Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Malaria – Economic aspects'

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2009.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Companies are confronted with a global market that is becoming increasingly saturated. With free trade agreements allowing more competition into the traditionally lucrative Western markets and economic recessions impacting the spend-ability of these markets, there is mounting pressure to consider other market opportunities. Statistics reveal that the traditional bottom of the economic pyramid actually contains a potentially very profitable market, with a purchasing power parity of $12.5 trillion. To address this market, prospective companies will have to rethink conventional business strategies, moulded to the specific target market requirements. The gradual shift in focus to the bottom of the economic pyramid, also serves to emphasise the need of sustainable development of impoverished communities. By raising communities out of poverty, they are liberated to partake in trade, respond to opportunities and experience growth in self esteem. Whilst aid organisations play an important role in establishing this freedom, rethinking business processes could result in more sustainable impact on communities. This feeds into the concept of creating a sustainability vision, where the corporate vision should readdress not only the product but also the markets they seIVe. It should direct the company toward the solution of social and environmental problems and meet the unmet needs at the bottom of the economic pyramid. In the context of Africa's geographical, political or social milieu, it is evident that the continent offers unique challenges for engaging in trade. There are various attempts to address these, but Africa is still deemed one of the most difficult environments in which to establish operations. Africa also offers unique opportunities though, for those companies willing to rethink the conventional. Two companies saw the opportunity in malaria, a disease associated with impoverished communities. Africa has the perfect breeding ground for the P. fa/ciparum strain of malaria, which is incidentally also the most lethal. The strain has developed resistance against current medication, which makes it extremely difficult to cure and control. It is estimated that malaria costs African governments up to $12 billion per year and results annually in a penalty of 1.3% less economic growth per person than could be expected in the absence of malaria. The two companies, on different ends of the supply chain, have been reviewed in the light of the defined sustainability vision principles and the context of their strategic operations. Though not without critique, and admittedly still in the early phases of some of their processes, they have demonstrated that the concept of a sustainability vision in the African context is viable and that it is feasible to create wealth whilst serving the poor.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Maatskappye word voortdurend gekonfronteer met markte wat neig om versadig te word as gevolg van vryhandelsooreenkomste wat kompetisie stimuleer en ekonomiese resessies wat vrye kontantvloei - en gevolglik koopgewoontes - be·invloed. Daar is dus groeiende druk om voorheen ongekarteerde markte te ondersoek. Kontra verwagting toon nuwe statistieke dat die tradisionele basis van die ekonomiese piramide 'n potensieel baie winsgewende mark inhou, met koopkrag van $12,5 triljoen. Om hierdie mark te betree, word van maatskappye verlang om konvensionele besigheidstrategiee in heroorweging te neem en dit te vorm na gelang van die spesifieke konteks van hul teikenmark. Die stelselmatige skuif in fokus na die basis van die ekonomiese piramide het die noodwendige gevolg om die belang van ontwikkeling in agtergeblewe gemeenskappe te benadruk. Deur gemeenskappe te verlos uit die juk van armoede, word self-waarde gestimuleer en hulle die geleenlheid gegun om deel te neem aan aktiewe handel, wat ekonomiese groei tot gevolg he!. Welwillendheids-organisasies speel 'n belangrike rol in die opsig, maar besighede het die potensiaal om 'n meer blywende ekonomiese impak te maak. In die lig hiervan, word die konsep van 'n volhoubare visie benadruk, waar dit gestel word dat 'n maatskappy se visie beide die produk en die teikenmark in herwoorweging moet neem. Dit moet die organisasie lei om sosiale- en omgewingsprobleme aan te spreek en voorheen onvoorsiene behoeftes op die basis van die ekonomiese piramide te bevredig. Teen die agtergrond van Afrika se geografiese, politieke en sosiale milieu, is dit duidelik dat die kontinent unieke uitdagings bied vir voornemende handel. Verskeie pogings word aangewend om dit die hoof te bied, maar Afrika word steeds gesien as een van die moeilikste kontekste om besigheid in te doen. Afrika offer wel ook unieke geleenthede vir maatskappye wat bereid is om hul konvensionele banderings in herwoorweging te neem. Twee maatskappye het die geleentheid raakgesien in malaria, 'n siekte wat normaalweg met agtergeblewe gemeenskappe geassosieer word. Afrika bied die perfekte teelaarde vir die P.falciparum variant van malaria, wat toevallig ook die mees dodelike variant is. Die malaria variant het weerstand opgebou teen tradisionele voorskrif-medikasie. met die gevolg dat dit besonder moeilik is om te voorkom en te beheer. Gesaghebbende bronne skat dat malaria Afrika-regerings tot $12 miljard per jaar kan kos, en jaarliks lei tot 1,3% minder ekonomiese groei as wat verwag sou word in die afwesigheid daarvan. Twee maatskappye is geevalueer in die lig van die ge'identifiseerde volhoubare visie beginsels en die konteks van hul operasionele bedrywighede. Hoewel hulle benadering nie sonder kritiek is nie, en sommige strategiee nog die toets van tyd moet deurstaan, stel hulle goeie voorbeelde van die potensiaal om rykdom te skep, terwyl die gemeenskap in nood ook gedien word. Dit benadruk die potensiaal vir 'n volhoubare visie, ook in die Afrika konteks.

Le paludisme grave de l’enfant est une maladie potentiellement mortelle dans de nombreuses zones tropicales et subtropicales. Sa prise en charge nécessite des moyens coûteux et pèse lourdement sur l’économie des ménages. En République Démocratique du Congo, les ménages sont obligés de débourser directement les frais de prise en charge, faute de la quasi-inexistence de la sécurité sociale. En dépit de la conférence d’Abidjan 2001, demandant aux chefs d’Etats africains de consacrer 15% des budgets nationaux à la santé, le budget alloué à la santé en RDC reste faible. La charge financière s’est transférée graduellement sur les ménages qui sont paupérisés à l’extrême. La subvention de l’Etat seule ne suffit plus à subvenir aux besoins de la population.

Objectifs et hypothèses.

Les hypothèses suivantes ont été posées:

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Doctorat en Sciences de la santé publique
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Social protection measures are poverty reduction interventions implemented to assist in reducing poverty shocks of communities. This study considered the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) that has been implemented in Malawi with the aim of reducing poverty amongst subsistence farmers by providing them with subsidized farm inputs. The study was conducted in the rural area of Lilongwe District, under Traditional Authority Kabudula. The study mainly focussed on the outcomes of implementing the FISP and it entails whether or not the poverty reduction intervention is really achieving its goals. Thus, the study greatly evaluates the effectiveness of subsidizing farm inputs in reducing poverty amongst households in rural communities characterised by subsistence farming. This study was mainly qualitative in nature and data was collected through interviews and Focus Group Discussions. Some quantitative data for specific trends of national indicators was collected through document. Mainly, content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data and descriptive statistical analysis with the aid of Microsoft Excel was engaged to analyse the quantitative data. The study found that that FISP assist in household food security only in the short term. Among the reasons cited, the package size received by households has become smaller with sharing tendencies that have been devised to help households that do not receive the inputs or qualify to receive them. This practice is compromising the agricultural productivity in terms of quantities as it lasts only in the short-term before the next harvest. When households’ food reserves are depleted, households become food insecure and poverty sets in again. The study thus reveals that FISP implementation is not operating as a sustainable programme as its intended goal is not being achieved in the long-term. The study also found that coupled with the fact that there is no clear policy guidelines on graduation and that there is continued benefitting of the same beneficiaries, FISP is nowhere close to its phasing-out stage in social protection perspective.

L’objectif sous-jacent aux trois chapitres qui composent cette thèse, est une meilleure compréhension de l’incidence des politiques publiques dont les impacts diffèrent entre secteurs hétérogènes. Nous déclinons cette analyse à trois types de politiques publiques au cœur de la macro-économie contemporaine : (i) une politique environnementale (ii) une politique d’aide au développement et (iii) une politique de déficits jumeaux. A travers ces trois chapitres, nous soutenons que les impacts sectoriels des politiques jouent un rôle crucial dans l’évaluation des politiques et dans la détermination de la politique optimale. Le premier chapitre se concentre sur la taxe sur la pollution. Il fournit un modèle théorique qui explique pourquoi il existe une relation négative entre le revenu des ménages et leur soutien pour la taxe sur la pollution. Dans le deuxième chapitre, j’étudie les impacts macroéconomiques d’une politique d’aide au développement et je considère deux secteurs: secteur des biens échangeables (T-secteur) et le secteur des biens non-échangeables (N-secteur). Je considère deux types d’aide étrangère: (i) une aide distribuée par des transferts forfaitaires aux ménages et (ii) une aide destinée à financer les investissements publics. J'étudie l'impact de la libéralisation du marché des capitaux sur la forme optimale et la performance de l'aide au développement. Le troisième chapitre est centré sur les déficits jumeaux : un déficit de la balance courante induit par un déficit de l'équilibre budgétaire. L'analyse économétrique du papier montre que les pays ayant adopté une négociation salariée centralisée présentent des déficits jumeaux plus faibles que les autres. Ce chapitre fournit aussi un modèle théorique pour expliquer ces résultats empiriques
In this dissertation, I study the implications of policies with heterogeneous sectoral impacts in three separate research fields of macroeconomics: (i) environmental policy, (ii) foreign aid and (iii) the political economy of the twin deficits. Through the three chapters of this thesis, it is argued that, in all these three contexts, the sectoral impacts of policies play important roles in the policy evaluation and in the determination of optimal policy. In the first chapter, the policy of concern is the pollution tax. The paper provides a theoretical model to explain why in top income percentiles, there can be a negative relationship between household's income and their support for pollution tax. In the second chapter, I study the macroeconomic impacts of foreign aid and I consider two sectors: tradable sector (T-sector) and non-tradable sector (N-sector). I consider two forms of foreign aid: (i) aid which is transferred to the households and (ii) aid which is used to finance public investment. I investigate the impact of the liberalization of capital market on the optimal form and on the performance of foreign aid. In the third chapter, I consider the same sectors as in the second chapter : T-sector and N-sector. The focus of this chapter is rather on the political economy of the twin deficits: a deficit in current account induced by a deficit in fiscal balance. Econometric analysis of the paper finds evidence that wage centralization, in a cross-section of industrialized economies, is significantly associated with lower deficits in current account and budget balance. The paper provides a political economy framework to explain this empirical finding

This study examines practices used by the Malaysian elites in their efforts to solve problems related to ethnic and cultural divisions in the country. The study traces the history of political development of Malaysia, from the very first attempt at inter-ethnic co-operation --- the meetings of the 1949-1950 Communities Liaison Committee --- to the most recent one --- the deliberations of the 1989-1991 National Economic Consultative Council. The focus of the research is on political and economic issues involved. Theories which are relevant to the study of ethnicity and political stability such as 'pluralism', consociationalism and conflict-regulation theory are reviewed in this study. In addition, alternative explanations of contemporary Malaysian politics such as those provided by critical social theory, political economy/development and radical political economy approaches are also included. Empirically, the research is based on personal interviews in Malaysia in 1993, materials on the National Economic Consultative Council, letters, parliamentary debates, government and party literature, newspapers, periodicals, election manifestos, articles and books related to the subject. This study shows that the ideal concepts of consociationalism cannot fully apply to contemporary Malaysia. Because of the dominant role of UMNO in the Barisan Nasional, the system has developed into 'asymmetric accommodation'. However, there is still an adherence to the principle of multi-ethnic coalition, a genuine power-sharing and the presence of accommodative attitudes and motives among the elites which the consociational model highlights.

Bibliography: leaves 94-99.
Since 1994, there has been a lot of attention drawn on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as the most important international instrument ever negotiated in this area. TRIPS establishes minimum universal standards in all areas of intellectual property and the intention is to implement these standards globally through a strong enforcement mechanism established in WTO. These standards affect pharmaceuticals, which many countries had previously excluded from patent protection in order to produce drugs at reduced prices and hence contribute to the improvement of public health. But now any Member State must comply with these minimum standards since failure to do so will result to the WTO dispute settlement system. No extensive review of the practical implications of the TRIPS Agreement has taken place at the global and national levels. The main objective of this paper is to examine the likely impact of this agreement on anti-malarial drugs in Mozambique. Given the persistence of the malaria epidemic in the country and the resistance to the drugs being utilized for this disease there is an acknowledged need for a new drug to eradicate the problem. The problem is that this new drug is likely to be under patent and this country has relied on generic drugs for all its existence and being a Member of the WTO Agreement they now have to wait until patents on the required drugs have expired or be submissive to the more expensive original brand. To accomplish this objective and to ascertain the end result of the above situation, past experiences were a major tool. By reviewing experiences of less developed countries in relation to patent protection and pharmaceuticals, some conclusions were made possible. In order to narrow down the conclusions drawn from these country experiences, a study was done in the Mozambican public sector by reviewing and analyzing the existing laws and regulations pertaining to pharmaceuticals and patent protection. This was done through questionnaires and interviews of the main stakeholders in this area. With this information the researcher was able to describe where Mozambique stands in relation to patents and how this might affect the pharmaceutical industry as a Member of the WTO agreement in the long run. This study therefore, relies heavily on secondary data.

Malawi has a narrow export base comprised mainly of tobacco, tea and sugar as the main sources of foreign currency. Cut flowers were identified as one of the export products that could help wean the country's economy off its high dependency on tobacco leaf exports. The decreasing price of tobacco at the auction floors coupled with new anti smoking legislations worldwide has made alternative crops exports critical. The main objective of this research was to ascertain the state of the Malawian cut flower industry by
examining the developmental trajectory followed by the Malawian export cut flower industry over the last ten years
identifying the various factors inhibiting the growth of the Malawian export cut flower industry
recommending appropriate interventions and strategy to support vigorous growth of the sector in future.

Rural communities in Malawi are experiencing adverse climatic hazards which are attributed to climate variability and change. The frequent events being experienced include floods, dry spells and seasonal droughts. Rural livelihoods are severely affected because of their sensitivity to these phenomena. The research has analyzed community-based coping and adaptation strategies for sustainable livelihoods among the rural poor in Kaunda village, T/A Simlemba in Kasungu district, Malawi. The research data was collected from groups of male and female participants which also included a group of traditional leaders living in the area. The study used Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods such as Focus Group Discussions using the associated tools of resource mapping, transect walks, timelines and livelihood ranking to collect the data. The research findings have revealed that the major climate events experienced in Kaunda village are seasonal droughts and dry spells which have significantly impacted agriculture as a major livelihood activity in Malawi. The study has also revealed the community-based coping and adaptation strategies employed by the people. Recommendations made in this study have highlighted the need to support vulnerable rural communities with resilient and secure livelihoods.

En France, en 2014, les dépenses de santé s’élèvent à 190 milliards d’euros. Ce montant, qui croît années après années, est financé à hauteur de 76,6% par une assurance sociale, obligatoire et proportionnelle au revenu, prenant en charge l’ensemble des résidents - l’Assurance Maladie ; 13,5 % sont financés par les assurances complémentaires et 8,5 % directement par les ménages sous la forme de restes-à-charge. La relation entre assurances publique et privée caractérise les systèmes mixtes.Au sein des systèmes mixtes, les assurances peuvent se complémenter mais aussi être à l’origine d’interactions inefficaces. Dans une première partie, on étudie théoriquement un système où l’assurance publique peut être complétée par une assurance complémentaire et/ou supplémentaire. Alors qu’il existait une confusion entre ces deux types d’assurance dans la littérature (Petretto, 1999), on trouve des effets parfois opposés entre assurances complémentaire et supplémentaire. L’utilité marginale des plus pauvres étant plus élevée que celle des plus aisés, on trouve qu’en utilisant simplement comme fonction d’utilité de bien-être social la somme des utilités individuelles, le taux d’assurance publique optimal est positivement lié au caractère redistributif de l’assurance.Dans cette première partie, on remarque que le partage entre ce qui est du domaine de l’assurance complémentaire et supplémentaire est fonction de la définition du panier de biens publics. Le second chapitre étudie la composition optimale de ce panier public. Au cœur du choix de critères à employer pour sélectionner les biens remboursés socialement, se pose la possibilité de comparer des préférences, longuement débattue au sein de la théorie du bien-être et formalisée par le théorème d’incompatibilité d’Arrow. Le principe d’équivalent-revenu de Fleurbaey et al. (2013) propose de dépasser cette limite. Ce critère ordinal, défini comme le revenu en pleine santé équivalent au revenu en mauvaise santé, permet des comparaisons interpersonnelles. En adaptant un modèle théorique étudiant la définition d’un panier optimal social (Hoel, 2007) et en utilisant le principe d’équivalent-revenu, on trouve que la présence d’assurance privée modifie le classement des biens devant être couverts socialement et réduit le budget social optimal. Les individus sans assurance privée peuvent alors être dans l’impossibilité d’accéder à des traitements auxquels ils auraient eu accès en l’absence d’un marché de l’assurance privée.Alors que la seconde partie a permis de révéler quels traitements l’Assurance Maladie devrait renoncer à rembourser en priorité dans un contexte de budget limité, le dernier chapitre étudie un marché caractérisé par une très faible participation de l’assurance sociale. Le marché de l’optique est un marché caractérisé par des asymétries d’information et de la différentiation des produits. Au-delà de financer les dépenses de santé, on se demande si les assurances privées sont, en mesure de réduire ces défaillances de marché et de maitriser les dépenses de santé. S’inscrivant dans la littérature sur le managed-care et la concurrence pour le droit de servir une demande, la dernière partie étudie l’impact des réseaux mis en place par les assurances privées sur le marché de l’optique pour diminuer les dépenses. A partir d’une base de données exclusive assemblée par l’auteur sur un réseau d’opticiens conventionnés mis en place par la mutuelle de santé de l’Éducation Nationale (MGEN), on teste empiriquement l’effet du réseau sur le nombre de ventes et les prix exercés. L’effet de la concurrence pour le réseau et dans le marché sur les prix en verres unifocaux et bifocaux est estimé au sein de 450 regroupements de communes françaises. On constate empiriquement que la concurrence pour le réseau réduit significativement les prix exercés dans le réseau alors que la concurrence dans le marcher affecte les prix à l’extérieur du réseau
In France, in 2014, health expenditures represented EUR 190 billion. This figure grows year after year; 76.6% is financed by a compulsory social insurance (Assurance Maladie), with contributions proportional to income; 13.5% is financed by private complementary insurances and 8.5% is financed directly by households in the form of out-of-pockets. The relationship between Social Health Insurance (SHI) and Private Health Insurance (PHI) is what characterises a mixed system.Within mixed systems, insurances can complement each other but also interact in inefficient ways. In a first part, I study a system where SHI can be complemented by a complementary or supplementary private insurance. Whereas there was a confusion in the theoretical literature between complementary and supplementary insurances, we find that these insurances can have opposing effects. This model underlines the importance of the nature of the health good (in terms of elasticity) insured by SHI on the optimal rate of social insurance. The higher the rate of low income individual purchasing the socially insured good, the higher the redistributive effect of insurance will be. Marginal utility of poor individuals being higher than high income individuals, I find that using an unweighted additive welfare function, the optimal social insurance rate of insurance is positively related to the redistributive characteristic of insurance.In this first part we underline that the selection of goods that should be insured privately depends on the definition of social insurance. The second part studies what criteria should be used to select the goods to socially insure. At the heart of the selection of goods to socially insure is the possibility of comparing individual preferences debated extensively within welfare economics and formalised by Arrow’s incompatibility theorem. The equivalent income principal developed by Fleurbaey et al. (2013) offers to overcome this limitation. This ordinal criteria, defined as the income in perfect health which yields the same satisfaction as the income in a sick state (i.e. the income in good health minus the willingness to pay to be in good health), allows making interpersonal comparisons. By adapting a theoretical model studying the optimal selection of goods to insure socially (Hoel, 2007) and by using the equivalent income criteria, we find that the introduction of private health insurance decreases the marginal benefit of social insurance. This modifies the ranking function and decreases the optimal social budget, leaving uninsured individuals facing the impossibility to use certain efficient treatments.Whereas the second part revealed what treatment social insurance should first renounce reimbursing in a within a limited budget, the last chapter studies a market characterised by minimal social participation. The market of eyewear (glasses) is characterised by strong asymmetric information and product differentiation. Beyond financing health expenditures, we ask whether, similarly to social insurance, PHI are able to reduce the effects of market failures and manage health expenditures. Following the literature on managed-care and competition for the right to serve a demand, the effect of networks of preferred provides on prices is analysed. Using an exclusive dataset of all purchases in eyewear made by MGEN (Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale) enrollees between 2012 and 2014, we test empirically the effect of the network on the number of purchases and the prices of lenses. The effect of competition for the network and in the market on prices of unifocal and bifocal lenses, within 450 areas of France, is estimated. We find that competition for the network reduces significantly prices of purchases made inside the network and competition in the market reduces prices outside the network

Although religion is an important cultural force that shapes consumers' values and norms, the taboo stigma attached to the investigation of religion's influences in marketing areas has limited the knowledge about how religion influences consumers' decision-making. This study explored the affect of Muslim motivation in following Islam in their decision-making process to perform behaviors that are subject to Islamic rulings known as fatwa. Three behaviors that are subject to fatwa declarations; smoking, listening to popular music and buying a Coca Cola soft drink, were chosen. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behaviors, this study examined: 1) If a Muslim's motivation in following Islam is an effect in their cognitive and behavioral responses regarding the fatwa prohibited behaviors. 2) If Muslim motivation in following Islam is an effect in their decision-making in deciding to whether to perform fatwa prohibited behaviors. Based on a Malaysian university student sample, multiple analyses of variance with covariate's (MANCOVA) results show that a Muslim's motivation in following Islam, his or her gender and their interaction have significant effects in their responses in regards to the behaviors. Muslim males, who are extrinsically motivated towards Islam tended to report a greater intention to smoke, buy a Coca Cola soft drink and tended to report they experienced more social pressure to smoke as compared to others. Nonetheless, SEM analysis found that the sample's responses on items related to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) about buying a Coca Cola soft drink brand did not fit the model. Other unaccounted for factors that may be related to the Muslims' decision-making about the product, such as possible consumer animosity, was not captured in the survey. The sample’s responses on smoking and listening to popular music provided a good fit to the model proposed. ii This study found that the Muslim respondents' motivation in following Islam had an effect on the role of perceived social pressure in their planning to smoke, and on the role of perceived social pressure in their planning to listen to popular music. Respondents' motivation in following Islam also had an effect on the role of perception of control in their reported smoking and listening to popular music. The intrinsically motivated Muslim consumers tended to be more concerned about others approval in their deciding to smoke and to listen to popular music, than the average extrinsic respondents. The intrinsic Muslim respondents also tended to perceive having incomplete control over smoking and listening to popular music, compared to their extrinsic counterparts. Respondents' attitudes towards smoking and listening to popular music were found to be not relevant in respondents' decision-making to perform the behaviors. This study also found evidence for the effect of type of fatwa prohibition ruling in Muslim respondents' responses and decision-making to perform behaviors in this study. Findings from this study suggest a significant effect of fatwa rulings on products or behaviors, among the sample of young Malaysian Muslim respondents. The findings highlight the needs for marketers to understand nature of fatwa rulings on products, in order to win over Muslim consumers in the marketplace.

Development aid in most of the developing countries can sometimes compromise the principles of public service broadcasting (PSB). This may be true when reflected against the tension between donor financed programmes in Malawi and the mandate of Television Malawi (TVM). Although the donor intentions are noble, the strings attached to the funding are sometimes retrogressive to the role of PSBs. A case in point is how donors dictate terms on the HIV/Aids communication strategies at TVM. Producers receive money from donors with strings attached on how the money should be used and accounted for. If producers deviate they are sanctioned through withholding funding, shifting schedules and reducing the funding frequency. The donors also dictate who to interview on what subject, how to conduct capacity building. Some scholars have researched much on the impact of commercialisation of the media. This study is a departure from these traditional interferences; it interrogates the interest of philanthropy tendencies by international donors in the three chosen HIV/Aids programmes broadcast by TVM. The study investigates the extent of pressure exerted by donors on the producers of HIV/Aids programmes in Malawi. Thus, the study seeks to illicit specifics in the power relationship between the donor and the producer hence the study employs the political economy of development aid as applied to the public service broadcasting and communication for development. The study employed qualitative research methods and techniques (in-depth interviews, case study and document analysis). The study reveals how donor ideologies dominate the Aids messages-content output of the texts constructed. The study argues that cultural alienation of the Malawian audiences retards efforts of donors in combating HIV infection rate.

As leaders of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), strategic leaders are responsible for strategising, the approach to which is influenced by their cultural paradigm. The effects of this strategising are manifested in the day-to-day activities of these leaders. This study aims to build an understanding of the shared cultural assumptions of strategic leaders in agri-based processing SMEs and how these assumptions affect the strategising activities that are adopted when addressing critical incidents related to the internal integration and external adaptation of the SME. Using Strauss and Corbin‟s (1990) grounded theory method, this study develops a theory titled Conveniencing the Family in Business, which is induced from critical incidents. A sample of critical incidents was gathered from 44 qualitative interviews conducted with strategic leaders of various agri-based processing SMEs operating in Malawi. This study found that strategic leaders display persistent and stable pragmatic business survival mind sets, but dynamic cultural assumptions about relationships with organisation members. The cultural influence of these assumptions is manifested in two distinctive and alternative processes making up the theory of conveniencing the family in business. These are the humanising and commodifying of relationships with organisation members, and they are evident in hostile and friendly business environments, respectively. Humanising of relationships with all members of the organisation builds and capitalises on inclusive, organisation-wide social capital that secures the future of the business. On the other hand, commodifying of relationships with non-family organisation members weakens collective support, which becomes mainly dependent on family and friendship ties. Thus, commodifying of relationships serves to perpetuate the close integration of business activity and family requirements to ultimately convenience the family in business, and represents the desired modus operandi of strategic leaders. As strategic leaders of SMEs have not yet conceptualised this, providing them with the conceptual theory developed here may be helpful towards a consistent re-orientation of the internal organisational support in a way that does not exclude but rather harnesses the wider solidarity of organisation members. The process explained by this theory is iterative, dynamic and distinguishes patterns of relationships amongst organisation members, which either enhances or compromises their collective support for the leaders and the enterprise. This by implication affects the performance of the enterprise. The results of this study are discussed from the perspective of social exchange and social capital theory, thereby contributing to the understanding of the strategising activities of strategic leaders, as well as the processes of building or destroying social capital in this type of enterprise.

Cette thèse de doctorat explore les obstacles à l'égalité des sexes dans les pays en développement. Elle est composée de trois essais. Le premier essai (chapitre 1) explore les racines de l'inégalité des sexes en faveur des garçons dans l'éducation. Il analyse l'effet de l'interaction entre la culture et les conditions économiques des ménages pauvres sur les probabilités de décrochage scolaire des garçons et des filles, en utilisant des données du Malawi. L'adéquation du Malawi à cette analyse découle de la coexistence sur son territoire de deux coutumes différentes de résidence post-maritale pour les couples : les coutumes patrilocales et matrilocales. Les résultats des estimations montrent que l'inégalité entre les sexes en matière d'éducation est enracinée dans l'interaction des conditions économiques du ménage et de la coutume patrilocale - lorsqu'un couple marié s'installe près de la famille du mari ou avec elle après le mariage. L'essai conclut que les politiques publiques qui rendent inutile le recours aux coutumes traditionnelles par les parents pour organiser leur vie familiale peuvent éliminer les inégalités entre les sexes favorisant l'éducation des garçons. Les deux derniers essais analysent la question de la polygynie—lorsqu'un homme peut avoir plusieurs épouses simultanément. Cette institution du mariage a disparu dans le monde entier mais reste confinée dans un groupe de pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, notamment dans la région du Sahel. La théorie économique prédit que l'augmentation de l'éducation des femmes entraîne la disparition de la polygynie. Cependant, les preuves empiriques ne permettent pas encore d'établir ce lien de causalité, mais plutôt une corrélation négative entre l'éducation et les probabilités de polygynie des femmes. Le deuxième essai examine l'effet de l'éducation sur les probabilités de polygynie des femmes, en utilisant principalement les données de l'Ouganda. Pour l'identification, nous utilisons une approche d'estimation qui aborde conjointement les problèmes de sélection de l'échantillon et d'endogénéité de l'éducation. Nous estimons un modèle à trois équations comprenant une équation de la polygynie (principale), une équation du mariage (sélection) et une équation de l'éducation (endogénéité). Les résultats de l'estimation confirment la prédiction de la théorie économique selon laquelle l'augmentation de l'éducation des femmes entraîne la disparition de la polygynie. Le troisième et dernier essai fournit des preuves sur la cause du regroupement de la polygynie dans les pays sujets à la sécheresse. Les preuves montrent que dans les économies villageoises dépendantes de l'agriculture pluviale, la rupture des accords informels de partage des risques suite à des chocs tels que les sécheresses augmentent la valeur de la famille nombreuse, tant en taille qu'en composition, comme levier des stratégies de résilience. Nous constatons que la polygynie permet aux ménages de renforcer leur résilience face aux effets négatifs de la sécheresse sur le rendement des cultures. Ces trois essais contribuent à faire progresser nos connaissances sur les obstacles à l'inégalité des sexes en Afrique subsaharienne. Il attire principalement l'attention sur l'importance pour les pays en développement d'investir dans la scolarisation des filles (essai 2) et de promouvoir des politiques publiques qui rendent moins attrayant pour les parents le recours aux institutions traditionnelles pour soutenir leurs moyens de subsistance (essai 1). En outre, des politiques telles que celles qui encouragent les petits exploitants agricoles en tant que stratégie de développement peuvent contribuer à la persistance de la polygynie dans les communautés sujettes à la sécheresse si elles sont menées sans sevrer la population rurale de sa dépendance à l'égard de l'agriculture pluviale. Dans ces contextes, la promotion de stratégies de résilience et d'adaptation indépendantes de la taille des ménages peut conduire à la disparition de la polygynie et du mariage d'enfants (essai 3).
This Ph.D. thesis explores barriers to gender equality in developing countries. It is composed of three essays. The first essay (chapter 1) explores the roots of gender inequality favoring boys in education. It analyzes the effect of culture interaction with poor household economic on the school dropout probabilities of boys' and girls', using Malawi data. Malawi's suitability for this analysis stems from the coexistence in its territory of two different customs of post-marital residence for couples: patrilocal and matrilocal customs. Estimation results show that gender inequality in education is rooted in the interaction of household economic conditions and the custom of patrilocality—when a married couple settles near or with the husband's family after marriage. The essay concludes that public policies that make it unnecessary for parents to rely on traditional customs to organize their family life can eliminate gender inequality favoring boys' education. The last two essays analyze the issue of polygyny—when a man can have multiples wives simultaneously. This marriage institution has disappeared globally but remains confined in a cluster of sub-Saharan African countries, particularly in the Sahel region. Economic theory predicts that increasing women's education leads to the disappearance of polygyny. Still, empirical evidence is yet to establish this causal link, settling instead for a negative correlation between education and women's polygyny probabilities. The second essay examines the effect of education on women's polygyny probabilities, using primarily Uganda data. For identification, we use an estimation approach that jointly addresses sample selection and education endogeneity problems. We estimate a three-equation model comprising a polygyny (main) equation, a marriage (selection), and an education (endogeneity) equation. Estimation results confirm economic theory's prediction that increasing women's education leads to the disappearance of polygyny. The third and final essay provides evidence on the cause of the clustering of polygyny in drought-prone countries. Evidence shows that in village economies dependent on rainfed agriculture, the breakdown of informal risk-sharing arrangements following covariate shocks such as droughts increases the value of having a large family, both in size and composition, as a lever of resilience strategies. We find that polygyny allows households to build resilience to the adverse effects of drought on crop yields. These three essays contribute to advancing our knowledge of the barriers to gender inequalityin sub-Saharan Africa. It mainly draws attention to the importance for developing countries to invest in girls' schooling (Essay 2) and promote public policies that make it less attractive for parents to resort to traditional institutions to support their livelihoods (Essay 1). Additionally, policies such as those promoting smallholder farmers as a development strategy can contribute to the persistence of polygyny in drought-prone communities if done without weaning the rural population of its dependence on rainfed agriculture. In these settings, promoting resilience and adaptation strategies independent of household size can lead to polygyny and child marriage's disappearance (Essay 3).

Malaysia is a transition economic country that aims to be a developed country by 2020. In realising this mission (Vision 2020), the cluster concept has been an interest and adopted by the central authorities. There are few years ahead to reach the targeted year and it interest of this study to investigate the relevant development on its own engineered cluster of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that was put forward on the success of Silicon Valley in the US. This thesis focuses on the development of the MSC cluster in the Malaysia context. It examines and measures the state of the cluster, the role played by its core actors (from Triple Helix perspective) and their relationship in the MSC. The role of collaboration has been used to measure the relationship among actors with the key determinants of cluster formation. A mixed data collection method was used to answer the research question and objectives involved. A conceptual model for analysing the MSC cluster is proposed, bringing together insights from the literature on clusters, role of actors, collaborative relationship and the complex systems of innovation approach. This conceptual model uncover the weaknesses of social dimension (social infrastructure) in Porter’s diamond model and the general approach of Triple Helix model in the cluster development. The cluster lifecycle model is used to add the depth to the analysis on the condition of cluster development.

L’endométriose est devenue un problème de santé important du fait de sa prévalence (près d'une femme sur dix), des multiples complications engendrant un coût notable pour la société. Le coût de la maladie est aussi le coût de ses conséquences : traitements de l'infertilité mais aussi perte de productivité des femmes et de leur entourage, et ne sont encore pas clairement identifiés. Ces conséquences sont d'autant plus importantes qu'il existe un retard diagnostique (délai diagnostique moyen supérieur à 6 ans), or plus celui-ci est long, plus la maladie est découverte à un stade sévère et les patientes à un stade sévère ont davantage de complications, nécessitent une prise en charge plus lourde et plus coûteuse, ce à quoi il faut ajouter l’errance médicale et les traitements inadéquats. La volonté d'une meilleure connaissance et reconnaissance de la maladie a abouti à des actions du monde associatif, relayées. L’évaluation économique des prises en charge, à partir d’études de cas, est un outil important d’optimisation les choix pour améliorer le sort des patientes. Cette thèse se décompose en cinq chapitres : dans le premier chapitre nous nous intéressons aux aspects théoriques de l’évaluation économique en santé et méthodologiques de l’évaluation de coût social de la maladie. Le second chapitre traite de la maladie de l’endométriose en détails et de la méthodologie adoptée dans les études de cas qui sont présentés dans les chapitres trois, quatre et cinq. Le troisième chapitre présente une étude multicentrique sur les coûts et la qualité de vie des femmes souffrant des symptômes associés à l’endométriose en Europe. Le quatrième chapitre étudie prospectivement le coût sociétal de l’endométriose en France. Enfin, le cinquième chapitre est consacré à une étude rétrospective sur la persistance des coûts associés à l’endométriose dans le temps.Cette thèse montre l’importance de l’endométriose sur le système de soins en termes de coût (€ 10,6 milliards par an en France) et illustre la nécessité d'améliorer la prise en charge en direction d’interventions plus précoces et de recours plus rapides à des centres de compétence. A une efficacité constante, il est possible d’estimer la réduction de coûts liés à une politique plus productive. Améliorer la qualité des diagnostics et des prises en charge permette aussi de maximiser l’utilité affectée aux femmes en termes de qualité de vie
Endometriosis becomes an increasingly major health problem because of its prevalence (nearly one woman out of ten), multiple complications leading to a significant cost on the society. The cost of the disease is also the cost of its consequences which are the treatments of infertility and also the loss of productivity of women and their entourage that are not yet clearly identified. These consequences are more important when there is a delay in the diagnosis (the average delay of diagnosis is longer than 6 years), but the longer the period of diagnosis is, the more the disease will be detected in a more severe stage. The patients at this severe stage have more complications, requiring more expensive care, to which must be added the medical wandering and the inadequate treatment.The desire for a better knowledge and recognition of the disease has resulted in associative actions all around the world. The economic evaluation of health care, based on case studies, is an important tool to optimize the choices to improve the situation of the patients. This thesis is divided into five chapters : the first chapter attempts to elucidate framework of health economic evaluation and the evaluation of the social cost of illness. The second chapter focuses on the endometriosis disease in detail and the methodology used in the case studies presented in Chapter Three, Four and Five. The third chapter presents a multicenter study on the costs and quality of life of women suffering from symptoms associated with endometriosis in Europe. The fourth chapter is concerned with a prospective study on the societal cost of endometriosis in France. The fifth chapter is devoted to a retrospective study on the persistence of costs associated with endometriosis over time.This thesis shows the importance of endometriosis on the health care system in terms of cost (€ 10.6 billion per year) and illustrates the need to improve care in favor of earlier interventions and an earlier refer to competence centers. With constant efficiency, it is possible to estimate the cost reduction linked to a more productive policy. Improving the quality of diagnosis and management also maximizes the affected usefulness of women in terms of quality of life

Malaria is the one of most important diseases in the world, especially in sub-Sahara Africa. This dissertation outlines the enormous burden of the disease in terms of social and economic costs in southern Africa. This dissertation assessed the range and quality of the cost-effectiveness of malaria prevention in sub-Sahara Africa. Six studies published from 1999 to 2003 are reviewed, covering insecticide treated nets, residual spraying, chemoprophylaxis for infants and environmental management. For infants, ITNs cost from US$ 2019 - $2879 per death averted and cost $ III per DALY; chemoprophylaxis cost $ 4.1 per DALY and chemoprophylaxis plus iron cost $ 5.0 per DALY. For children, ITNs cost $ 1559 per death averted, $ 57 per DALY and $ 61 per sick child averted. For non-specific age group, ITNs cost $ 29 per infection averted, and RHS $ 9. Generally all interventions assessed are cost effective use of resources. The chemoprophylaxis is the least expensive malaria prevention among cost effective malaria prevention interventions, followed by residual spraying one round a year, residual spraying two rounds a year, insecticide treated nets with net treatment only and insecticide treated nets with net provision and treatment. There are operational, managerial and financial challenges faced these most cost-effective malaria interventions. Particularly, chemoprophylaxis is faced the tremendous drug resistance potential and is not being recommended to wide use; financial constraints and the potential delaying of children's immunity acquisition lowers the cost-effectiveness of insecticide treated nets; residual spraying is a relatively simpler, faster and cheaper method, but faces political and economic pressure of concerning environmental issues, especially the use of DDT. The integrated approach of environmental management plus residual spraying could be the most cost-effective method of malaria prevention with least adverse environment effects. However, policy makers should apply their knowledge to local conditions. Further, comprehensive education programmes are needed to gain support and understanding from local communities. This would raise the cost-effectiveness of all interventions.
Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Tourism is the world's largest earner of foreign currency. It brings an estimated R20 billion a year into the South African economy, second only to the manufacturing and mining industry in its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). An estimated 1.7 million overseas and African tourists visited South Africa in 1999. Of the 1.7 million approximately 500 000 or 30% of these tourists visited KwazuluNatal. Forty seven percent of the foreign tourists visited the Zululand and Maputaland area, which falls within a malaria transmission zone. An estimated 8 million domestic tourists from outside or within this province travelled to one or more destinations within KwaZulu-Natal on an annual basis. The Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative is a tri-Iateral initiative between the governments of Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa to develop the Lubombo region into a globally competitive economic zone. The geographical area targeted by this initiative is broadly defined as eastem Swaziland, southem Mozambique and north-eastem KwaZulu-Natal. Accelerated development with regards to agriculture and tourism is the main objective of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSD!). The Lubombo corridor has the potential to develop into an intemational tourist destination but malaria is hampering the growth and development of the region. Perceived malaria risk by tourists is believed to be an important factor that has a negative influence on the tourism industry in the study area. The risk factor, as defined in this study, is the possibility of contracting malaria whilst visiting a tourism facility in the area. It is therefore essential to understand perceptions relating to malaria and malaria risk in the LSDI area. Malaria control plays a pivotal role in the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSD!). The objective of the malaria control component of the LSDI is to put in place a malaria control programme that will protect the economic interest of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSD!) and stimulate development. Malaria control activities have been taking place in the three countries since 1999. Residual house spraying is the method used to control malaria in the Lubombo corridor. Major reductions in both malaria cases and parasite prevalence have been recorded. Swaziland's malaria incidence reduced by 64%, South Africa's malaria incidence plummeted by a staggering 76% and Mozambique saw a parasite prevalence reduction of40% in the first year of residual house spraying in 1999. This study focuses on the scientific study of malaria incidence and distribution as well as on both tourists and tourism operator's perceptions of malaria risk. It considers the factors that drive people's perceptions of risk and investigates how tourists and tourism operators respond to malaria risk. It draws conclusions about how malaria impacts on tourism in the LSDI and recommends how malaria control can play a positive role in tourism development in the area.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This thesis aimed at measuring the economic costs of soil degradation and to determine factors that influence the incidence and extent of adoption of soil conservation technologies by smallholder farmers in Malawi. A dynamic optimisation model was used to derive and analyse the optimal conditions for soil resource extraction and use in Malawi, while a selective tobit model was used to simulate the two-step decision-making process of farmers with respect to adoption of soil conservation technologies. Soil degradation has long-term consequences and static models, which form the bulk of studies that have so far been carried out in Africa on this topic, do not account for the inter-temporal dimension of optimal resource management. To deal with this shortcoming, this thesis used an inter-temporal optimisation framework, which considers soil in a time-dependent resource extraction perspective. This thesis has demonstrated that soil degradation is causing an enormous reduction in the productive value of smallholder land in Malawi. Current user cost of soil quality based on current practices of smallholder farmers, which represents annual loss in productive value of land, was estimated to be US$21 per hectare. Based on this value and land area under smallholder agriculture in Malawi, economic costs of soil degradation among smallholder farmers were estimated to amount to 14 per cent of the agricultural GDP. If left unabated, soil degradation threatens not only the future of smallholder agriculture but also, economic growth prospects of the nation. Although not operating on the SS optimal path in terms of soil resource management, current practices show that smallholder farmers in Malawi still consider, to certain degree, the dynamic costs in soil resource use. Hence, there is no strong evidence to suggest that current trends in land degradation are due to an institution failure (i.e., smallholder farmers have private incentives to conserve their soil resource). A result that suggests presence of other factors, most likely market distortions, behind existing deviations of farmers' practices from dynamic optimum. Government's serious support of the input and output market reforms is important not only to make the markets work but also, to make smallholder agriculture a profitable enterprise. It is only when smallholder agriculture becomes profitable that farmers can seriously invest in the soil resource. Agricultural support programs such as "food for work" if extended to include soil conservation, could lead to substantial curtailment of soil erosion since farmers can invest their labour in their own gardens during the critical times of land preparation. The sensitivity analysis indicated that increasing the discount rate to' 5%, SS solutions were close to current practice solutions. This suggests that one reason smallholder farmers are exploiting the soil resource is because they have a higher time preference. The high levels of poverty, especially among the smallholder subsistence farmers in Malawi, entail that farming households are more concerned with their survival now than their future well being. The study estimated an optimal output of 1.5tonlha and nitrogen fertiliser rate of 49 kg/ha at SS. The fertiliser estimates are based on smallholder farming system that incorporates soil conservation. In one of the most detailed studies on nitrogen use efficiency in Malawi, Itimu (1997) indicated that with the incorporation of manure, nitrogen fertiliser use dropped from 60 to 30 kg/ha to produce about 2.5 tons of maize. Malawi uses area specific recommendations for fertiliser application. However, using "best bet" technologies, at least 35kgN/ha is recommended for smallholder farmers on average. The SS optimum fertiliser estimated in the current study was somehow higher due to the fact that an inter-temporal framework, which considered the dynamic costs of soil nutrient extraction, was used. Results from fertiliser recommendation trials may be reinforced if researchers consider the inter-temporal nature and dynamic costs associated with the use of soil. The selective tobit model results indicate that factors that influence smallholder farmers' decisions to adopt soil conservation technologies may not necessarily be the same factors that influence subsequent decision on levels of adoption. The implication of this finding is that different policy prescriptions on soil conservation should strictly be guided by the goals the government wants to achieve. With fertiliser prices being out of the reach of most smallholder farmers in Malawi, soil conservation is one of the reliable options available to reduce soil degradation. However, any policy aimed at improving adoption of soil conservation technologies among smallholder farmers would succeed only if the various needs of smallholder farmers at the two decision stages are properly identified and addressed.
Thesis (PhD (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
unrestricted

The study has empirically examined the relative impact of public and private investment on economic growth and has also tested the crowding in or crowding out effect of public investment on private investment in four Southern African economies – Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The analysis used annual time-series data covering the period from 1970 to 2014. The study provides new evidence to contribute firstly to the current debate regarding the relative importance of public and private investment in economic growth processes and secondly, on whether public investment crowds in or crowds out private investment in the selected countries. For this purpose, the study employed two empirical models using the recently developed Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)-bounds testing approach to cointegration. Model 1 examines the relative impact of public and private investment on economic growth while Model 2 investigates the crowding in or crowding out effect of gross public investment and its subcomponents (infrastructural and non-infrastructural) on private investment. The results of Model 1 largely supported the private investment-led economic growth strategy. In all the study countries, private investment had a positive impact on economic growth. Also, public investment positively contributed to economic growth in Zimbabwe, but in the remaining study countries, public investment had a negative relationship with economic growth. Results from Model 2 reveal that: (i) the crowding out effect of gross public investment on private investment predominates in the study countries; (ii) infrastructural public investment crowds in private investment in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the long run while it crowds out private investment in Malawi and Zambia in the short run; and (iii) non-infrastructural public investment crowds out private investment in South Africa and Zambia. On balance, the results from Model 2 show that public investment tends to crowd out private investment in the selected countries and this further underscore the importance of the private sector-led economic growth processes in the study countries.
Economics
D. Phil. (Economics)

The body of work presented here seeks to illuminate the complex relationship between human society, development, and environment for the case of malaria. While malaria profoundly affects human society and prospects for prosperity, public health measures and anthropogenic environmental change alter the intensity of transmission differentially around the globe. Using global maps of malaria risk, the first chapter finds that the elimination of the disease during the course of the 20th century occurred in places where the strength of transmission was weaker due to suboptimal ecology, and that this result holds even after controlling for income levels. The next chapter employs GIS datasets on population, urbanization, malaria risk, and malaria endemicity to spatially estimate the cost of fully deploying ecology-appropriate anti-malaria interventions in Africa; the cost of curbing malaria is found to be small (around $4 per person at risk per year), especially given its high disease burden and subsequent social and economic costs. I next construct a spatial month-to-month ecological index of malaria transmission strength, and use a climate change model to predict changes in ecological transmission strength of malaria and estimate the implied changes in incidence and mortality given current technology and public health efforts. The final chapter uses the malaria ecology index as an instrumental variable to estimate the effect of child mortality on fertility behavior. The large effect of child mortality indicates that malaria has an indirect effect on society beyond morbidity and mortality: high malaria burdens increase fertility rates, thus slowing the demographic transition. These chapters span the fields of epidemiology, public health systems, climate science, economics and demography in order to holistically model the relationship between malaria and human systems; such understanding of coupled human-natural systems will be vital to policy making for sustainable development.

"September 2002"
Bibliography: leaves 320-343.
xiii, 363 leaves : ill., plates, maps ; 30 cm.
Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2003

Decentralization is an approach Malawi government is using to accelerate development. In order to achieve this, local structures like ADCs were instituted to improve community participation and enhance demand driven type of development. This study examined the effectiveness of the ADCs in decentralization. The study was conducted in TAs Chilowoko and Kalumo in Ntchisi district. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. Through random sampling, 97 respondents were interviewed using a household questionnaire. Two focus group discussions and 14 key informant interviews were also done. Analysis of the quantitative data collected was done using Scientific Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) tool while the qualitative data was analyzed manually using common themes that emerged from the findings. The results show that the community members do not commonly know ADCs and that they do not have autonomy to enhance community participation in decision making. ADCs do not have the autonomy to operate as custodians of development. ADCs are also facing many challenges that include lack of operational resources, incentives, transport and political infringement. On the overall, therefore, the study recommends that there is need to create awareness on the existence of the ADCs and other local structures to the community members. Secondly, there is need to review the National Decentralization Policy, Local Government Act and the Guidebook on decentralization in Malawi
Development Studies
M. A. (Development Studies)

Li, Ho Fai.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-117).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Acknowledgements --- p.i
English and Chinese Abstracts --- p.ii
List of Contents --- p.iv
"Index of tables, figures, and diagrams" --- p.vi
Lists of abbreviations and acronyms --- p.vii
Notes --- p.ix
Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Research Background and Research Question --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Methodology --- p.3
Chapter 1.3 --- Research Significance --- p.5
Chapter 1.4 --- "Theoretical Frameworks, Central Arguments and Organization of the Thesis" --- p.6
Chapter 2. --- Theoretical Frameworks and Literature Review --- p.8
Chapter 2.1 --- Historical Institutionalism --- p.8
Chapter 2.2 --- The Study of Heritage Conservation --- p.10
Chapter 2.3 --- The Study of Civil Society --- p.12
Chapter 2.4 --- Political Economy of Built Heritage Conservation --- p.14
Chapter 2.5 --- State-Civil Society Relations in Post-Independence Malaysia --- p.16
Chapter 3. --- "Case Study of George Town in Penang, Malaysia (1957-2008)" --- p.24
Chapter 3.1 --- Genesis of George Town as a British Colonial Town --- p.24
Chapter 3.2 --- Development of George Town in 1950s-1970s --- p.25
Chapter 3.3 --- Development of George Town in 1980s-2008 --- p.32
Chapter 3.4 --- Updates of Development of George Town since 2008 --- p.60
Chapter 4. --- "Analysis of the case of George Town in Penang, Malaysia" --- p.66
Chapter 4.1 --- A Path of Institutional Change towards Heritage Conservation --- p.67
Chapter 4.2 --- Structural Basis for Civil Society-state Synergy --- p.69
Chapter 4.3 --- Conceptualizing the Constructability of Civil society-state Synergy --- p.77
Chapter 4.4 --- "Identification of ""Critical Juncture"" in the Developmental Path" --- p.82
Chapter 4.5 --- Sustainability of Civil society-state Synergy --- p.83
Chapter 5. --- Conclusion and Discussion --- p.88
Chapter 5.1 --- Brief Review of the Heritage Movement in Penang --- p.88
Chapter 5.2 --- Summary of Arguments --- p.89

The opening of the refugee camp in Dowa by the Malawi Government, with support from UNHCR meant that the population of that area was increased abruptly. This led to an increase in socio- economic activities resulting into high demand of energy, food and other amenities from the natural environment. The impact of the refugees on the host community and their relationship was central in this research. The main aim of the study was to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts for hosting refugees at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods in data collection. A structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect data and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16.0. In total, 237 household heads and 6 key informants were interviewed. In addition, 4 focus group discussions were conducted. Qualitative data, collected through focus group discussions helped in explaining and understanding the results from the questionnaire. The most evident environmental impacts reported by respondents were: deforestation and firewood depletion; land degradation and water pollution. It is important to note that such environmental impacts can affect the long-term livelihood opportunities of both refugees and host population. The camp establishment has had socio-economic impacts regarded as positive by the majority of the respondents. Although most hosts still struggle to survive, the camp has created a larger market for generating income and better opportunities to provide basic needs such as food and water. The majority of host respondents use the refugee camp for providing livelihoods. Most respondents reported that refugees are regularly benefitting from privileged access to resources unavailable to the local host population. In this respect, refugees at Dzaleka were offered opportunities for education, literacy, vocational training, health and basic livelihood. The most reported negative social impacts are exposure to more conflicts and increased insecurity. Both of these impacts relate to the relationship between the host community and refugee population.
Environmental Sciences
M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Chiefs in Malawi have traditionally been part of the government machinery since colonial days and continue to play a crucial role in development administration even more so in decentralized structures. They are able upon to mobilize communities in rural areas to initiate and implement community development projects with minimal supervision. Malawi Social Action Fund 1 (MASAF 1) project management approach, which centered on community ownership of projects and registered enormous successes, is a case in proof of this. However, distribution of power and roles between chiefs and local government authorities in view of decentralization demand more research and policy debate if chiefs are to be effectively utilized and for the decentralization process to work effectively. Whilst the local authorities derive their power from the control of 5% of revenue collected in the districts, which they are allocated, chiefs derive theirs from the legitimacy they have over their subjects for being in constant touch with the community.
Development Studies
M.A. Social Science (Development Studies)