. Two additional results have implications for targeting: we find that the effect of being an orphan is especially large for older children and that, after controlling for previous education, the effect of being an orphan on school enrolment is sharply diminished.
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



Adult Literacy Programmes in Ghana: An Evaluation
June 2004
Niels-Hugo Blunch and Claus C. Pörtner

This paper examines the effect of adult literacy program participation on household consumption in Ghana. We find that in most cases there is no significant effect on consumption from participation after allowing for self-selection into the program. For households where no adults have completed any formal education there is, however, a substantial positive and statistically significant effect on household consumption, pointing towards the potential importance of adult literacy programs for the parts of the population which have not participated in the formal education system. Possible explanations for why adult literacy program participation does not seem to significantly affect households where some formal education has been attained are explored, as well.
Presented at the ISSER-University of Ghana-Cornell University International Conference on "Ghana at the Half Century," July 18-20, 2004, Accra, Ghana



Technical Efficiency in Ghanaian Secondary Education
April 2005
Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong and Elizabeth N. Appiah

This paper uses district-level panel data and a stochastic frontier production function to investigate the existence of, and the correlates of inefficiency in the production of secondary education in Ghana. Using the proportion of students passing the West African Examination Council’s Certificate examination, we find relatively large indices of technical inefficiency in the production of education in Ghana. These technical inefficiencies vary by subject matter and are higher at the Junior Secondary School level than at the Secondary School level. Furthermore, we find large regional differences in technical inefficiencies we estimate in this paper. Technical inefficiency, we find, also varies by subject; there tends to be large inefficiencies in the sciences and mathematics than in English. We find that average per student household expenditure on education, parent’s education, and the number of siblings are highly correlated with technical inefficiencies in the production of secondary education in Ghana. The correlation between these family inputs and technical ineffi- ciency is much stronger at the Senior Secondary School level than at the Junior Secondary School level. We also find that the education production function is neither of the Cobb-Douglas functional form nor constant returns to scale technology. Our results point to the importance of both school and family inputs in the production of cognitive abilities in Ghanaian secondary schools.
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



Integrating Education and Population Policy: The Gender-Equity Payoffs of Reducing Pregnancy-Related Dropouts
May 2004
Eloundou-Enyegue, Parfait M., J. Mayone Stycos, and Fatou Jah

Plausible arguments suggest that policies to avoid pregnancy-related dropouts can help close gender gaps in education in Africa but these payoffs require quantification. This research uses schooling life tables to simulate how the gender gaps in secondary school completion within 23 sub-Saharan African countries would narrow if these countries reduced the incidence of pregnancy-related dropouts. Results suggest that reducing pregnancy-related dropouts is neither indispensable nor sufficient to close current gender gaps in most cases, yet it could halve these gaps in one third of the countries studied.



Access to Primary Education in Rural Uganda
May 2004
Nyankori, James C. O. and Marios Obwona

In this paper, we present an extensive statistical description of rural primary schools, schooling and students in Uganda and estimate the relationship between academic performance and selected personal, demographic, and school characteristics using a linear probability model subsequently extended to predict academic performance. The survey data indicate considerable categorical differences in personal, household and school characteristics, and these have important implications for schooling behaviors and outcomes. Linear probability model predictions of academic performance reveal significant categorical differences in age, sex, nutritional status, after school activities, post primary education preference, school attendance, household production activities, occupation of head of household, and relation to head of household relative to academic performance.
Final Report for SAGA Competitive Research Grants Program



Access to Schooling and Employment in Cameroon: New Inequalities and Opportunities
April 2004
Eloundou-Enyegue, Parfait M., Ngoube Maurice, Okene Richard, V.P Onguene,Serge Bahoken, Joseph Tamukong, Moses Mbangwana, Joseph Essindi Evina, and Caroline Mongue Djongoue

This report is about recent trends in education and access to employment in Cameroon. It focuses on five questions about (1) current levels of schooling, (2) recent trends in enrolment, (3) recent trends in schooling inequalities, (4) access to employment, and (5) risks and opportunities to improve education and employment outcomes. Based on these analyses, the report discusses several challenges and opportunities in improving education and employment outcomes.



The Impact of Family Literacy on the Earnings of Illiterates: Evidence from Senegal
January 2004
Sarr, Leopold R.

This paper investigates the extent to which the sharing of literacy knowledge within the household affects the labor force participation and the earnings of illiterate workers in Senegal. Using the concept of proximate and isolated illiterates recently developed by K. Basu and J. Foster, I apply an intra-household model of literacy to a Senegalese household dataset. The estimates obtained from different selection bias models provide evidence that parental literacy and education do not capture all sources of external literacy benefits and that illiterate members also benefit from other literate members of the household. It also appears that rural workers and female illiterates tend to participate more in the labor market than their urban and male counterparts. On the other hand, an urban illiterate worker who lives in a household where at least one member is literate is expected to earn a wage that is about 88% higher than that of an isolated illiterate urban worker whereas the earnings of an illiterate female worker are on average 33% higher than the ones of another illiterate female worker whose family’s ratio of literate to illiterate members is one point lower. This suggests that policies targeting isolated illiterate households, in both rural and urban zones as well as illiterate women — who appear to be better recipients of external literacy benefits — within households, are likely to mitigate their vulnerability and thus to reduce the incidence of illiteracy and poverty.



Maternal Literacy and Numeracy Skills and Child Health in Ghana
May 2005
Niels-Hugo Blunch

This paper examines the impact of maternal literacy and numeracy skills and schooling on the production of children’s health in Ghana. The analysis considers child health inputs, including pre- and post-natal care and vaccinations, and child health outputs, including illnesses and mortality. Previous studies of the determinants of child health have mostly been limited to investigating the impact of maternal schooling only and, as a consequence, largely have not considered skills, including literacy and numeracy skills and health knowledge, and also have ignored alternative routes to acquiring skills, such as adult literacy programs. Analyzing a recent household survey for Ghana, this paper addresses both of these issues. Preliminary results for a specification where all regressors are treated as predetermined indicate that skills are largely not important once education is controlled for but at the same time also indicate a positive association between adult literacy course participation and child health. The latter points towards the potentially important role of adult literacy programs in promoting child health by the acquisition of health knowledge by participants in these programs, which is something that has previously received little to no attention in the economics literature.
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



Public Service Provision, User Fees, and Political Turmoil
January 2004
Fafchamps, Marcel and Bart Minten

Following an electoral dispute, the central highlands of the island of Madagascar were subjected to an economic blockade during the first half of 2002. After the blockade ended in June 2002, user fees for health services and school fees were progressively eliminated. This paper examines the provision of schooling and health services to rural areas of Madagascar before, during, and after the blockade. We find that public services were more resilient to the blockade than initially anticipated, but that health services were more affected than schools. The removal of user fees had a large significant effect on public services that is distinct from the end of the blockade and the increase in school book provision.



Growth and Poverty Reduction in Uganda, 1992-1999: A Multidimensional Analysis of Changes in Living Standards
October 2003
Younger, Stephen D.

This paper examines Uganda’s progress on poverty reduction when poverty is measured in multiple dimensions. In particular, I consider poverty measures that are defined across household expenditures per capita or household assets, children’s health status, and in some cases, mother’s literacy. The comparisons are robust to the choice of poverty line, poverty measure, and sampling error. In general, I find that multidimensional poverty declined significantly in Uganda during the 1990s, although results for the latter half of the decade are more ambiguous. While there was clear progress in the dimension of expenditures and assets, improvement in children’s height-for-age z-scores is less certain for the 1995-2000 period. I also make poverty comparisons for individual regions and urban and rural areas in the country. Rather surprisingly, progress on multivariate poverty reduction is less clear in Central region and in urban areas.



Urban-Rural Inequality in Africa
July 2003
Sahn, David E. and David C. Stifel
In this paper we examine the relative importance of rural versus urban areas in terms of monetary poverty and seven other related living standards indicators. We present the levels of urban-rural differences for several African countries for which we have data and find that living standards in rural areas lag far behind those in urban areas. Then we examine the relative and absolute rates of change for urban and rural areas, and find no overall evidence of declining differences in the gaps between urban and rural living standards. Finally, we conduct urban-rural decompositions of inequality, examining the within versus between (urban and rural) group inequality for asset inequality, education inequality, and health (height) inequality.
In Journal of African Economies 12(4):564-597, 2003

Presented at WIDER (World Institute for Development Economics Research) Conference on Spatial Inequality in Africa, University of Oxford, September 21-22, 2002.



The Distribution of Social Services in Madagascar, 1993-99
December 2002
Glick, Peter and Mamisoa Razakamanantsoa

While a number of benefit incidence studies of public expenditures have been carried out for African countries, there are very few studies that look at how the incidence of such expenditures has been changing over time. We use three rounds of nation-wide household surveys to analyze the distribution of public expenditures on education and health services in Madagascar over the decade of the 90s, a period of little economic growth but significant changes in social sector organization and budgets. Education and health services for the most part are found to be distributed more equally than household expenditures: therefore they serve to redistribute welfare from the rich to the poor. By stricter standards of progressivity, however, public services do poorly. Few services other than primary schooling accrue disproportionately to the poor in absolute terms. When we further adjust for differences in the numbers of potential beneficiaries in different expenditure quintiles (e.g., school-age children in the case of education), none of the education or health benefits considered appear to target the poor while several target the non-poor. We also find significant disparities in the use of services between rural and urban areas, and by province. On the other hand, for both education and health services, no notable gender differences exist in coverage. With regard to changes over the decade, primary enrollments rose sharply and also become significantly more progressive; since the country experienced little or no growth in household incomes during the period, this apparently reflects supply rather than demand side factors. The improvement in equity in public schooling occurred in part because the enrollment growth was in effect regionally targeted: it occurred only in rural areas, which are poorer.
Also see, "The Distribution of Education and Health Services in Madagascar over the 1990s: Increasing Progressivity in an Era of Low Growth," in Journal of African Economies (October, 2005).





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