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Orkin, Kate. "The role of aspirations and identities in decisions to invest in children's schooling." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ea4bcbb5-1c00-4111-bbb2-525f45f3fead.
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I demonstrate that household investments in children's education in Ethiopia are affected by parents' self-beliefs (such as their locus of control), parents' aspirations for children's educational attainment, children's conceptions of their roles and identities in the household and at school, and children's own preferences, all concepts not widely studied in development economics. Two empirical chapters report on a field experiment in which randomly selected adults watched documentaries about role models who were poor but succeeded in agriculture or small business. Six months later, parents' self-beliefs and aspirations for children's education were higher in the treatment than in the placebo and control groups. Enrolment of children in school, spending on education, saving and use of credit also increased. A third empirical chapter draws on longitudinal qualitative research to argue that children's preferences for their time allocation between work and school are strongly influenced by the desire to comply with valued identities as students and as independent earners and contributors to the household. The fourth chapter suggests that understanding children's preferences might improve predictions about their reaction to education policies. The literature predicts an increase in time in school will not improve test scores: children will reduce effort because they desire a limited amount of learning. I find a reform to lengthen the Ethiopian primary school day improves test scores. Although this could occur through many mechanisms, one possibility is that children do not prefer to limit their desired amount of learning. This suggests that better evidence on children's preferences might improve prediction of the effects of policies to alter school inputs. The conclusion reflects on whether the empirical relevance of concepts of self-beliefs, aspirations and identities implies that assumptions in standard models of decision-making in economics about the characteristics of beliefs and preferences ought to be rejected. I argue that these ideas can be captured by existing economic concepts of beliefs and preferences and by standard assumptions about these concepts. I suggest that, contrary to recent accounts building on human capital theory, self-beliefs should be viewed as beliefs, not non-cognitive skills. I consider aspirations as a type of preference, shaped by both objective constraints and self-beliefs. I consider identity as a preference for complying with a social role, but highlight that such preferences are often altruistic, rather than self-interested. In conclusion, I argue that economics should draw further on other social sciences, including psychology, to develop substantive theories of the formation and characteristics of beliefs and preferences. Doing so will suggest when it is appropriate to apply standard models and how their assumptions can be modified if their predictions do not hold.
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Fanta, Elias Gebreselassie. "The production of oilseeds in Ethiopia: value chain analysis and the benefit that accrue to the primary producers." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9950_1249265362.
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Oilseed is the third most important export item in Ethiopian foreign trade. It has registered a high export growth rate over recent years both in terms of volume and value. Besides its growing share in export, it is widely used for the extraction of edible oil and oilcake that is supplied to the domestic market. Although farmers are the primary producers of oilseeds, they are not able to benefit from the growing market share of the product due to the fact that they find themselves at the end of an extended market chain. As a result they only receive a very small proportion of what the final buyers are paying for the oilseed products. In addition, there is not much experience on the part of the farmers to process oilseeds, change it to edible oil and oilcake and retain the value addition in the local economy. This thesis used the value chain approach to investigate the possibilities for the primary producers to increase their income share from the selling of their products either by directly selling to exporters or by processing oilseeds, producing edible oil and oilcake, and retaining the value addition in the local economy.
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Suutari, T. (Tero). "Economic aspects in education." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2015. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201504021231.
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Leading theme in this master’s thesis is adaptation and preparation to ever changing requirements of skills and knowledge in the working life. These changes of requirements in the working life are implied by the changes in the occupational structure in Finland that is presented in the thesis. The data used in thesis to show the changes in the occupational structure in Finland Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data, FLEED, which is gathered by Statistics Finland and it shows changes in occupational structure of Finland between years 1995 and 2007. Education is considered in this thesis so that its object is to prepare children and future generations for working life with suitable skills and knowledge. The variety of other, equally important, objects that education has and possibly contradictions as well as problems that might arise in the course of achieving all the objects is beyond of this study. Changing occupational structure arises a question that how education prepares itself to the unknown changes? To answer the question asked, I will introduce Economics of education and Educational planning and how these two relate to each other, especially how economics of education has affected education and educational planning. Therefore I will first take historical review of the economics of education and introduce two main theories; human capital theory and screening theory. The main difference of these two will be explained and also what kind of difference it would make to education if either one could be proved right. It would also have an effect on how education should be arranged in the society. Educational planning has had, in its course, different approaches to analyze and predict future. I will review those approaches; also these approaches have been influenced by economics of education. In the last part of the thesis I bring up studies in Finland has tried to prepare and project changing work life. Also I discuss about can education bring something new to economics of educationTämän Pro gradu-tutkielman johtava teema on mukautuminen ja valmistautuminen muuttuviin vaatimuksiin tiedoista ja taidoista työelämässä. Ammattirakenteen muutos Suomessa viittaa siihen että vaatimukset erilaisille tiedoille ja taidoille työelämässä on tapahtumassa. Aineisto ammattirakenteen muutoksesta on Tilastokeskuksen yhdistetty työntekijä-työnantaja-aineisto (Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data FLEED). Ammattirakenteen muutos ajoittuu vuosien 1995 ja 2007 välille. Koulutus mielletään tässä Pro gradu-tutkielmassa sellaiseksi toiminnaksi jonka tavoite on valmistaa lapsia sekä tulevia sukupolvia työelämään oikeanlaisilla taidoilla ja tiedoilla. Yhtälailla tärkeät muut tavoitteet, mitä koulutukselle ja kasvatukselle on annettu, sekä mahdollisesti syntyviä ristiriitoja tavoitteita saavuttamisessa ovat tämän tutkielman ulkopuolella. Muutokset ammattirakenteessa luo kysymyksen, että miten koulutus on valmistautunut tällaisiin tuntemattomiin muutoksiin? Vastatakseni kysymykseen esittelen koulutusekonomian ja koulutussuunnittelun, sekä erityisesti miten koulutusekonomia on vaikuttanut koulutussuunnitteluun. Aluksi käyn läpi koulutusekonomian ja esittelen sen kaksi pääteoriaa: inhimillisen pääoman teorian ja siiviläteorian. Selitän millä tavoin nämä teoriat eroavat toisistaan ja mikäli jompikumpi voidaan todistaa oikeaksi millainen vaikutus sillä olisi koulutukseen. Koulutussuunnittelussa on käytetty monenlaisia analysointivälineitä tulevaisuuden ennakoimiseksi. Esittelen nämä eri tavat ja työkalut, sekä miten koulutussuunnittelu on historiansa aikana muuttunut ja miten taloudellinen ajattelu on muuttanut koulutussuunnittelua. Viimeisessä osassa tuon esille tutkimuksia siitä miten Suomessa pyritään ennakoimaan ja valmistautumaan muutoksiin työelämässä. Käyn myös keskustelua siitä voiko kasvatustiede tuoda jotain uutta koulutusekonomiaan
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Kebede, Yohannes. "Economic evaluation of post-drought recovery agricultural project : the case of Tegulet and Bulga District, Shoa Province, Ethiopia." Thesis, McGill University, 1988. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=63894.
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Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. "Three essays on Ethiopian farm households." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.670231.
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Davies, Steven J. "The political economy of land tenure in Ethiopia." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/580.
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In surveying the literature on land tenure reform in Africa, what can readily be observed is that much of that body of work has comprised a markedly econometric and technical focus, to the neglect of evidently contiguous political factors. As a result, fundamental structural impediments to reform efforts have largely been ignored - a fact that may be reflected in the failure of many titling interventions. In light of this omission, the nature of political economy in both Ethiopia and Africa more generally is delineated in this thesis, in order to construct a more rounded conceptual framework through which the issue of land tenure can be deciphered. In so doing, the model of the ‘neopatrimonial’/anti-developmental state is utilised as a benchmark against which twentieth century Ethiopian regimes, and in particular the incumbent EPRDF Government, are assessed. Considerable evidence is uncovered to support the view that, despite its unique historical experience of independence, contemporary Ethiopia nevertheless fits with many key aspects of the neopatrimonial model – most notably in the Government’s pursuit of political survival and revenue to the neglect of long-term sustainable development. It is therefore argued that political imperatives have undermined the establishment of a progressive economic agenda in the country, and the ways in which this has affected land tenure are delineated. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the contemporary debate on tenure reform in Ethiopia has taken a form that is somewhat myopic and circuitous, possibly in an attempt to circumvent discussion of controversial political issues. It is argued that this apolitical stance has undermined not only the debate itself, but also the practical intervention strategies that have emerged from it, such as the recent land titling and administration project in Ethiopia. It is therefore concluded that the only means of escape from this theoretical and practical impasse is to reintegrate politics into the analysis.
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Taddessee, Mellesse Amossa. "The role of education in combatting famine and promoting development in Ethiopia /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1990. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/10939258.
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Kebede, Yohannes. "Household decision-making : the adoption of agricultural technologies in Ethiopia." Thesis, McGill University, 1993. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=41250.
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Technology adoption has been seen as key to the development of more productive agriculture in lesser developed countries. But the adoption and adaptation of new agricultural technology occurs at the level of farm families where decisions are made based on perceived risks and benefits of the new technology, and its fit within the knowledge and practices of existing agricultural system.The processes and consequences of household decision-making are investigated using unidisciplinary methods of decision analysis involving statistical, mathematical, psychological, anthropological and econometric techniques brought together in a holistic manner. The study is focused in the Ada and Selale regions of the Central Ethiopian Highlands. The technologies studied are fertilizer, improved crop varieties, pesticides and cross-bred cows.
Differences in goals and strategies of households are caused by inequalities in ownership of physical resources, and access to local institutions and indigenous knowledge. Village and regional institutions greatly influence access to physical (e.g. land) and non-physical (knowledge and information) resources. Successful intervention strategies are those that recognize region- and experience-specific potentials.
When compared with physical resources, non-physical resources exert greater influence on decisions to adopt technologies and on the efficiency with which inputs are used in the production of grain and milk outputs. Producers are willing to take risks in enterprises in which they have the advantages of favourable location or experience. The degree of risk-averse behaviour of households reduces the probability of adopting technologies in both study sites. Natural factors (e.g. rainfall) and policy variables (e.g., land tenure and market) increase production risk. Indigenous production knowledge and schooling consistently reduce variability in production.
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Bold, Tessa. "Economics of informal insurance arrangements." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.491573.
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Drewko, Aleksandra [Verfasser], and Ralf [Akademischer Betreuer] Otterpohl. "Low-tech sustainable sanitation options for Ghana and Ethiopia - economic, social and technical aspects / Aleksandra Drewko. Betreuer: Ralf Otterpohl." Hamburg-Harburg : Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität Hamburg-Harburg, 2013. http://d-nb.info/1048574164/34.
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Shure, Dominique Alexandra. "Essays in education economics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4c4e9922-1028-41eb-ad81-7ab74b80311b.
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This thesis examines three different aspects of education policy to ascertain their effects on individual outcomes, both in the classroom and in the labour market. The goal is to provide new empirical evidence using robust identification strategies that can inform better policy. The first chapter looks at the role of pre-primary education in Germany using the German Socio-Economic Panel data set (GSOEP) to determine if attending an early education programme for longer increases the probability of attending a higher-level secondary school at age fourteen. I employ family fixed effects estimation and quasi-experimental analysis to control for selection. The results of the family fixed effects estimation show a small and negative impact of attending early education for more years. In the quasi-experimental analysis, based upon a federal law change in 1996, I find no impact of more years of early education on later schooling outcomes. In the second chapter of this thesis, I again use the GSOEP to examine the recent German reform to extend the length of the primary school day. I exploit the quasi-experimental roll-out of reform to assign treatment to women and look at whether increasing school hours increases the likelihood that mothers enter into employment or extend their hours if already working. I find that the policy has an effect at the extensive margin, drawing more women into the labour market, but that there is no significant impact of the policy at the intensive margin. In the final chapter I turn my attention to how peers' non-cognitive traits impact an individual's learning outcomes. Using an educational panel from Flanders, Belgium, I use the linear-in- means model of peer effects as well as several non-linear models to see how peers' personalities in a classroom affect Dutch and math scores. The results show that having more conscientious peers on average positively impacts Dutch and math scores, but that a greater dispersion of conscientiousness hurts Dutch outcomes. I also find that having more extroverted peers on average hurts math performance.
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Ma, Wing Sze. "An economic evaluation of the education sector in China." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2006. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/703.
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郭國全 and Kwok-chuen Kwok. "The political economy of educational investment: a review and an appraisal." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1986. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31974764.
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Tessema, Ermyas Arega. "The relation between ICT and poverty reduction : the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5275.
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Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: National Statistical offices (NSOs) are the sources of wide ranges of socio-economic, demographic and agricultural data and information that are used to monitor and evaluate development programs and formulate policies. The data generated by NSOs is used as basis for making decisions and also used to assess the extent and causes of poverty. Various stakeholders such as researchers, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the UN, and various NGOs prepare and release research materials and annual reports using data and information obtained from NSOs and line ministries. For example, Deneulin and Shahani state that one of the intentions of the annual Human Development Report (HDR) prepared by the UNDP is “to assess the quality of life of a population and be an advocacy tool for its improvement with a political purpose of raising awareness and generating debate on public issues and concerns which would otherwise not be on the political agenda”1. Based on the different approaches to poverty, different sets of data and information are produced and used for poverty measurement. Mostly, poverty is measured using data obtained from nationally representative household surveys which focus on income and expenditure, ownership, access to and use of some basic services. Another approach uses data on mental satisfaction; still others assume poverty to be multi-dimensional and argue that income alone is not enough. They view poverty as deprivation of basic capabilities due to high rates of mortality, illiteracy, malnourishment, unemployment, ill health, lack of education and social exclusion, etc2. The quality of data and information (such as integrity, methodological soundness, accuracy and reliability, serviceability and accessibility) generated by data-producingagencies therefore needs to be preserved and improved in order to obtain meaningful results from the measurement of poverty in any of the approaches and to satisfy the growing data quality demands of stakeholders. Loshin states that “strategic decisions based on untrustworthy information are likely to result in poor decisions”3. This study focuses on the role played by national statistical offices in poverty reduction in general. It examines the various activities, players, interactions, and ICTs used at the various stages of the statistical process in the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (CSA) to generate poverty-related data and information and how the quality of this data can be preserved and improved. The purpose of this research is therefore to identify poverty related data quality problems with respect to the IMF’s DQAF and assess where in the statistical process specific types of ICTs can improve data quality. For this reason interpretive case study method with the researcher as participant observer was adopted to study how poverty related data and information is produced. It was found out that some of the data quality problems can be addressed using appropriate ICTs with the availability of reliable power infrastructures.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nasionale Statistiekkantore (NSOs) is die bron van ‘n wye reeks sosio-ekonomiese, demografiese en landboukundige data en inligting wat gebruik word om ontwikkelingsprogramme te monitor en te evalueer. Die data wat deur NSOs geskep word, word aangewend as grondslag vir besluitneming. Die data word ook gebruik om die omvang en oorsake van armoede te bepaal. Verskeie betrokkenes soos navorsers, die Wêreldbank (WB), Internasionale Monetêre Fonds (IMF) en die VN en NSOs skep en versprei verskillende navorsingsuitsette en jaarverslae wat gebruik maak van die data en inligting wat verkry word van NSOs en ministeries. So konstateer Deneulin en Shahani dat een van die doelstellings van die Verslag op Menslike Ontwikkeling (HDR), soos opgestel deur die VNDP, is om “die lewensgehalte van ‘n bevolking te skat en om as werktuig en voorspraak vir die verbetering daarvan op te tree, met die politiese doelwit om bewustheid te verhoog en debatvoering oor openbare sake en kwessies, wat andersins nie op die agenda sou verskyn nie, aan te voor”.4. Na gelang van die verskillende benaderings tot armoede word verskillende stelle data en inligting geproduseer en gebruik vir die meting van armoede. Armoede word gewoonlik gemeet deur data te gebruik wat bekom word van landswye opnames van huishoudings en ingestel is op inkomste en besteding, besitreg, toegang tot en die gebruik van ‘n paar basiese dienste. ‘n Ander benadering gebruik data oor geestelike bevrediging; ander weer aanvaar dat armoede multidimensioneel is en voer aan dat inkomste alleen nie genoeg is nie. Hulle beskou armoede as die ontbering van basiese vermoëns weens ‘n hoë sterftesyfer, ongeletterdheid, ondervoeding, siekte, gebrekkige onderwys, sosiale uitsluiting en dies meer5. Die gehalte van data en inligting (soos integriteit, metodologiese deeglikheid, akkuraatheid en betroubaarheid, bruikbaarheid en toeganklikheid) wat deur agentskappe opgelewer word moet dus bewaar en verbeter word ten einde ‘n beduidende resultaat te bekom uit die meting van armoede deur enige van die benaderings en ook om belanghebbendes se groeiende aandrang op datagehalte te bevredig. Loshin beweer dat “strategiese besluite gebaseer op onbetroubare inligting waarskynlik swak besluitneming tot gevolg sal hê”.6. Hierdie ondersoek konsentreer op die rol wat gespeel word deur nasionale statistiekkantore in die algemene bekamping van armoede. Dit ondersoek die verskillende aktiwiteite, rolspelers, interaksies en ICTs wat op verskeie stadiums van die statistiese proses deur die Etiopiese Sentrale Statistiekagentskap (CSA) gebruik word om data en inligting oor armoede te skep en hoe die betroubaarheid van data behou en verbeter kan word. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is dus om kwaliteitsprobleme wat verband hou met armoededata ten opsigte van die IMF se DQAF te identifiseer en om te besluit waar in die statistiese proses bepaalde soort ICT’s die gehalte van data kan identifiseer. Om hierdie rede is die interpretiewe gevallestudiemetode aanvaar om te bepaal hoe armoede-verwante data en inligting geskep word. Die slotsom was dat sommige van die probleme in datagehalte aangespreek kan word deur die gebruik van gepaste ICT’s met die beskikbaarheid van betroubare mag-infrakstrukture.
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Idema, Timo. "Brain power : the political economy of higher education." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1f92e1b3-ddfa-4467-a36e-8ea3273b7e7e.
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This dissertation disputes conventional interpretations of the comparative political economy literature on higher education. In particular, I challenge the common assumption that access to higher education is structured by income. Instead, based on insights from the relevant psychology, sociology and economics literature, I argue that a child's probability of entering higher education is predominantly a function of her abilities, and that her abilities are strongly related to her parents' level of education. I develop a theory of the distributive politics of higher education solidly grounded in this relationship. The result of this model is the counter intuitive hypothesis that the initial expansions of higher education benefit the children of more highly educated parents. Moreover, more highly educated families are the net beneficiaries of free higher education and generous subsidies. Extensive survey evidence from Britain, Australia, Canada and Sweden of higher education policy preferences confirms this picture of the politics of higher education as a zero-sum distributive game between highly and lesser educated families. In order to analyse the consequences of these preference patterns for higher education policy, I develop a theoretical and empirical measure of voting power for multi-party systems. Voting power measures how many votes a party stands to gain from converting and mobilising voters by distributing resources from one group to another. Using data from 15 EU countries, I show that parliaments and cabinets, on average, stand to win more votes from pleasing highly educated voters than from targeting less educated voters. Furthermore, the conversion imperative is much stronger than the mobilisation imperative. Statistical analyses show that variations in the voting power of highly educated individuals over the government help to explain variations in higher education policy across countries and within countries over time. All in all, the theoretical and empirical analyses presented in this dissertation represent a significant contribution towards understanding the specific distributive politics of higher education, and the political economy of redistribution more generally.
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Ortiz, Ospina Esteban. "Essays on the economics of higher education." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:30fccd24-972e-4b57-8787-3b1c35e7a279.
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This DPhil thesis consists of three related but independent chapters discussing the question of admission and access to higher education. Chapter 1 explores the extent to which the underrepresentation of students from certain population groups at highly selective universities, can be explained by poor information and high non-monetary application costs, and how the universities' admission policies may affect outcomes. This chapter takes a positive approach and proposes a theoretical model to explore the implications of implementing alternative admission policies. Motivated by the results that arise from this exploration, Chapter 2 proceeds with a normative approach, proposing a general framework to study the optimal selection policy from a pool of applicants, taking into account that the pool of applicants is endogenous. This, it is argued, allows a characterisation of the optimal form of discrimination in university admissions. Chapter 3 studies the relationship between tuition fees and academic selectivity, by developing a different, although somewhat related model of monopolistic competition, where universities compete for students by simultaneously selecting prices and admission standards.
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Neri, Frank. "Schooling quality and economic growth." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phn445.pdf.
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Bibliography: leaves 148-155. This thesis investigates whether cross-country variations in schooling quality (the productivity of the time spent studying) affect the empirical results in studies of economic growth based on an augmented method of Solow. It was found that schooling quality is positively and statistically significantly associated with mean economic growth rates in regressions which control for physical capital investment rates, population growth rates and secondary school enrolment rates. Education levels of parents, hours of homework and the non-teaching duties of teachers were also significant determinants.
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Ngomba, Peter Njoh. "The developmental impact of public investment in education, science and technology in Cameroon, 1960-1980 /." Thesis, McGill University, 1987. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=75784.
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Linking education, science and technology with national development is a subject of increasing concern in many developing countries. In this dissertation, we have studied empirically the contribution, or lack of it, which public investment in education, science and technology has made to the attainment of development objectives in Cameroon since 1960. Using a small computable macroeconometric model of Cameroon incorporating some major relevant quantitative aspects of the knowledge sector, we have investigated the effects on that sector and on the overall economic system of increased education- and research-service resources. We have also analyzed some of the major qualitative factors that are important in this sector.Our results suggest that, given existing patterns of education, science and technology in Cameroon, the contribution of public investment in this sector may be small compared to the potential contribution suggested in the literature. The implications of these results are examined for policy-making and planning at the national level.
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Liu, Chau-wing, and 廖秋榮. "Investment returns to education in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1991. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31976621.
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Mbwika, James M. "Kenya smallholder farmer education and farm productivity." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29578.
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This research was undertaken to study the effect of education on small farm revenues and profits in Kenya. Schooling (defined as the number of school standards completed by the farm operator) was used as the most important source of education. It was hypothesized that schooling has a positive effect on farm revenues and profits. The effect of other sources of information viz; extension contact, demonstration attendance and baraza attendance on farm revenues and profits were also investigated.
The research was done using regression analysis where these variables and other farm activity relevant variables were fitted in regression equations. The choice of these variables
were based on economic theory, Kenya small farm characteristics and the objective of the study. Several factors would qualify as supporting evidence for the argument that educated farmers are more productive. We expect educated farmers to be more informed in terms of use of new production technologies. Education as a source of human capital also enhances the productive abilities of human beings and also enables those who have invested in education to use their resources more efficiently as well as adjusting to new "ways of producing more efficiently".
In the current study we find that schooling of the farm operator is positively related to level of expenditure on farm purchased variable inputs. This indicates that education enhances adoption of new technologies and innovativeness. Further it was shown that farmers with more education earned more value added per acre from their farm business compared to their less educated counterparts. On the overall farm activity, farmers with eight or more standards of schooling earned upto 80.2% in value added per acre compared to those who had no schooling.
The regression estimates were done on a stepwise procedure where farm specific enterprises
were estimated separately and then aggregated and estimated as one farm sector. Thus a crop equation, a livestock equation and a total farm output equation were estimated.
This model was then developed into a variable profit function. A simple linear function procedure was used in the regression analysis.
In all the estimated value added equations the schooling coefficient was positive and significant at 5% level two tail t-test. As we move from farm specific activities to a farm aggregate output model and lastly to value added model the schooling coefficient increased in size confirming the positive role of education in allocative effect. These results show that schooling plays an important role in allocation of other purchased inputs and also choice of crop mix and input selection. The estimated marginal return to schooling of farm operator in the profit function was Kshs.281. In an earlier function where schooling of the farm operator was fitted into a total farm income equation the estimated marginal return to schooling was Kshs.778.89.
When schooling of the farm operator is allowed to interact with extension service the estimated interaction variable coefficient is negative showing the two act as substitute sources of knowledge, and the schooling coefficient increased in size showing that those who had both schooling and extension service earned comparatively more farm revenues.
The role of other educative factors like extension service, demonstration attendance, and baraza attendance in influencing agricultural production was investigated. Regression
results showed that extension contact had a negative and significant effect on farm revenues and profits. Demonstration and baraza attendance had similar effects on farm revenues and profits.
In the value added function hired labour variable was fitted as the cost of hired labour per day. The estimated coefficient for this variable was positive and significant at 5%. The estimated coefficient for this variable shows hired labour is not optimally used, and farmers can increase their farm profits by hiring more labour. When this variable was fitted as the wage rate paid to hired labour per day the estimated coefficient was positive and significant. These results indicate that cost of hired labour depends on its quality. In the sales function hired labour was specified as mandays of hired labour per year and the estimated coefficient which reflects the shadow price of labour was higher than average hired labour wage rate implying that this factor is underemployed.
In the sales function the estimated coefficient for the value of purchased inputs variable indicates that there is an element of underutilization of these inputs. This variable is fitted in value terms and in profit maximizing conditions the estimated coefficient is expected to be no different from unit. However, the estimated coefficient for this variable is approximately 2.5 showing a shilling spent on purchased inputs will bring forth 2.5 shillings. Thus an increase in the use of purchased inputs will increase farm revenues.
Results show evidence of regional differences in farmer productivity and utilization of purchased inputs in favour of Central province.
The study is based on the 1982 CBS-IDS-World Bank Household Survey of Rural Kenya data set.Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
Graduate
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Teshome, Bisrat. "Poverty and Conflict: A Self-Perpetuating Cycle in the Somali Regional State (Region 5), Ethiopia: 1960-2010." PDXScholar, 2011. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/230.
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Region 5 is one of the most impoverished and insecure regions of Ethiopia. For decades, the region has suffered from a multitude of armed conflicts involving state and non-state actors. Region 5 is also one of the most underserved states of Ethiopia with some of the lowest levels of human development indicators nationwide. Although the adversities of poverty and conflict are widely acknowledged in their own respect, there has been little or no inquest into why poverty and conflict have prevailed under the same space for decades. Poverty and conflict have often been seen as separate phenomena that are dealt with using different sets of theories and practices in the real world. Nonetheless, a closer look at poverty and conflict in Region 5 reveals that both are strongly connected to each other. The poverty-conflict trap has been an on-going cycle in the region for the last five decades. The main intent of this research paper is analyzing the two-way relationship between poverty and conflict in Region 5. By studying this relationship, this analysis seeks to contribute to a new framework that brings peacebuilding and development closer.
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Spaull, Nicholas. "Education quality in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa : an economic approach." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96775.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Education has always occupied a central role in the discipline of economics, featuring prominently in the theoretical constructs of the discipline and, more recently, in their empirical applications. While one can trace the origins of Human Capital theory all the way back to Adam Smith’s ‘The Wealth of Nations’, the two major advances in our understanding of education’s role in economic development transpired in the last 50 years. The first was half way through the 20th century with the work of work of Mincer (1958), Schultz (1961) and particularly that of Becker (1962) who formalized the idea of Human Capital. The second advance was at the turn of the 21st century when Hanushek and Kimko (and later Wößmann) incorporated measures of education quality into their models of economic growth. This latest strand of research serves as the point of departure for this thesis, placing education quality at the centre of the discussion. The thesis begins by focussing on the South African case and highlighting three broad issues that characterise education in the country: (1) the high levels of inequality that can be seen when comparing student performance by race, language, geographic location and socioeconomic status. New evidence is presented to show that South Africa does indeed have two public schooling systems, reiterating and confirming the findings of other South African scholars. (2) Using intra-survey benchmarks of student achievement, Chapter 2 develops a new method of quantifying learning deficits in mathematics by using three different datasets covering grades 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. The learning gap between the poorest 60% of students and the wealthiest 20% of students is found to be approximately three grade-levels in grade 3 and grows to between four and five grade-levels by grade 9. (3) The focus then shifts to the complex issue of language and performance, which is addressed in Chapter 3. Here the aim is to exploit an unusual occurrence whereby a large group of South African students were tested twice, one month apart, on the same test in different languages. Using a simplified difference-in-difference methodology it becomes possible to identify the causal impact of writing a test in English when English is not a student’s home language. The final two chapters of the thesis widen the remit of analysis to include 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, viz. Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Here the aim is to develop a composite measure of education access and education quality by combining household data (DHS) on grade completion and survey data (SACMEQ) on cognitive outcomes. The new measure, termed access-to-literacy and access-to-numeracy is reported for all countries and important sub-groups in Chapter 4. The method is then used in Chapter 5 to compare access-to-learning over a period of increased access to schooling (2000-2007). In all countries there was an improvement in access to literacy and numeracy, challenging the widely held perception that there is always an access-quality trade-off in education. In particular, girls and those in relatively poor households benefited most from this improvement in access to literacy and numeracy. The thesis ultimately concludes that if children are to realize their full potential, the expansion of physical access to schooling in the developing world must be accompanied by meaningful learning opportunities. The acquisition of knowledge, skills and values must be the central aim of educational expansion.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Onderwys het nog altyd ʼn rol in ekonomie as vakgebied gespeel. Dit is verstaanbaar, want vaardighede en onderwys was nog altyd ʼn prominente deel van die teoretiese konstrukte en meer onlangs ook van empiriese toepassings in die dissipline. Terwyl die oorsprong van menslike-kapitaalteorie teruggevoer kan word na Adam Smith se Wealth of Nations, het die twee grootste deurbrake met die verstaan van onderwys se rol in ekonomiese ontwikkeling in die laaste vyftig jaar plaasgevind. Die werk van Mincer (1958), Schultz (1961) en veral Becker (1962), wat in die middel van die vorige eeu formele gestalte aan die begrip ‘menslike kapitaal’ gegee het, was die eerste deurbraak. Die tweede deurbraak was teen die eeuwending toe Hanushek en Kimko (en later Wößmann) maatstawwe van onderwysgehalte in hulle ekonomiese groeimodelle begin insluit het. Hierdie nuwe tak van die navorsing plaas onderwys vierkant in die sentrum en dien as vertrekpunt vir hierdie proefskrif. Die proefskrif begin deur aandag op drie breë kwessies te vestig wat kenmerkend is van onderwys in Suid-Afrika: (1) Die hoë vlakke van ongelykheid volgens ras, taal, geografiese gebied en sosio-ekonomiese status in studente se prestasie. (2) In hoofstuk 2 word ʼn nuwe metode aangebied om leeragterstrande kwantitatief te meet met behulp van norme van leerlingprestasie in skoolvlak-opnames vir grade 3, 4, 5, 6 en 9. Daar word bevind dat die leergaping tussen die armste 60% en die rykste 20% van studente in graad 3 ongeveer drie jaar is en teen graad 9 tot vier of vyf jaar aangroei. (3) Die fokus verskuif daarna na die verwikkelde kwessie van taal en skoolprestasie, wat in hoofstuk 3 bespreek word. Hier is die doel om die ongewone geval uit te buit waar ʼn groot groep Suid-Afrikaanse leerlinge binne die verloop van ʼn maand tweemaal dieselfde toets geskryf het, maar in twee verskillende tale. Met behulp van ʼn vereenvoudigde verskil-tussen-verskille-benadering is dit moontlik om te bepaal hoe groot die kousale effek is waar ʼn leerling wie se moedertaal nie Engels is nie die toets in Engels moes skryf. Die laaste twee hoofstukke van die proefskrif bevat ʼn wyer analise van elf lande in Sub-Sahara Afrika, naamlik Kenia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mosambiek, Namibia, Suid-Afrika, Swaziland, Tanzanië, Uganda, Zambië en Zimbabwe. Die doel is om ʼn saamgestelde maatstaf van onderwys-toegang en -gehalte te skep deur huishoudingsdata (DHS) oor graadvoltooiing en skoolopnamedata (SACMEQ) oor kognitiewe uitkomste te kombineer. Die nuwe maatstaf, genaamd ‘toegang-tot-geletterdheid’ en ‘toegang-tot-syfervaardigheid’, word in hoofstuk 4 vir al die lande en subgroepe opgestel. Die metode word dan in hoofstuk 5 gebruik om toegang-tot-leergeleenthede te vergelyk oor ʼn periode waartydens skooltoegang verbreed het (2000-2007). Daar was ʼn verbetering in toegang tot geletterdheid en syfervaardigheid in alle lande, teenstrydig met die wyd-gehuldigde siening dat daar altyd ʼn afruiling tussen toegang en gehalte van onderwys bestaan. In besonder word bevind dat meisies sowel as kinders uit arm huishoudings die meeste by die toename in toegang tot geletterdheid en syfervaardigheid gebaat het. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die vervulling van die potensiaal van kinders in die ontwikkelende wêreld vereis dat die verbreding van fisiese toegang tot skole met beduidende leergeleenthede gepaard moet gaan. Die aanleer van kennis, vaardighede en waardes moet die sentrale doel van die uitbreiding van onderwysgeleenthede wees.
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Hosking, Stephen Gerald. "An economic analysis of government expenditure allocations to black schooling in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001451.
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In this thesis an assessment is made of the contribution of economic theory to the debate on government expenditure allocations to schooling in developing countries. Publicly provided Black schooling in South Africa is taken as the case study and viewed in the light of historical perspectives, as well as human capital, rent-seeking, welfare, liberal and contractarian theory. From an historical perspective, the willingness of Blacks to enrol at schools under National Party control, despite the poor quality of such schooling and lack of labour market incentives for them to do so, is paradoxical. It leads to the conclusion that under National Party administration the private benefit of Black schooling exceeded the private cost; a situation which is argued to have been influenced by rent-seeking. The propositions that government expenditure on Black schooling is a profitable social investment, and that rent-seeking has influenced the allocations of government expenditure on Black and White education are then investigated. Empirical support is found for both propositions, but it is based on the use of controversial methods and measures. The provision of education by the state can be justified on many economic grounds; the most popular being that this improves welfare by bringing about a better distribution of income or by redressing market failure. However, as there are major problems with this approach, it is concluded that neoclassical welfare theory fails to provide a persuasive justification for current levels of government expenditure on Black schooling. The provision of Black schooling by the state can also be justified in terms of liberal objectives. Classical and reform liberalism and their respective conclusions are examined. Marxist views on the role played by the state in the provision of education are also considered, but not found to be appropriate. Two contractarian assessments of the government's role in the provision of Black schooling are also provided in this thesis. They are based on the works of John Rawls (1971 and 1974) and James Buchanan (1986). The approach taken by James Buchanan is argued to be more appropriate to South African circumstances than Rawls's, and it is in the context of the former that problems with respect to public decisions on education and possible solutions to them are discussed. The conclusion of the thesis is that economic theory offers only a limited explanation for government expenditure allocations to Black education in South Africa
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Kirk, Dylan James. "Select aspects of economic activity related to the Oklahoma 4-H youth development shooting sports project." Thesis, Oklahoma State University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1567348.
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The economic turmoil of the past decade has reinvigorated the debate over the use of public funds to support local Extension efforts. State Extension groups across the country have begun to demonstrate their worth in a variety of ways, including attempting to show both the behavioral and economic outcomes of Extension initiatives. However, showing the value of the 4-H Youth Development Program has proved challenging. The benefits of joining youth programs tend to be latent, not fully manifesting for years or even decades until participants mature into adults. Studies are starting to provide insights into the social, physical and mental rewards of joining youth development organizations such as 4-H, but these behavioral outcomes are disproportionally reported when compared to economic studies. From 2012-2013 families enrolled in Oklahoma's 4-H Youth Development Shooting Sports Project were surveyed about their recreational spending habits. Economic contributions for the state of Oklahoma, and impacts on local economies are estimated using primary data and an IMPLAN model. These economic analyses provide estimates of the economic worth of one youth project overseen by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Subsequently, policy makers are provided justification of the project not only from a social, physical, and mental perspective, but are additionally provided economic indicators of the project's immediate worth.
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McKeown, Jim. "Factors limiting township learners from discovering and developing their talents." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014323.
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Discovering and developing one’s talents significantly increases the likelihood of one leading a meaningful and fulfilling life, realising success in the world, and breaking out of the cycle of poverty. It should be the responsibility of schools to provide opportunities for learners to discover and develop talents that they are passionate about. This passion will then create a self-reinforcing cycle in which learners are more motivated to work hard in school and further develop their talents. Therefore, discovering and developing one’s talents should be seen as both a means to improved education and an end of education itself. This research paper sought to identify the factors limiting township learners from discovering and developing their talents and to make recommendations as to how to mitigate these factors. The researcher used the partnership between the Masinyusane Development Organisation, a local education non-profit organisation, and School A, a secondary school in the township of New Brighton, Port Elizabeth as a case study. Data from the study were carefully analysed and it was concluded that the township learners are not being provided the opportunities necessary, particularly in the schools, to discover and develop their talents. This has resulted in poor academic performance, high drop-out rates, low levels of motivation, confusion with regards to career development, and missed opportunities to break out of the cycle of poverty. The researcher believes this research sheds light on the issue and lays a foundation from which to provide South African township learners with greater opportunities to discover and develop their talents. These opportunities will assist learners in improving their school performance, ensuring that they embark on career paths they will realize success in, and ultimately, in breaking out of the cycle of poverty that traps so many of them.
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Bilale, Fernando Jorge Castanheira. "Educational performance in Mozambique : an economic perspective." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1961.
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Thesis (MComm (Economics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.The aim of this study was to analyse educational performance in Mozambique by 1) comparing the determinants of education in developing countries with the situation in country, 2) understanding the supply factors that influence enrolments and education attainment, 3) evaluating the efficiency of the current education system, 4) analysing the importance to education of each of the demand determinants and of school quality on education attainment, and 5) contributing information to assist policy makers with decisions regarding education. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line and the general adult literacy is only 54%. The education system is mainly characterized by weak performance as a whole, high grade repetition, high dropout rates, low survival rates, high pupil-teacher ratios and a low percentage of qualified teachers. In addition to this, there is a great deal of inequality in education achievement by province, place of residence, income group and gender. After this preliminary analysis, chapter II (literature review) highlighted critical inputs and served as a guideline for the following chapters of this study. The dimensions analysed in the followed chapters were: 1) Supply Factors, 2) Demand determinants and 3) School Quality. Chapter III therefore consisted of a descriptive analysis of the most important supply ...
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Beard, LaShandra M. "Input and tracking of continued education units and qualification data for the Information Professional (IP) community." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1459.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimitedThe objective of this research is to provide recommendations and guidelines for building and maintaining a comprehensive Continuing Education Units (CEU) and qualification tracking system specifically for the Continuing Education Units (CEU) and Qualification program. The guidance includes topics ranging from designing, managing, and implementing a tracking program, through post-implementation of the program. This research includes the training needs of all personnel within the IP community, from users to supervisors to executive-level mangers extending to include designated sponsors/mentors and external subject matter experts. The key research focus of this thesis is to examine the risk and cost benefits in automating the training record for the Information Professional community and further discuss interface design issues and considerations to maximize the flexibility and functionality provided by automation.
Lieutenant, United States Navy Reserve
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Walckiers, Alexis. "Three essays on the economics of science and higher education." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210554.
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This PhD thesis takes a ’micro’ perspective on the production of higher education and research. More precisely, I use tools of industrial organization to study two individual institutions involved in their production process. The second chapter studies universities, the main producers of higher education and research, and the third and fourth chapters analyze scientific journals, which are central in the production and the dissemination of science. Besides being crucial nodes in the production and transmission ofknowledge, these institutions, interestingly, share other common characteristics: they both emerged before the Industrial Revolution, their importance increased over the centuries and they seem unavoidable today, and many actors are private not-for-profit.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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Mills, Jared G. "Social studies and global education: viewing economic, social and political aspects of the civil war through multiple perspectives." The Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407404987.
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Yung, Man-sing, and 容萬城. "Education and the labour market: the implications of higher education expansion in Hong Kong in the1990s." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31955976.
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Goulão, Santos Ricardo Jorge Moreira. "Three essays on the economics of education in post-conflict settings : the case of Timor-Leste." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/58586/.
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This thesis seeks to contribute to the knowledge of the economics of education in post-conflict, by proposing an economic analysis of such a setting as a hybrid socio-economic environment, where conflict, despite having ended, has still an impact. It uses an applied economics approach to analyse demand for primary and secondary education and one of the main economic drivers of their demand, returns to education. The focus of study is the post-conflict country of Timor-Leste. In this analysis it proposes and tests economic mechanisms through which conflict may have impacted the returns to education observed in post-conflict Timor-Leste, finding evidence of two significant channels: reduction of productivity and scarcity of qualified human resources. In support of this analysis, it builds a dataset with a novel indicator of political control during conflict that applies in the empirical analysis of returns to education. In the next chapter it seeks to establish evidence of medium-run impacts of conflict on the demand for primary education in Timor-Leste, proposing and testing an empirical methodology to do so. Finally, it proposes and analyses an empirical model of the demand for secondary education in Timor-Leste that integrates the hypothesis of medium-run impacts of conflict. In the process it finds evidence suggesting that, while some of the channels negatively impacted by conflict significantly affect demand for education, a medium-run positive effect might exist, particularly in the form of higher preferences for secondary education among those that experienced more violence during the conflict. Less robust findings of equally positive medium-run effects of conflict are found in the demand for primary education.
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Philpott, Rodger Frank. "Commercializing the university: The costs and benefits of the entrepreneurial exchange of knowledge and skills." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/186730.
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The emergence of the global economy has forced the Australian government to revise economic strategies and to seek institutional changes. Higher education's new roles in research and human resource development, have been manifested in university commercialization activities. Mindful that Universities are prestige rather than profit maximizers, this study applies Schumpeter's (1942) theoretical model for the survival of a firm under financial stress. The model's responses, extended to education by Leslie and Miller (1973), include new products, new markets, restructuring, increased productivity and new supply factors. University entrepreneurial activities have monetary and non-monetary impacts. The non-monetary costs and benefits of Australian university enterprise were studied by Leslie (1992) and Leslie and Harrold (1993). In this study, academics at Curtin University of Technology (Perth, Western Australia) were selected as entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial subjects and surveyed on the non-monetary costs and benefits of entrepreneurial activities affecting Curtin's teaching, research and public service mission. This data were analyzed and subsequently compared with data obtained by Leslie (1992). Differences in academic perceptions were found among the Curtin respondents by gender, academic status, discipline area, entrepreneurship and non-entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial revenue importance. Using the Leslie data inter-institutional differences were examined and an order of entrepreneurial institutional types proposed, with Curtin University described as a frontier entrepreneurial university. The taxonomy of costs and benefits developed by Leslie (1992) was revised with the addition of personal social costs, stress, networking and professional development. An estimate was made of the dollar value of non-monetary items; non-monetary benefits were three times the dollar value of monetary benefits; non-monetary costs were less than half the monetary cost levels. The ratio of non-monetary costs to benefits was 1:3.5. Academics in the disciplines of engineering and science had more favorable perceptions of entrepreneurial costs and benefits than respondents in business studies. Health science respondents were described as having pessimistic perceptions. Future research may look at the levels of commercial revenue and investigate the effects of the amount of financial success or failure on the entrepreneurial efforts of academics. In university enterprise successes seem to foster success and the favorable perceptions of academics.
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Samuel, Hilary R. (Hilary Ruth). "Educating for sustainable development : a case study of an environmental immersion school." Thesis, McGill University, 1991. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=60475.
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A new environmental immersion school has opened in Canada. This case study examines early stages of the project's implementation in order to contribute to an understanding of how best to implement environmental education in schools.Examination of the literature on educational change led to an analytical framework which included: (1) Characteristics of the innovation; (2) Strategies and tactics used; (3) Contextual characteristics; (4) Macro sociopolitical factors. This was used to categorize qualitative data collected through interviews, observation, a questionnaire and documents.
The study uncovered a number of obstacles to implementation in the school, principally: (1) Conceptual problems about environmental education; (2) Poorly defined school philosophy and goals; (3) Difficulties in coordinating the project between individual efforts and departments; (4) A hiatus between administration and teacher perceptions.
The case study provided insight on the process of curriculum implementation as well as specific issues relating to environmental education and the theme of sustainable development.
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Njongi-Ndleleni, Nomthandazo. "An analysis of challenges facing basic education in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4598.
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The study seeks to analyse challenges facing Basic Education in South Africa. There is a major emphasis on the education of the South African people to become responsible, participatory and reflective citizens that contribute to an emerging democracy. However, the government of SA is faced with many challenges that hinder the South African people from becoming an educated nation. This is based on the assumption that education plays a major role in improving the economic status of the nation. The education in South Africa is categorized into sectors, primary, secondary and tertiary which are interlinked through a fine thread that determines the success of individuals. It has been established that a number of factors or problems hinder learners from receiving a good standard of education. These include: parents’ lack of participation in their children’s education and the weak functioning of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) especially in the area of finance and general administration of the school, poor infrastructure and shortage or non-delivery of textbooks. Good leadership in schools is also needed to make sure that teachers attend to their classes diligently and learners take the importance of education seriously. Government needs to ensure that teachers are trained accordingly and schools have adequate basic resources. The qualitative research method was used and no interviews and survey were made during this study. This research will discuss these factors that have been identified as causing the drop in the standard of education in South Africa. The research concludes with an attempt to make some recommendations to improve this situation.
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Bachan, Raymond. "Three essays on the economics of higher education." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/54253/.
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This thesis is comprised of three essays that examine three contemporary themes in UK higher education that have emerged, particularly over the past two decades, within an expanding higher education sector. The first essay focuses on the issue of Vice Chancellor (VC) pay, which has risen considerably in real terms since the early 1990s. Vice Chancellors are among the highest paid public sector CEOs and the level and annual increase in pay generates an annual furore in the popular media and from teaching and lecturers' unions. Specifically, we investigate whether VC pay awards are justified, given that VCs now require greater managerial skills than in the past due to the complexity and the size of the institutions they now manage. We find that VC pay is related to success in furthering university expansion and is associated with success in widening participation in accordance with current government policy, which suggests that there may be scope in introducing some performance element in VC pay determination. There is also evidence that internal pay structure and external comparable pay are important in determining VC pay. The second essay is set against the backdrop of rising student debt and examines student debt expectation. We offer a novel contribution to the limited literature that exists on this issue. We find that expected debt is related to student demographic and socio-economic characteristics, future earnings expectations, student time preference and risk taking behaviour. Moreover, the evidence suggests that the current system of student financial support has little effect on debt expectations and may compromise HE participation particularly amongst students in the lower socio-economic groups. The final essay investigates the upward drift in the percentage share of ‘good' degree classifications in UK higher education, which increased considerably since the mid- 2000s and coincides with a rise in the maximum limit universities are allowed to charge potential students for tuition. We find evidence of grade inflation in UK higher education since the mid-2000s which coincides with the sharp increase in fees students were obliged to pay. Thus, degree classifications may lose their worth as signals of graduate ability and the current system of degree classification may need some revision if correct signals of graduate ability and effort are to be sent to interested parties.
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Gustafsson, Martin Anders. "Education and country growth models." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86578.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The over-arching concern of the three parts of the dissertation is how economics can and should influence education policymaking, the emphasis on the economics side being models of country development and the contribution made by human capital. Part I begins with a review of economic growth theory. How educational performance and country development have been measured is then discussed, with considerable attention going towards conceptual and measurement complexities associated with the latter. An approach is presented for expanding the number of countries whose educational quality can be compared, by expanding the number of linkable testing programmes. This approach, which above all allows for the inclusion of more African and Latin American countries, is one of the key contributions made by the dissertation to the existing body of knowledge. Three existing empirical growth models are examined, including work by Hanushek and Woessman on the relationship between educational quality and income. Part I ends with a discussion on how the economics literature can best be packaged to influence education policymaking. A ‘growth simulator’ tool in Excel for informing the policy discourse is presented. The production of this tool includes establishing empirically a feasible improvement trajectory for educational quality that policymakers can use and some analysis of how linguistic fractionalisation in a country evolves over time. This tool can be considered a further key output of the dissertation. A basic model for relating educational quality, via income growth, to teacher pay, is presented. Part II offers an analysis of UNESCO country-level data on enrolment and spending going back to 1970, with a view to establishing historical patterns that can inform education planners, particularly those in developing countries, on how budgets and enrolment expansion should be distributed across the levels of the education system. The analysis presented in Part II represents a novel way of using existing countrylevel data and can be seen as an important step towards filling a gap experienced by education policymakers, namely the paucity of empirical evidence that can guide decisions around the prioritisation of education levels. Part II moreover arrives at a few empirical findings, including the finding that enrolment and spending patterns have been systematically different in countries with faster economic growth and the finding that historical per student spending at the secondary level appears to play a larger role in development than was previously thought. Part III contrasts the available economic advice for education policymakers with what policymakers actually appear to believe in. The focus falls, in particular, on four developing countries: South Africa, Brazil, Chile and China. A few areas where economists could explore the data to a greater degree or communicate available findings differently, in the interests of better education policies, are identified. Part III partly serves as a demonstration of how comparisons between education systems can be better oriented towards providing advice to education policymakers on questions relating to efficiency and equity.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oorkoepelende fokus van die drie gedeeltes van die verhandeling is hoe die studie van ekonomie beleid in die onderwyssektor kan en moet beïnvloed. Veral belangrik is modelle van die ekonomiese groei van lande en die rol van menslike kapitaal in hierdie modelle. Die eerste gedeelte van die verhandeling bied oorsig van die teorie rakende ekonomiese groei. Hoe onderwysprestasie en nasionale ontwikkeling gemeet word, word dan bespreek, met sterk fokus op die konseptuele en tegniese kompleksiteit van laasgenoemde. Metode word aangebied waardeur meer lande se onderwysgehalte vergelyk kan word, deur middel van die koppeling van data van groter aantal toetsprogramme. Hierdie metode, wat veral die insluiting van meer lande uit Afrika en Latyn-Amerika toelaat, is een van die kernbydraes van die verhandeling tot die bestaande korpus van kennis. Drie bestaande empiriese modelle van ekonomiese groei word geanaliseer, insluitende die werk van Hanushek en Woessman oor die verhouding tussen onderwysgehalte en inkomste. Die eerste gedeelte sluit af met bespreking oor hoe die ekonomiese literatuur optimaal aangebied kan word om beleidmaking in die onderwys te beïnvloed. Groei-simulasie hulpmiddel in Excel wat die beleidsdiskoers kan vergemaklik word aangebied en verduidelik. Die ontwikkeling van hierdie gereedskap maak dit moontlik om op empiriese basis moontlike trajek vir die verbetering van onderwysgehalte te bepaal, wat vir beleidsmakers nuttig kan wees, sowel as ontleding van hoe linguïstiese verbrokkeling in land histories kan ontwikkel. Hierdie gereedskap kan as verdere sleutelproduk van die verhandeling beskou work. Basiese model van hoe onderwysgehalte en die inkomste van onderwysers deur middel van ekonomiese groei gekoppel is, word ook aangebied. Die tweede gedeelte van die verhandeling bied ontleding van UNESCO se nasionale statistieke van lande oor skoolinskrywings en onderwysuitgawes vanaf 1970, met die oog op die identifikasie van belangrike historiese tendense vir onderwysbeplanners, veral in ontwikkelende lande. Die fokus hier is veral op hoe begrotings en inskrywings ideaal oor die verskillende vlakke van die onderwysstelsel versprei behoort te wees. Die ontleding in die tweede gedeelte verteenwoordig innoverende manier om die bestaande nasionale statistieke te gebruik en kan beskou word as belangrike stap om gaping te vul wat deur beleidsmakers in die onderwys ondervind word, naamlik die gebrek aan empiriese gegewens vir besluite oor prioritisering tussen onderwysvlakke. Die tweede gedeelte bied ook verskeie empiriese bevindinge, soos dat die tendense rakende inskrywings en besteding per student sistematies tussen lande met vinniger ekonomiese groei en ander lande verskil, asook dat historiese besteding per student op die sekondêre vlak blykbaar groter invloed op ontwikkeling het as wat vroeër gedink is. Die derde gedeelte van die verhandeling vergelyk die advies wat die ekonomiese literatuur aan beleidmakers in die onderwys bied met wat beleidmakers self blykbaar glo. Die fokus val op veral vier ontwikkelende lande: Suid-Afrika, Brasilië, Chili en China. Gebiede word bespreek waar ekonome in die belang van beter onderwysbeleid tot groter mate data kan analiseer of bevindings op beter maniere kan kommunikeer. Die derde gedeelte kan beskou word as demonstrasie van hoe vergelykings tussen verskeie onderwysstelsels beter georiënteer kan word om vir die beleidmaker in die onderwys advies te verskaf rakende kwessies van doeltreffendheid en gelykheid.
37
Gisanabagabo, Sebuhuzu. "Investment in secondary and tertiary education for economic growth: lessons for Rwanda from selected less developed countries." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_6591_1190370240.
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This research explored two interrelated issues in development economics. FIrstly, it investigated the importance of secondary and tertiary education for long-run growth of low-income economics. Secondly, it examined possible ways to invest in these higher levels of education. It draws on insights on these two issues to highlight lessons for Rwanda where policy makers have set out plans to build a knowledge economy in which science and technology would form the basis of the modern enterprise.
38
Nkohla, Tumi Vuyolwethu. "The impact of education on economic growth in South Africa : econometric analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97173.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.This paper investigates the impact of education on economic growth in South Africa using annual panel data from 1990 to 2011, controlling for regional differences. Education is believed to be an important factor in developing an economy. The theoretical basis of education on economic growth comes from the endogenous growth theory. The endogenous growth theorists believed that investing in education is linked to an increase in efficiency and productivity of labour. It can be argued that by boosting cognitive and other skills, education makes labour more productive and accelerates innovation and technological progress, bringing higher economic growth. The nature of the data allowed for panel estimation techniques to be employed and the fixed effects and random effects models were considered in a Generalised Least Squares estimation framework, with the final estimation model informed objectively by the Hausman test. Education was found to be positively related to GDP, with variations across provinces observed. The results have implications for both policy and further research, which are outlined in the final chapter.
39
Cheng, Yi'En. "Restructuring of education, youth, and citizenship : an ethnographic study of private higher education in contemporary Singapore." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d7ee615b-6d54-4ce5-a518-0f47d69e3c5a.
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In spite of widespread critiques about the neoliberalisation of higher education and its production of citizenship in relation to the market, transformation of students into profit-maximising individuals, and the vitalisation of a self-enterprising subjectivity, many of these claims remain under-examined with respect to cultural production. The objective of this research is to explore the neoliberal production of middle-class citizenship through the lens of educated non-elite local youth in Singapore. By combining geographical, sociological and anthropological insights about education and youth, I develop a theoretically informed ethnographic case study to examine how this segment of young people reproduce themselves as middle-class citizens. The research is based on eleven months of fieldwork at a local private institute of higher education, where I hanged around, talked to, and observed Singaporean young people between ages 18 and 25 studying for their first degree. The ethnographic materials are written up into four substantive papers, demonstrating the ways in which educated non-elite Singaporean youth in private higher education engage with state disseminated ideas around neoliberal accumulation and human capital formation. I argue that these students draw on class-based sensibilities and feelings to produce vibrant forms of normativities, subjectivities, and politics that pose a challenge to dominant assumptions of a "hollowed out" citizenship under neoliberalism. The research makes two overall interventions in geographic and social scientific writings about neoliberal restructuring of higher education and its implications for youth citizenship. First, it cautions against a straightforward claim that neoliberal technologies of control have extended market values into citizenship subjectivity and, with it, the erosion of progressive political projects. Second, it provides a much-needed analysis of middle-class citizenship formation among young people caught at the losing end of a diversifying educational landscape.
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Payne, Kenneth L. "Financing instructional materials in Indiana public school corporations." Virtual Press, 1987. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/505144.
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The purpose of the study was to analyze current procedures utilized for financing textbooks and related instructional materials by Indiana public school corporations and public school corporations in selected states. Respective practices were examined in order to determine feasible methods/alternatives for Indiana school corporations to use in overcoming the contemporary financial and administrative dilemma which existed in the 1985-86 school year.A descriptive questionnaire was developed from a review of literature and with the assistance of colleagues. Data obtained by the instrument were analyzed using frequency tabulations and percentages. Based on information gained from the study and data collected in superintendents in Indiana, solutions to financing instructional materials for Indiana school corporations were determined.Data collected supported the following conclusions: 1. Public school corporations in Indiana charge fees for textbooks and related instructional materials and are experiencing difficulties in collecting textbook rental and related fees from parents or guardians of school children.2. The use of small claims court for recovering fees is not an effective method for most public school corporations in Indiana.3. Township trustees and/or county councils should pay for textbooks and instructional materials of students whose parents or guardians are declared by the courts to be indigent.4. The current formula for determining textbook rental rates is satisfactory.5. Legislation should be adopted to permit public school corporations to increase revenue in order to finance textbooks and related instructional materials.6. To be in concert with other states in the United States and more specifically within the Great Lakes Region, public school students should be supplied textbooks and related instructional materials without charge.7. The location and size of school corporations have implications to problems existing in public school corporations when administering textbook rental programs.8. Lack of additional finance has restricted public school corporations in implementing new programs to be funded by the general fund budget.9. Based on the average rankings of ten regions, public school corporations in Regions I, II, and VI encountered the greatest difficulty in financing textbooks and related instructional materials. Public school corporations have the least problems in supplying textbooks to school students.10. Based on the average rankings of six enrollment groups, public school corporations in the smallest three groups had the greatest success in financing textbooks and related instructional materials for students.11. Additional costs for school corporations are incurred when interest is paid to publishers for overdue accounts or for installment payment programs.12. School corporations with deficit balances or significantly decreasing balances in textbook rental accounts are in. need of assistance in collecting outstanding fees from constituents and/or means of generating sufficient revenue to account for required textbooks and related instructional materials for students.
41
Ji, Weiwei, and 計巍巍. "Academic capitalization : a case study of two universities in Guangzhou, China." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/209474.
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This dissertation inquires into policy adoption and adaptation in the context of Chinese higher education development. Three primary research interests inform the dissertation – how global patterns have been adopted into national higher education (HE) policy, how HE institutions organize their governance structures in a globalized context, and whether individual academics can influence the adoption and adaptation of global HE patterns.
Due to its open-ended and exploratory nature, the study employs a qualitative research design. Embedded cases and grounded theory are used to generate theories. Four faculties at two public universities in Guangzhou (one research university and one teaching university) are employed to answer specific research questions. Theoretical sampling was employed in choosing the research sites, according to maximizing and minimizing strategies. Semi-structured interviews, document analysis, content analysis and textual analysis were all used to explore all aspects of organizational governance in the case universities.
The national level of policy transfer in Chinese HE provides room for agents to exert their capacity on initial policy contents. Policy transfer mainly focuses on policy goals, while specific policy contents and implementation tools are always decided by grassroots HE institutions on a case-by-case basis. At the organizational level, the researcher found dissipative structure in the process of academic capitalization, explaining the changing equilibrium of the transformation of HE governance in the case HE organizations. At the individual level, though academics believe they have little opportunity to participate in formal decision-making processes, they constantly influence the rules and policies of their organizations, exercising their agency to change the direction of policy through phyletic gradualism.
This study contributes to the existing literature in four ways. First, by employing dissipative structure, it sheds light on internal and external resource exchanges in HE organizations, thus widening the power of resource dependence theory to explain dynamic change. Second, this study provides a research illumination beyond the methodological confines of separating the individual from the organizational level of research when discuss changes to HE governance. Third, it reveals the features of policy adoption at the national level by systematically tracing policy adoption trajectories in different aspects of HE governance in China. Finally, this study unfolds the capacity of agents in HE organizations and shows that agents in a HE organization can transform or reproduce the initial structural policy and institutional context in which they work and live.published_or_final_version
Social Work and Social Administration
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Jitsuchon, Somchai. "Three applications of market incompleteness and market imperfection." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0026/NQ38906.pdf.
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Chipps, Kenneth M. "For-profit higher education programs in the United States." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2007. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3691/.
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This study examined the extent of research and teaching on higher education programs in the United States that focuses on for-profit higher education. This descriptive study used a 30-item questionnaire to gather the information reported here. This survey instrument was sent to the entire population of interest. This population was made up of all of the programs in higher education that are listed in the ASHE Higher Education Program Directory, which is produced by the Association for the Study of Higher Education. The results of this research show that little research and teaching is being done that has a primary focus on for-profit higher education. Recommendations on how to address this are provided.
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Husamoglu, Muserref. "Effect Of Different Levels Of Education On Economic Development In Turkey: A Panel Analysis." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12610316/index.pdf.
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In this study, I aimed to examine the impact of different levels of education on real GDP (and real GDP per workforce) in Turkey, and hence the relationship between different levels of education and the standard of living is estimated by panel data techniques. The panel data set in the study is constructed by pooling 67 provinces of Turkey over the period of 1975-2000. Furthermore, in the empirical work, two models are employed: the model introduced by Knowles (1997) and the augmented Solow model with different levels of education. The panel data estimation of the Knowles&rsquos model implies that the secondary level of schooling has the greatest contribution to real GDP, while the augmented Solow model implies that the higher level of schooling has the largest impact on real GDP per workforce.
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Bareke, Misganu Legesse. "Managing university-industry linkage in government universities of Ethiopia : challenges and opportunities." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/24829.
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This study set-out to examine how university-industry linkage (UIL) is managed in government universities of Ethiopia to contribute to the economic development of the country. Basic questions related to the level of management of UIL, areas of linkage, benefits obtained so far from this partnership, challenges to the proper management of UIL, and the existing opportunities for promoting UIL were raised. In addition to this, strategies for strengthening UIL were also dealt with.
In relation to this, the study was framed with the system theory viewpoints and human capital theory viewing universities as a system linked to its external environment like industries. As a model, interactive/balanced type of Triple Helix model was used as it integrates the activities of the government, universities and the industries. Moreover, this study reviewed global perspectives on UIL and an overview of the study context with greater emphasis on higher education reforms and proclamations.
Philosophically, this study followed pragmatism research paradigm using mixed research approach. It also employed concurrent/parallel/convergent design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously, interpreted separately and combined at the time of discussion for better understanding of the problem. Equal importance for both data sets was given. Data were gathered from 99 college deans and department heads, 200 instructors and 316 prospective graduates. In addition to this, 23 interviewees from UILOs, industries, MoE, and MoST took part in this study. Moreover, two focus group discussions were also conducted with the university alumni and data were gathered through survey questionnaires, semi-structured interview, FGD question guides and document reviews.
The study result indicated that both quantitative and qualitative data support one another. It was found out that UIL was at its infant stage of development in government universities of Ethiopia with limited areas, dominated by students’ internship. Ethiopian government universities have a link with the industries in areas of some limited joint research projects, consultancies and capacity building. Consequently, universities benefitted by attaching their students with the industries and students got practical exposure to the real world of work. Industries also benefitted from the training provided to them, consultancies and joint research projects.
On the other hand, UIL in government universities of Ethiopia was challenged by institutional bottlenecks, policy-practice gaps, contextual variation and information gaps, finance and awareness related caveats, work overload, and facility related hurdles. Moreover, lack of trust and commitment between U & I, lack of commitment and support from the leadership of both universities and industries, and the reluctance of the local industries to work with the universities remained a big rift to UIL.
This study also sheds light on the expansion of universities and industries in different parts of the country as the opportunities to be tapped to promote UIL. Further, the attention of the government by designing different policies, strategies, directives and conferences was taken as the opportunity. As a major contribution, this study came up with the model that was designed to improve the practice of management of UIL in government universities of Ethiopia. To overcome the above challenges and to make use of existing opportunities, it was recommended that improving leadership and management related challenges through joint planning, organising, staffing and decision-making. Moreover, it was highly laudable to make a paradigm shift in the roles of universities from teaching dominated to research and innovation universities. Finally, bridging policy-practice gaps, increase networking, arranging various sensitising and advertising programmes and creating a further avenue for more research were commented.Educational Leadership and Management
D. Ed. (Education Management)
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Hamza, Endris Hussien. "The socio-economic situation of orphans and vulnerable children in Dessie Town, Ethiopia." Diss., 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/6564.
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This study was a situation analysis of the socio-economic conditions of orphans and vulnerable children in Dessie Town. Specifically the study assessed the educational attainment, economic status, social isolation, adjustment, discrimination and psycho-social status of OVCs, the characteristics of the care-givers of OVCs and the support systems for OVCs. Therefore, 270 OVCs, 130 guardians and 4 OVCs service-providing organisations were selected as respondents. A survey research design was used. The study found that OVCs and their households faced problems such as school dropout, low educational performance; economic and food insecurity, lack of adequate clothing; social isolation and emotional hardships due to separation of siblings; discrimination, and neglect. Children’s housing conditions, toilet facilities, and access to clean water and health facilities were poor. The majority of guardians were unemployed and unable to fulfil the needs of the OVCs in their care. It is recommended that support systems for OVCs be strengthened.Sociology
M.A. (Sociology)
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Alene, Arega Demelash. "Improved production technology and efficiency of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia : Extended parametric and non-parametric approaches to production effeciency analysis." Thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28652.
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Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this documentThesis (PhD (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
unrestricted
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Dessie, Ayalew Kibret. "The role of coffee-based agriculture in the socio-economic development of Borecha District, Ethiopia." Diss., 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/26753.
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This study was carried out to examine the significance of Coffee-based agriculture in the socio-economic development of rural livelihoods in Ethiopia, with particular emphasis on households in the Borecha District of the Illubabor Zone, Oromia Regional State.
In this dissertation, three randomly selected study kebeles2 were considered. The primary data were collected using household questionnaires, observation and key informant interviews. The secondary data were acquired from a review of the diverse and extensive literature contained in journals, textbooks and published and unpublished documents.
The target population encompasses 1,600 coffee-growing households in the Borecha District, although the sample included only 120 coffee-growing farmers. Sample selection was performed using a stratified sampling technique to select three kebeles. The data analysis was both qualitative and quantitative, which involved descriptive statistics and general linear model (UNIANOVA, MANOVA). The data are presented as tables, bar charts, and line graphs accompanied by correlations and multiple comparisons that help to interpret the findings and to generate conclusions that support solutions to the identified problems.
The findings show that coffee growing has increased the income generated from direct sales and associated employment opportunities. The social contributions realised include that over the past two years, households trend in spending on education increased. Moreover, sampled households access to health facilities changed after they started growing coffee.Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)
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Bartlett, Christopher Laurence 1978. "Essays on the links between education, ability, and income." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/13167.
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Bartlett, Christopher Laurence. "Essays on the links between education, ability, and income." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/2993.
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