Improving access to livestock markets for sustainable rangeland management

Productivity of rangelands in Kenya is affected by increasing crop farming especially in more fertile range areas. Among the key factors driving the encroachment of crops on rangelands are the changing opportunities brought about by markets. We hypothesize that the existing market inefficiencies characterizing livestock markets, especially the price disincentives that livestock producers face, are major risks rangelands face. To analyze the effect of livestock market conditions on rangeland management, we draw on household survey and economic modeling tools. We find that traders’ rent seeking behavior and high transport costs act as disincentives to livestock producers’ participation in livestock markets and influence their decisions in seeking alternative rangeland uses to sustain livelihoods. However, improved livestock market access enhances livestock producers’ livelihoods and the stewardship of the ecosystems thus reducing pastoralists’ vulnerability to ecological climate variability associated with rangelands.Keywords: Extensive livestock production, market access, ecological-economic model, positive mathematical programming (PMP) model, Keny

Essays on the economics of multifunctional forests, migration and climate change

This thesis compiles five papers that independently cover issues on multifunctional forest, migration and climate change. Paper I addresses these questions: What is the effect of site quality on forest growth rate and variability in forest growth? How does site quality impact on ecosystem services, that is, timber production and carbon sequestration? Site quality indicator was found to positively affect forest growth and growth rate, and decreases uncertainty in the productivity. Using dynamic optimization model, Paper II estimates the economic value of site quality taking into account its interaction with timber value and carbon sequestration in Swedish forest. Analytical results showed that net present value when considering ecosystem services provided by the forest and its interaction with site quality is higher than in the case without site quality interaction. Paper III links educational attainment to internal migration decisions with much on rural-urban perspective using Ghana as a case study. The effect of educational attainment on migration decisions in 2005/2006 for urban in-migrant was found to be higher than the effect for rural in-migrant, with its significance varying for the different stages of educational attainment. In absolute terms, whereas the effect of secondary educational attainment on migration decisions for urban in-migrant is higher than for rural in-migrant, the reverse holds for higher educational attainment during the period 2012/2013. Paper IV examines the effect of climate element on internal migration decisions using similar methods and data as for Paper III. Whereas temperature positively affects the probability to migrate, aridity index negatively affects migration decisions. Individuals tend to move to the rural areas relative to urban areas with an increase in precipitation and or a decrease in aridity. Paper V explores the effect of climate variability and socio-economic factors on the number of infectious disease patients in Sweden. Temperature showed a linear negative effect on the number of patients, but a non-linear relationship when winter temperature is used. Conversely, a positive effect of precipitation on the number of patients is found, with modest heterogeneity in the effect of climate variables on the number of patients across disease classifications observed. Socio-economic factors were found to correlate with number of patients. We found significant persistence in the number of infectious disease patients but found only temperature and income as dominant drivers in a dynamic model

Retention of medical doctors in Ghana through local postgraduate training

This study examines the role of postgraduate training in retention of medical professionals, using a primary data from Ghana. The sample consists of medical specialists who have either completed a postgraduate training program and currently in practice or has enrolled in the program and nearing completion. The study made use of descriptive analysis and a logit regression model. The findings identified three main factors that influence doctors to migrate, these are; economic in the form of a quest for higher pay and better working condition; the need to pursue postgraduate medical training to achieve maximum learning potential and to become a certified specialist; and to avoid living in a country with a poor social structure in which there is a high level of poverty. The logit estimation shows that satisfaction of postgraduate training program significantly affects physicians/doctors to consider leaving. The results also showed that physicians/doctors would be willing to live and practice in Ghana if additional resources (in the form of funding, equipment and others) are made available to enhance the postgraduate programs and practice conditions

Retention of Medical Doctors in Ghana through Local Postgraduate Training

This study examines the role of postgraduate training in retention of medical professionals, using a primary data from Ghana. The sample consists of medical specialists who have either completed a postgraduate training program and currently in practice or has enrolled in the program and nearing completion.  The study made use of descriptive analysis and a logit regression model. The findings identified three main factors that influence doctors to migrate, these are; economic in the form of a quest for higher pay and better working condition; the need to pursue postgraduate medical training to achieve maximum learning potential and to become a certified specialist; and to avoid living in a country with a poor social structure in which there is a high level of poverty. The logit estimation shows that satisfaction of postgraduate training program significantly affects physicians/doctors to consider leaving. The results also showed that physicians/doctors would be willing to live and practice in Ghana if additional resources (in the form of funding, equipment and others) are made available to enhance the postgraduate programs and practice conditions. Keywords:  Brain Drain, Doctors, Emigration, Postgraduate Medical Education, Ghan

Climate change and variability in Ghana: Stocktaking

This paper provides a holistic literature review of climate change and variability in Ghana by examining the impact and projections of climate change and variability in various sectors (agricultural, health and energy) and its implication on ecology, land use, poverty and welfare. The findings suggest that there is a projected high temperature and low rainfall in the years 2020, 2050 and 2080, and desertification is estimated to be proceeding at a rate of 20,000 hectares per annum. Sea-surface temperatures will increase in Ghana’s waters and this will have drastic effects on fishery. There will be a reduction in the suitability of weather within the current cocoa-growing areas in Ghana by 2050 and an increase evapotranspiration of the cocoa trees. Furthermore, rice and rooted crops (especially cassava) production are expected to be low. Hydropower generation is also at risk and there will be an increase in the incidence rate of measles, diarrheal cases, guinea worm infestation, malaria, cholera, cerebro-spinal meningitis and other water related diseases due to the current climate projections and variability. These negative impacts of climate change and variability worsens the plight of the poor, who are mostly women and children

Fungi diversity in Swedish forests

The impact of biodiversity on forest ecosystem function and provision of ecosystem services has been investigated by many studies, but not the stability in these impacts. This paper calculates the effect of a fungi indicator, forest site quality, on standing volume and variability in forest growth in different forest regions in Sweden. We account for management practices, make use of time series data for a period of approximately 50 years, and estimate forest growth functions totally and for different regions in Sweden. Uncertainty is calculated as the conditional variance in forest growth rate, and the biodiversity indicator together with management practices are used as explanatory variables. Fully modified OLS is used to account for serial correlation and non-stationarity in the variables. The results show that the fungi diversity indicator adds positively to forest growth and growth rate, but increases uncertainty in the growth rate

Quality of institution and the FEG (forest, energy intensity, and globalization) -environment relationships in sub-Saharan Africa

The current share of sub-Saharan Africa in global carbon dioxide emissions is negligible compared to major contributors like Asia, Americas, and Europe. This trend is, however, likely to change given that both economic growth and rate of urbanization in the region are projected to be robust in the future. The current study contributes to the literature by examining both the direct and the indirect impacts of quality of institution on the environment. Specifically, we investigate whether the institutional setting in the region provides some sort of a complementary role in the environment-FEG relationships. We use the panel two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to deal with the simultaneity problem. Data consists of 43 sub-Saharan African countries. The result shows that energy inefficiency compromises environmental standards. However, the quality of the institutional setting helps moderate this negative consequences; countries with good institutions show greater prospects than countries with poor institutions. On the other hand, globalization of the region and increased forest size generate positive environmental outcomes in the region. Their impacts are, however, independent of the quality of institution. Afforestation programs, promotion of other clean energy types, and investment in energy efficiency, basic city infrastructure, and regulatory and institutional structures, are desirable policies to pursue to safeguard the environment

Deriving a benefit transfer function for threatened and endangered species in interaction with their level of charisma

Biodiversity and species conservation are among the most urgent global issues. Both are under serious threat because of human intrusion and as a result, it is likely that present and future projects will affect threatened and endangered species. Thus, it is important to account for these impacts when evaluating and conducting cost and benefit analyses of projects. Due to their public good character and non-tradability, the total economic value of threatened and endangered species cannot be reflected by a market price and therefore, alternative approaches (stated preference method) are needed to determine their monetary value. This paper reviews and compares the valuation literature on threatened and endangered animals and conducts a meta-analysis regression to identify explanatory variables for the variation in willingness to pay for threatened and endangered species. The main findings of the meta-analysis show that the interaction of the level of threat and charisma have a positive effect on willingness to pay. Furthermore, developed countries have a higher willingness to pay compared to developing countries. Similarly, visitors of conservation sites have higher willingness to pay than residents. The provided example of a benefit transfer of the estimated function shows the practicability of our results

Perceptions of the seriousness of major public health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in seven middle-income countries

INTRODUCTION: Public perception of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to six other major public health problems (alcoholism and drug use, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, lung cancer and respiratory diseases caused by air pollution and smoking, and water-borne diseases like diarrhea) is unclear. We designed a survey to examine this issue using YouGov's internet panels in seven middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in early 2022. METHODS: Respondents rank ordered the seriousness of the seven health problems using a repeated best-worst question format. Rank-ordered logit models allow comparisons within and across countries and assessment of covariates. RESULTS: In six of the seven countries, respondents perceived other respiratory illnesses to be a more serious problem than COVID-19. Only in Vietnam was COVID-19 ranked above other respiratory illnesses. Alcoholism and drug use was ranked the second most serious problem in the African countries. HIV/AIDS ranked relatively high in all countries. Covariates, particularly a COVID-19 knowledge scale, explained differences within countries; statistics about the pandemic were highly correlated with differences in COVID-19's perceived seriousness. CONCLUSIONS: People in the seven middle-income countries perceived COVID-19 to be serious (on par with HIV/AIDS) but not as serious as other respiratory illnesses. In the African countries, respondents perceived alcoholism and drug use as more serious than COVID-19. Our survey-based approach can be used to quickly understand how the threat of a newly emergent disease, like COVID-19, fits into the larger context of public perceptions of the seriousness of health problems

Does mobile phone technology reduce agricultural price distortions? Evidence from cocoa and coffee industries

Agricultural price distortion which is the discrepancy between world market price of agricultural produce and price received by farmers as a result of market interventions by governments, either through subsidies or taxes or even trade protection systems, has received rare attention in the cocoa and coffee sub-sectors. This study examines the contribution of mobile phone technology in reducing price distortions in cocoa and coffee production. In addition, we tested stylized facts such as the development paradox, resource abundance, and group-size effect in agricultural price distortions literature. The findings suggest that access to mobile phones reduces the extent of price distortions. The effect of mobile phone usage on the extent of price distortion, the nominal rate of assistance, and relative price margin is conditional on internet connectivity. Whereas our results support the development paradox and group-size effect hypotheses, the resource abundance hypothesis is not supported. Based on our results, policies that seek to reduce the cost of telecommunication, increase competition in the telecommunication industry, and increase economic growth would go a long way to reduce price distortion in the cocoa and coffee industries