Survival and Success among African Manufacturing Firms

Recent reforms in most African economies of their trading and exchange rate regimes have eliminated much of the protection which previously limited competition. Despite these reforms, African manufacturing firms remain unsuccessful, particularly in international export markets. In this paper we consider the roles of learning, competition and market imperfections in determining three aspects of firm performance, namely firm exit, firm growth and productivity growth. We use a pooled panel data set of firms in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania that spans a period of five years. We find that the main determinant of exit is firm size, with small firms having much higher exit rates than large ones.Productivity impacts on firm survival among large firms, but not among small firms. Reasons for this result are discussed. We find evidence that, among surviving firms, old firms grow slower than young firms, which is interpreted as evidence consistent with market constraints limiting growth of firms in Africa. We find no evidence that larger firms have faster rates of productivity or input growth, or are more efficient in the sense of benefiting from scale economies. We also find that competitive pressure enhances productivity growth. Given that one of the objectives of the reform programmes implemented in all three countries was to stimulate higher efficiency levels, this finding shows that one aspect of the reform programme has been successful.

Survival and Success among African Manufacturing Firms

Recent reforms in most African economies of their trading and exchange rate regimes have eliminated much of the protection which previously limited competition. Despite these reforms, African manufacturing firms remain unsuccessful, particularly in international export markets. In this paper we consider the roles of learning, competition and market imperfections in determining three aspects of firm performance, namely firm exit, firm growth and productivity growth. We use a pooled panel data set of firms in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania that spans a period of five years. We find that the main determinant of exit is firm size, with small firms having much higher exit rates than large ones. Productivity impacts on firm survival among large firms, but not among small firms. Reasons for this result are discussed. We find evidence that, among surviving firms, old firms grow slower than young firms, which is interpreted as evidence consistent with market constraints limiting growth of firms in Africa. We find no evidence that larger firms have faster rates of productivity or input growth, or are more efficient in the sense of benefiting from scale economies. We also find that competitive pressure enhances productivity growth. Given that one of the objectives of the reform programmes implemented in all three countries was to stimulate higher efficiency levels, this finding shows that one aspect of the reform programme has been successful.

Opinions of Washington State School Administrators Concerning Federal and State Paperwork Requirements

The opinions of school principals and superintendents were assessed concerning federal and state paperwork requirements. A questionnaire was used to obtain the opinions of eighty school administrators. The results showed that school administrators expend a considerable amount of time completing federal and state paperwork. The cost of completing paperwork was found to represent a large portion of the education budget in Washington State. Related problems are discussed

Evaluating the importance of the Crown Film Unit, 1940 – 1952

The Crown Film Unit (CFU) was the British Government’s principal in-house film production facility during the years 1940 to 1952. Over this period it produced around 225 films of different types and lengths ranging from short five minute Public Information Films to feature length cinema exhibited pictures. A very few of the latter, such as Target for Tonight (1941) or Fires Were Started (1943) have become iconic representations of both the bomber offensive and the Blitz during the Second World War. Although these films only represented a very small percentage of the CFU’s entire catalogue they have, in the main, dominated academic discourse about the Unit. This research has sought to explore the full production canon of the CFU and, in particular, to examine its importance and legacy. In doing so it has also engaged with the debates about the role of film propaganda especially as it impacted upon the self-image and morale of the British people during and after the War. It also examines the role and position of the Unit in the development and history of the Documentary Movement. To achieve these research aims the Crown Film Unit is first situated in its historical context and the influences of its predecessors over the previous forty or so years are examined. Subsequently a new classification paradigm is developed which allows the films themselves to be reviewed according to theme. Locating each of the films in a particular dynamic framework enables them to be evaluated from the appropriate social, economic, political or military perspectives. The films are also considered in the context of their reception which, in the case of the CFU was not just cinematic exhibition but also a substantial non-theatrical audience watching, not only in the UK, but across the world. The penultimate chapter examines the legacy of the CFU demonstrating that it had an important impact upon British and overseas feature film making in the 1950s, but it also made a currently undervalued contribution to the subsequent development of both Public Information, training, advertising and instructional films. The research concludes that although perhaps still best described as a Documentary Film Unit the role of the CFU was far more nuanced

Restrictive labor practices in seaports

Containerization and modern bulk handling methods can substantially increase ship and labor productivity. This paper argues that many ports have failed to change their labor practices and to accept the inevitable reduction in their labor force that technological advances call for. Those ports are doubly penalized by incurring investment costs and continuing to pay labor as if earlier labor-intensive methods still applied. The author analyzes limits on entry to work in the port, an exclusive definition of dock work, job demarcation to prevent interchanging labor, work-sharing requirements within groups that prevent specialization, work-extending practices, restrictive work hours, and restrictions on output. The paper then analyzes how restrictive practices increase shipping costs and how employment would be affected if these practices were abolished. Examples of three approaches to abolishing restrictive practices are given.Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,Transport Security,Work&Working Conditions,Ports&Waterways

Perspectives on metropolitan governance

To complement Zack Taylor’s paper on Regionalism from Above: Metro Governance in Canada, the journal commissioned four short ‘perspectives’ from Commonwealth countries grappling with similar issues – Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. The purpose was not in any way to ‘review’ Taylor’s work, but rather to establish a broader picture of issues and trends in metropolitan governance, and to identify common threads. The perspectives from Australia, England and South Africa focus on recent developments and governance issues in particular metropolitan areas. These are respectively the fast-growing outer metropolitan sub-region of Western Sydney; the long-established conurbation of Greater Manchester; and the vast, emerging ‘multi-nodal sprawl’ of South Africa’s Gauteng City Region, centred on Johannesburg. The New Zealand perspective takes a different approach, exploring the implications of shifts in national policy towards a focus on wellbeing and the quality of life in communities, with significant implications for the future of local government and the way metropolitan areas are governed. Nevertheless, all four perspectives reveal similar underlying concerns that metropolitan governance frameworks and practices often struggle to keep pace with global trends, urban growth, community needs and national priorities. Effective inter-government relations are crucial, but local governments may not be at the table, or their views may be largely ignored. The governance of metropolitan regions becomes increasingly fraught, a battleground between the forces of devolution and centralisation. How can meaningful and effective collaborative governance be realised? Who should take the lead and do we have the right tools and skills? In such a complex and fluid environment, can we realistically expect anything more than brief periods of clarity and consensus that at least enable agreement on the next few steps

Molecular flexibility of citrus pectins by combined sedimentation and viscosity analysis

The flexibility/rigidity of pectins plays an important part in their structure-function relationship and therefore on their commercial applications in the food and biomedical industries. Earlier studies based on sedimentation analysis in the ultracentrifuge have focused on molecular weight distributions and qualitative and semi-quantitative descriptions based on power law and Wales-van Holde treatments of conformation in terms of "extended" conformations [Harding, S. E., Berth, G., Ball, A., Mitchell, J.R., & Garcìa de la Torre, J. (1991). The molecular weight distribution and conformation of citrus pectins in solution studied by hydrodynamics. Carbohydrate Polymers, 168, 1-15; Morris, G. A., Foster, T. J., & Harding, S.E. (2000). The effect of degree of esterification on the hydrodynamic properties of citrus pectin. Food Hydrocolloids, 14, 227-235]. In the present study, four pectins of low degree of esterification 17-27% and one of high degree of esterification (70%) were characterised in aqueous solution (0.1 M NaCl) in terms of intrinsic viscosity [η], sedimentation coefficient (s°20,w) and weight average molar mass (Mw). Solution conformation/flexibility was estimated qualitatively using the conformation zoning method [Pavlov, G.M., Rowe, A.J., & Harding, S.E. (1997). Conformation zoning of large molecules using the analytical ultracentrifuge. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 16, 401-405] and quantitatively (persistence length Lp) using the traditional Bohdanecky and Yamakawa-Fujii relations combined together by minimisation of a target function. Sedimentation conformation zoning showed an extended coil (Type C) conformation and persistence lengths all within the range Lp=10-13 nm (for a fixed mass per unit length)