Motives of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ethiopia: An Empirical Analysis

The central aim of this paper is to investigate the major motives of inward FDI to Ethiopia from 1992-2015. Various economic and financial variables were taken into consideration to assess the relationship between FDI and its motivational factors. Ordinary Least Square method was applied to estimate the association, while Johansen’s co-integration test was employed to examine the combination, and Vector Auto-regressive (VAR) model was used to check whether there is a long run relationship between FDI and explanatory variables. The statistical results show that there is positive and significant relationship between FDI and market size, trade openness, exchange rate and financial freedom whereas inflation had negative and significant association with FDI. However, investment freedom and economic globalization indicated an insignificant relation. Even though all variables jointly affect FDI in the long run, the VAR result didn’t reveal any long term relationship between FDI and its motivational factors individuall

Islamic Micro Finance Services in Ethiopia: Performances and Implications for Financial Inclusion and Poverty Alleviation

Deprivations are a worldwide incident affecting people both in developed and developing countries. The study examines the performances Islamic micro finance institutions and their implication for financial inclusion and poverty alleviation in Ethiopia. Descriptive method of research is used to understand the general overview and performance of both conventional and Islamic micro finance institutions and observe the role of Islamic micro finance institutions towards ensuring financial inclusion and reducing poverty in the country. A survey was conducted on interest free micro finance windows in the existing conventional micro finance institutions in different parts of the country. The results revealed that most of the institutions provide murabaha which is a popular form of financing small entrepreneurs and businesspersons. However, the main challenges of interest free micro finance system are unavailability of clear and detailed legislation from the regulator National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), shortage of trained and knowledgeable workforce related to interest free micro finance services, immense and arduous administrative cost of the system and clients’ nonconformity with some Sharia principles like failure to deliver the item to the institution after they acquired it from the market on behalf the micro finance institutions

Adoption of Telecenters in South Wollo Zone of Amhara Regional State in Ethiopia: Special Emphasis on Internet Services

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become driving force in today’s society. These technologies should be adopted and accepted by a society to benefit from their potential advantage. Many researchers, in the field of ICT, have studied and proposed models of technology acceptance. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) proposed by Venkatesh et al (2003) was used in this research to find out direct determinant factors of telecenters for Internet services in Ethiopia. In this research it is tried to find out the core constructs of telecenters’ Internet services intention to use and use behavior. All the 200 questionnaires were usable; and demographic and descriptive statistics and Partial Least Square (PLS) regression were used to analyze the data. The study has revealed that performance expectancy and effort expectancy have positive influence in behavioral intention and behavioral intention has positive influence in use behavior of telecenters’ Internet services

The potential critical success factors of full-fledged interest-free banks in Ethiopia

Abstract. The role of interest-free banking (IFB) is vital to enhance the financial inclusion rate of a country like Ethiopia that has a substantial number of Muslims and unbanked population. Although IFB windows have been operating in Ethiopia since 2013, the country allowed a full-fledged IFBs recently. Accordingly, two banks have already fulfilled all the requirements and are expected to operate soon while another 2 – 4 banks are under formation. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to assess the potential critical factors that will determine the success or failure of the newly establishing full-fledged IFBs in Ethiopia based on globalexperiences and specific bank cases from more than 14 countries using the concept of Critical Success Factors (CSFs). The outcomes of our analysis indicate three things. First, every country has its unique success and failure factors, thus, benchmarking should consider these factors. Second, based on the current circumstances, the most important CSFs which can determine the fate of the full-fledged IFBs in Ethiopia in the near future will be an adequate legal, regulatory and institutional framework; management skills and capacity; good reputation and image; product innovation and investment alternatives; unconflicting Shariah verdicts and availability of central Shariah supervisory body; and entrepreneurial discipline and ethical values. Third, full-fledged IFBs in Ethiopia will confront severe competition from the existing window banks that has big potential, better experience, and flexible Shariah controls.The study suggests that the government’s regulatory intervention to introduce guidelines and banking regulations specific to the full-fledged IFBs.Keywords. Interest-free bank, Shariah compliance, Critical success factors, Ethiopia.JEL. G21, G41, Z12

Pregnancy complications in last pregnancy and mothers’ long-term cardiovascular mortality: does the relation differ from that of complications in first pregnancy? A population-based study

Background Women who experience complications in first pregnancy are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. Little corresponding knowledge is available for complications in later pregnancies. Therefore, we assessed complications (preeclampsia, preterm birth, and offspring small for gestational age) in first and last pregnancies and the risk of long-term maternal CVD death, taking women´s complete reproduction into account. Data and methods We linked data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway to the national Cause of Death Registry. We followed women whose first birth took place during 1967–2013, from the date of their last birth until death, or December 31st 2020, whichever occurred first. We analysed risk of CVD death until 69 years of age according to any complications in last pregnancy. Using Cox regression analysis, we adjusted for maternal age at first birth and level of education. Results Women with any complications in their last or first pregnancy were at higher risk of CVD death than mothers with two-lifetime births and no pregnancy complications (reference). For example, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for women with four births and any complications only in the last pregnancy was 2.85 (95% CI, 1.93–4.20). If a complication occurred in the first pregnancy only, the aHR was 1.74 (1.24–2.45). Corresponding hazard ratios for women with two births were 1.82 (CI, 1.59–2.08) and 1.41 (1.26–1.58), respectively. Conclusions The risk for CVD death was higher among mothers with complications only in their last pregnancy compared to women with no complications, and also higher compared to mothers with a complication only in their first pregnancy.publishedVersio

Mustard Gas Effects on Iranian Veterans After 20 Years as Shown on Chest High-resolution Computed Tomography: A Follow-up Study

Introduction: Mustard gas is a known chemical weapon that was used in the 1980-1988 Iran- Iraq War. It causes many health problems, including serious respiratory damage. In this study, we used high-resolution computed tomography to assess the pulmonary complications after 20 years of veterans of the Iran-Iraq War who were exposed to mustard gas. Materials and Methods: This was a follow-up study conducted on 200 Iranian veterans with a history of exposure to mustard gas at least 20 years previously. High-resolution computed tomography was performed on all veterans and was interpreted by two independent expert radiologists who were blinded to the study. The frequency of high-resolution computed tomography ndings was reported. Data were analyzed with statistical package for the social sciences version 20 software. Results:One hundred twenty veterans (60%) showed HRCT abnormalities. The most frequent high-resolution computed tomography ndings were diffuse hyper-aeration, 63 (52.5%); interstitial opacity, 50 (41.7%); parenchymal opacity, 26 (21.7%); bronchiectasis, 15 (12.5%); sub-pleural air trapping, 13 (10.8%); and local brosis, 10 (8.3%). Generally, lower lobes were more frequently affected. Conclusion: This study showed a high frequency of abnormal high-resolution computed tomography ndings in veterans who were exposed to mustard gas, and most abnormalities were irreversible. These ndings included diffuse hyper-aeration, interstitial opacity, parenchymal opacity, bronchiectasis, sub-pleural air trapping, and local brosis

Photographic grading to evaluate facial cleanliness and trachoma among children in Amhara region, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Promotion of facial cleanliness is recommended for the elimination of blinding trachoma, largely because of observational studies that have found an association between various measures of facial uncleanliness and trachoma. However, when a field grader assesses both facial cleanliness and trachoma, associations may be biased. Assessment of photographs of the face and conjunctiva by masked graders may provide a less biased estimate of the relationship between facial cleanliness and trachoma. METHODS: Face photographs, conjunctival photographs, and conjunctival swabs were obtained on a random sample of 0-9-year-old children from each of 40 communities in Amhara region, Ethiopia. Face photographs were assessed for the presence of seven measures of an unclean face (i.e., wet nasal discharge, dry nasal discharge, wet ocular discharge, dry ocular discharge, food, dust/dirt, and flies) by three independent masked photo-graders. Conjunctival photographs were similarly graded in a masked fashion for signs of clinically active trachoma. Conjunctival swabs were processed for Chlamydia trachomatis DNA. RESULTS: Of 2073 children with complete data, 808 (39%) had evidence of clinically active trachoma, 150 (7%) had evidence of ocular chlamydia infection, and 2524 (91%) had at least one measure of an unclean face. Dry ocular discharge had the strongest association with clinically active trachoma (age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.6) and ocular chlamydia infection (PR 1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.9), although significant associations were observed between each of the measures of facial uncleanliness and trachoma. CONCLUSIONS: Masked assessment of face and conjunctival photographs confirmed prior observational studies that have noted associations between various measures of facial uncleanliness and trachoma. The causal relationship between facial uncleanliness and trachoma is unclear since many features used to measure facial cleanliness (e.g., ocular discharge, nasal discharge, and flies) could be consequences of antecedent ocular chlamydia infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02754583, clinicaltrials.gov

CP-North: Living life in the Nordic countries? A retrospective register research protocol on individuals with cerebral palsy and their parents living in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland

Export Date: 25 February 2020Peer reviewe

Large variations in all-cause and overdose mortality among >13,000 patients in and out of opioid maintenance treatment in different settings: a comparative registry linkage study

BackgroundOpioid maintenance treatment (OMT) has the potential to reduce mortality rates substantially. We aimed to compare all-cause and overdose mortality among OMT patients while in or out of OMT in two different countries with different approaches to OMT.MethodsTwo nation-wide, registry-based cohorts were linked by using similar analytical strategies. These included 3,637 male and 1,580 female patients enrolled in OMT in Czechia (years 2000–2019), and 6,387 male and 2,078 female patients enrolled in OMT in Denmark (years 2007–2018). The direct standardization method using the European (EU-27 plus EFTA 2011–2030) Standard was employed to calculate age-standardized rate to weight for age. All-cause and overdose crude mortality rates (CMR) as number of deaths per 1,000 person years (PY) in and out of OMT were calculated for all patients. CMRs were stratified by sex and OMT medication modality (methadone, buprenorphine, and buprenorphine with naloxone).ResultsAge-standardized rate for OMT patients in Czechia and Denmark was 9.7/1,000 PY and 29.8/1,000 PY, respectively. In Czechia, the all-cause CMR was 4.3/1,000 PY in treatment and 10.8/1,000 PY out of treatment. The overdose CMR was 0.5/1,000 PY in treatment and 1.2/1,000 PY out of treatment. In Denmark, the all-cause CMR was 26.6/1,000 PY in treatment and 28.2/1,000 PY out of treatment and the overdose CMR was 7.3/1,000 PY in treatment and 7.0/1,000 PY out of treatment.ConclusionCountry-specific differences in mortality while in and out of OMT in Czechia and Denmark may be partly explained by different patient characteristics and treatment systems in the two countries. The findings contribute to the public health debate about OMT management and may be of interest to practitioners, policy and decision makers when balancing the safety and accessibility of OMT