Impact of Cash Transfers Programme on Agricultural Production in Kenya: Focus on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Orphans and children from low-income households are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of a growing wealth gap since they are already at the bottom of the social ladder. Most of these households are found in rural areas and are engaged in farming. Governments may use programs like cash transfers (CTs) to cushion the impact of economic uncertainty on the poor. Following the introduction of the cash transfer program for orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya, this research aimed to analyze the impact of cash transfers on agricultural output and labor supply. Based on a difference-in-differences estimate, the study found that orphans and vulnerable children’s families who received cash transfers had an increase in agricultural output of 8.5%. Spending on labor supply and hiring employees for agricultural operations by Orphans and Vulnerable Children households increased by 121% after the program was implemented, compared to households headed by non-Orphans and Vulnerable Children. These findings provide more evidence that governments should take action to increase direct and indirect cash transfers to disadvantaged populations like orphans, suggesting that Cash transfers have a major influence on their quality of life

Impact of Cash Transfers Programme on Agricultural Production in Kenya: Focus on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Orphans and children from low-income households are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of a widening wealth gap, given their position at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The majority of these households reside in rural areas and are primarily involved in farming activities. Governments can employ initiatives such as cash transfers (CTs) to alleviate the impact of economic uncertainty on the impoverished. After the implementation of the cash transfer program targeting orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya, this paper focuses on analysing its impact on agricultural output and labor supply. Employing a difference-in-differences estimation method, the study revealed that families of orphans and vulnerable children who received cash transfers experienced an 8.5% increase in agricultural output. Expenditure on labor supply and recruitment of employees for agricultural activities within households headed by orphans and vulnerable children surged by 121% following the program's initiation, as compared to households led by non-orphans and non-vulnerable children. These findings offer further evidence supporting the necessity for governments to augment both direct and indirect cash transfers to marginalized populations, particularly orphans. This underscores the significant impact cash transfers wield on their overall quality of life. Implementing affirmative policies targeted at these groups remains crucial for bolstering their social well-being. Future studies should include youths who are ravaged by high rates of unemployment due to limited opportunities within various governments

Impact of Cash Transfers Programme on Agricultural Production in Kenya: Focus on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Orphans and children from low-income households are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of a growing wealth gap since they are already at the bottom of the social ladder. Most of these households are found in rural areas and are engaged in farming. Governments may use programs like cash transfers (CTs) to cushion the impact of economic uncertainty on the poor. Following the introduction of the cash transfer program for orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya, this research aimed to analyze the impact of cash transfers on agricultural output and labor supply. Based on a difference-in-differences estimate, the study found that orphans and vulnerable children’s families who received cash transfers had an increase in agricultural output of 8.5%. Spending on labor supply and hiring employees for agricultural operations by Orphans and Vulnerable Children households increased by 121% after the program was implemented, compared to households headed by non-Orphans and Vulnerable Children. These findings provide more evidence that governments should take action to increase direct and indirect cash transfers to disadvantaged populations like orphans, suggesting that Cash transfers have a major influence on their quality of life

Film Productivity and Matching Frictions in the Labor Markets: Is This Unending Curse to Employers?

Firm productivity behavior is heavily influenced by labor market frictions in both emerging and established countries. Kenya keeps pushing for more effective measures to raise productivity, but the significance of friction in the labor market remains unclear. This study uses cross-sectional data from the Skills Toward Employment Productivity (STEP) Household Survey 2016–2017 for Kenya, sourced from the World Bank database, to examine the impact of market friction on firm productivity. Market friction is defined in terms of overeducation, undereducation, education, and skills mismatch. The findings, which were derived from an estimate of the endogenous switching regression (ESR) using the Full specification of the Maximum Likelihood model, demonstrated that undereducation and skills mismatch considerably lower firm production, whereas the effect of overeducation was negligible. In addition, the marginal treatment effect that is crucial for policymaking revealed that overeducation was substantially linked to higher levels of firm productivity, whereas the education and skills mismatch was linked to lower levels of firm productivity. Implications for policy highlight the need of matching graduates with jobs that are well-suited to their degree and experience levels

Firm Productivity and Matching Frictions in th Labor Markets: Is This an Unending Curse to Employers?

The productivity behavior of firms is significantly influenced by labor market frictions in both emerging and established economies. Kenya persistently advocates for enhanced strategies to bolster productivity. The precise impact of labor market friction remains ambiguous. This paper focuses on assessing the influence of qualification and skills mismatch on firm productivity within the context of Kenya. The study utilized secondary crosssectional data obtained from the World Bank database, specifically from the 2016-2017 Skills Toward Employment Productivity (STEP) Household Survey conducted in Kenya. The full specification of the maximum likelihood model under the endogenous switching regression (ESR) was estimated. The results of the study indicate that insufficient education and a mismatch between skills and job requirements have a significantly negative impact on firm productivity. The impact of excessive education on firm production was found to be minimal. The essential finding regarding the marginal treatment effect, which holds significant implications for policymaking, indicates a strong positive association between over-education and firm productivity. A negative association is observed between education and skills mismatch and firm productivity. The policy implications underscore the necessity of aligning graduates with employment opportunities that correspond to their educational background and level of expertise

Film Productivity and Matching Frictions in the Labor Markets: Is This Unending Curse to Employers?

Firm productivity behavior is heavily influenced by labor market frictions in both emerging and established countries. Kenya keeps pushing for more effective measures to raise productivity, but the significance of friction in the labor market remains unclear. This study uses cross-sectional data from the Skills Toward Employment Productivity (STEP) Household Survey 2016–2017 for Kenya, sourced from the World Bank database, to examine the impact of market friction on firm productivity. Market friction is defined in terms of overeducation, undereducation, education, and skills mismatch. The findings, which were derived from an estimate of the endogenous switching regression (ESR) using the Full specification of the Maximum Likelihood model, demonstrated that undereducation and skills mismatch considerably lower firm production, whereas the effect of overeducation was negligible. In addition, the marginal treatment effect that is crucial for policymaking revealed that overeducation was substantially linked to higher levels of firm productivity, whereas the education and skills mismatch was linked to lower levels of firm productivity. Implications for policy highlight the need of matching graduates with jobs that are well-suited to their degree and experience levels

The Effect of National Public Debt on Economic Growth in Kenya

Kenya being a lowermiddle income country compliments tax revenue with government borrowing to finance its national development plans. In an attempt to add to available domestic resources, successive governments have relied on both domestic and external debt to finance the country’s budget.In light of the growing concerns over Kenya’s national public debt sustainability and its potential effect on the economy, this study aimed at analyzing the effect of national public debt on economic growth in Kenya. Specifically, the study sught to establish the effect of domestic debt and external debt on Kenya’s economic growth. Gross Domestic Product was used as the proxy for economic growth while domestic debt, external debt, inflation rate, exchange rate, capital stock and labor force are the explanatory variables. The study used time series data for the period 990 to 209. The data was extracted from the World development indicators and this data was harmonized with data extracted from the data bases of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The data was analyzed through the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression technique. The findings indicated that domestic debt had an insignificant negative effect on Kenyan economy while external debt has insignificant positive effect. The study concluded that internal debt has deleterious while external debt has positive effect on growth

Effects of Uncertainity on Domestic Private Investments in Kenya

The domestic private investment serves as a prerequisite for the development and modernization of any economy. In Kenya, macroeconomic and political uncertainties play a significant role in influencing private domestic investments. That is informed by the fact that these investments allow investors to fund particular ventures, which creates jobs and increase government revenues through taxation, hence boosting the growth of the economy and improving the living standards of the people. However, private domestic investments are severely affected by both macroeconomic and political uncertainties with regards to how the government formulates political, economic, and regulatory policies that affect the business climate. Investors are risk-averse; hence they base investment decisions on prevailing and future conditions of the business environment. This study focused on analyzing the effects of uncertainty on Kenya’s domestic private investments.  The study estimated the Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds technique which captures both short and long-run dynamics of this relationship amongst the variables. Time series data from UNCTAD, World Bank, and the Central Bank of Kenya for the period spanning 1980 to the year 2019 was used.  The study results suggest that real GDP (RGDP) and real effective exchange rates (REER) have a significant and positive effect on private domestic investment (PDI). In contrast, inflation (INFL), Real interest rates (RINR), Political uncertainty (PRI), and WUIKEN (economic policy uncertainty and volatility in the stock markets) have a negative and significant effect on private domestic investments. Based on these results, the most significant factors affecting private domestic investments were found to be political uncertainty (PRI), real gross domestic investment (RGDP), and WUIKEN (economic policy uncertainty and volatility in the stock markets). Effectively, the study recommends that the government should enact policies that increase the ease of doing business and reduce economic and political uncertainty, such as a reduction in the tax rate, stabilization of exchange rate and stable political environment in order to reduce investor uncertainty and skepticism and also enhance their confidence

Effecsts of Uncertainty on Domestic Private Inevestments in Kenya

Domestic private investment serves as a prerequisite for the development and modernization of any economy. In Kenya, macroeconomic and political uncertainties play a significant role in influencing private domestic investments. This is informed by the fact that these investments allow investors to fund ventures, which creates jobs and increase government revenues through taxation. Hence, it boosts the growth of the economy and improves the living standards of the people. However, private domestic investments are severely affected by both macroeconomic and political uncertainties about how the government formulates political, economic, and regulatory policies that affect the business climate. Investors are risk-averse; hence they base investment decisions on prevailing and future conditions of the business environment. This paper focuses on analyzing the effects of uncertainty on Kenya’s domestic private investments. The study estimated the Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds technique which captures both short and long-run dynamics of this relationship among the variables. Time series data from UNCTAD, the World Bank, and the Central Bank of Kenya for the period spanning 1980 to the year 2019 was used.  The study results suggest that real GDP (RGDP) and real effective exchange rates (REER) have a significant and positive effect on private domestic investment (PDI). In contrast, inflation (INFL), Real interest rates (RINR), Political uncertainty (PRI), and WUIKEN (economic policy uncertainty and volatility in the stock markets) have a negative and significant effect on private domestic investments. Based on these results, the most significant factors affecting private domestic investments were found to be political uncertainty (PRI), real gross domestic product (RGDP), and WUIKEN (economic policy uncertainty and volatility in the stock markets). Effectively, the study recommends that the government should enact policies that increase the ease of doing business and reduce economic and political uncertainty, such as a reduction in the tax rate, stabilization of the exchange rate, and stable political environment to reduce investor uncertainty and skepticism and also to enhance their confidence