To Have and to Hold: An Analysis of Young Adult Debt

Today's young adults often have been characterized as a generation of borrowers. But are they any different from past generations, or the current generation of adults, in the amount of debt they carry?In this Issue Brief Ngina Chiteji takes a careful look at debt in young adulthood, finding that, contrary to popular perception, most of today's young adults are not carrying an unusual or excessive amount of debt, at least not by historical standards or given their time in life, just starting out. The fraction of indebted young adult households age 25 to 34 has barely changed in 40 years, and while, in general, young households carry more debt than the population at large, this is consistent with the predictions of economic theory and most young adults appear to have manageable debt loads

Review of Tax Treaty Practices and Policy Framework in Africa

In recent years, tax treaties concluded by sub-Saharan African countries have become more residence-based with fewer provisions allocating taxing rights to the source countries. This trend is observed in treaties signed with OECD countries in particular. For countries which are capital importers, as is the case with most African countries, this means that these countries have been slowly ceding their taxing rights over income earned within their jurisdiction. This could be deliberate as the countries try to attract foreign direct investment, or it could be the result of a lack of policy to guide treaty negotiations. In the countries we reviewed, the latter reason seemed to prevail. From this study, it is apparent that many sub-Saharan African countries do not have a treaty policy in place. The lack of a policy creates ambiguity on matters such as who should be involved in negotiating and concluding tax treaties, which countries are viable treaty partners, and the minimum tax treaty terms that a country should contend for. This provides room for political and elite capture of the negotiation process and leads to the conclusion of treaties without adequate consideration of their technical implications, which could therefore be detrimental to the country. A well-crafted and properly implemented treaty policy could go a long way in resolving most of the issues faced by sub-Saharan African countries in concluding tax treaties. The lack of capacity and technical understanding of tax treaties makes development of such treaty policy and model treaties an uphill task for most sub-Saharan African countries. Thus, there is need for training and capacity building in the area of tax treaties, and help in the formulation of a tax treaty policy and model. This training and help can come both from experts within the countries themselves and through external support from other countries

Kenya tourism marketing plan (2015/2018)

This marketing plan project is a culmination of extensive strategies with the use of experiential marketing to address issues confronting the Kenyan tourism industry in order to have a sustainable tourism sector. Following the terrorist attack carried out by Islamist militants’ belonging to al-Shabaab terrorist organization on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in September 2013, tourist forecast has gone down sharply with an average of 20% fall in tourists’ arrivals which is likely to have an impact on the tourism sector in Kenya. Even before the deadly attack on Westgate, the most lethal attack by Islamist terrorists in 15 years in Kenya, the government through the Kenya tourist board had announced that in 2013 tourist arrivals were down by 12%, at 495,978, according to an October 2013 report by Bloomberg. Tourism revenues were also down by 7.4%, over FY12/13 (July-June) to reach KES96.24bn, according to a September 2013 report on the local Capital FM website. Beyond 2013, much will depend on how quickly the Kenya tourist board can regain control of the situation. The Kenyan government believes that the Westgate mall attack was a 'one-off' incident, with a low probability of a similar event happening again over the short term period. Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, France and Canada continue to be the key source market however; the Kenya tourist board can make continued growth stronger from new emerging markets in order to increase new arrivals into the country. The marketing plan outlines the objectives to be implemented and provides the implementation strategy, activity plans, monitoring and evaluation plans, financial requirements projections and proposes a new structure of experiential marketing. A number of regional forces are identified that will impact tourism into the country including global, social and economic forces, emerging trends in visitor motivations and behavior, emerging forces in experiential marketing. A major component of the strategy identifies target markets for Kenya to commensurate with the level of resources that will be available for marketing and promotion, in keeping with the forces and trends identified and the nature of the Kenya tourism environment. The agreed upon target market segments are: generic/mass travel, experiential travel, creative travel, adventure seeking travel, senior/extended/long stay travel, and business related travel. The strategy phases the development of the target markets over the years of the marketing strategies in order to yield the best opportunity for results. A core activity in developing a marketing strategy is determining the nature of experiences Kenya offers in tourism. The strategy’s experience development process will continue to develop within the context of the products identified which will be promoted regionally: culture/heritage, nature, community-based. Each county in the country has a significant number of attractions and experiences and the challenge of the country is to bring these together in a creative and innovative way in order to encourage tourists to visit more than one county in Kenya

Analyse des pratiques de convention fiscale et du cadre stratégique sur les politiques fiscales en Afrique

Tax treaties are agreements through which two countries agree to assign and restrict taxing rights on economic activities that span both countries. They were traditionally concluded mainly to avoid double taxation and create a favourable investment climate. However, in recent years, tax treaties concluded by sub-Saharan African countries – with OECD countries in particular – have often resulted in them slowly ceding their taxing rights over income earned within their jurisdiction. This revenue loss is not comparable to the expected benefits from foreign investment. Increased awareness of the impact of unfavourable tax treaties on state revenue has seen some sub-Saharan African countries cancel, suspend and or renegotiate some treaties. This paper proposes that sub-Saharan African countries develop and implement a tax treaty policy framework to ensure that they safeguard their interests when concluding tax treaties. It considers the role of tax treaty policy, what factors should inform such a policy, and how to develop an effective negotiating strategy. The study reviewed literature on the history of tax treaties and their impact on developing countries in Africa and interviewed key stakeholders in seven countries.Les conventions fiscales sont des accords par lesquels deux pays s’accordent sur les attributions et les restrictions de droits fiscaux sur les activités économiques qui s’étendent sur les deux pays. Ils étaient traditionnellement conclus principalement dans le but d’éviter la double imposition et de créer un climat favorable aux investissements. Cependant, ces dernières années, les conventions fiscales signées par les pays d’Afrique sub-saharienne -particulièrement avec les pays de l’OCDE – les ont souvent amenés à céder progressivement leurs droits d’imposition sur les revenus générés au sein de leur juridiction. Cette perte de revenu n’est pas comparable aux bénéfices attendus des investissements étrangers. Une prise de conscience de plus en plus grande de l’impact de conventions fiscales défavorables sur les revenus nationaux a engendré l’annulation, la suspension ou la renégociation de certaines conventions par certains pays d’Afrique sub-saharienne. Ce document propose que les pays d’Afrique sub-saharienne développent et appliquent un cadre stratégique sur les politiques fiscales dans le but d’assurer la préservation de leurs intérêts lors de la signature de conventions fiscales. Cette étude considère le rôle d’une réglementation des conventions fiscales, quels facteurs devraient guider ces règles et comment développer une stratégie de négociation efficace. Nous avons examiné la littérature traitant de l’histoire des conventions fiscales et de leur impact sur les pays en développement en Afrique, et nous avons interviewé des acteurs majeurs dans sept pays. Résumé du document de travail de l’ICTD 102 par Catherine Ngina Mutava

Family Matters: Kin Networks and Asset Accumulation

Family Matters: Kin Networks and Asset Accumulatio

Wheat in Kenya: Past and Twenty-First Century Breeding

Plant breeders aim to improve crop varieties to benefit humankind. Since wheat was introduced in Kenya, numerous varieties have been released and cultivated to varying extents. Past genetic gains have been fragile due to various environmental challenges-mostly rust diseases, and unfavorable socio-economic national policy for the crop. The role and the contribution of wheat breeding to the success of the crop in Kenya for over a century is reviewed. It is considered that systematic exploitation of local and introduced genetic diversity has contributed to release of varieties with superior genetics over time, enhancing productivity from 1 ton/ha in the 1920’s to approximately 3 tons/ha recently. Consistent rise in demand to about 1 million metric tons suggests that the national wheat breeding research program must be remodeled to leverage modern tools and best practices; to reconsider its target range of breeding environments in the wake of climate change; to entrench its engagement with the international wheat research programs; and to promote a culture of continuous mentorship. Here, cases are highlighted where the national program has moved in such positive directions to address the varietal needs of a crop that has fully integrated in the economy and the diets of many Kenyans

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY BREAKDOWN AND PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S LEARNING OUTCOME IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

The rising number of family breakdown worldwide is a great concern for children and families. Divorce and separation destroy the relationship between parents and children. Due to family conflicts and breakdown the child may be pre-occupied with worries at home, withdrawn and not able to fully get involved in school activities hence affecting his/her learning outcome. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between family breakdown and a child’s learning outcome in Limuru Zone, Kiambu County. The Humanistic theory by Abraham Maslow guided the study. The study employed the descriptive survey design using a sample size of 10 (63%) public primary schools, 20 (49%) preschool teachers, 134 (10%) parents who divorced or separated with their spouses in the last 6 months to 5 years during the study period and 134 (10%) children of these parents. Questionnaires for parents were used to find out the prevalence of broken families in Limuru Zone and its effects on pre-primary children’s learning outcome while interviews were administered to teachers. A pilot study was conducted in two 3-streamed primary schools using six teachers, 10 parents and 10 children. Validity of the instruments was determined using content validity while reliability was tested through split half technique at a coefficient of 0.7. Analysis of quantitative data was done using means, tallies, frequencies and percentages while inferential data was tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient at 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that family breakdown has significant effects on preprimary children learning outcome and recommended that MoEST should employ trained counselors in all public pre-primary schools to offer help to children as well as parents coming from broken families.  Article visualizations

Effect of tax reforms on voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Kenya: a case of Nairobi County

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Commerce at Strathmore UniversityDespite the crucial role played by SMEs in raising tax revenues and the tremendous growth experienced in this sector, the tax gap within this sector is still very high reaching about 33.1% to 35%. This has been attributed to among other factors low voluntary compliance levels. To deal with this trend, the government has over the years instituted various tax reforms. Nevertheless, the impact of these tax reforms on voluntary compliance levels is mixed and hence, this study sought to clarify these findings. The aim of the study therefore, was to assess the effect of tax reforms on voluntary tax compliance among SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study sought to establish the effect of technological tax reforms on the voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya; to determine the effect of administrative tax reforms on the voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya; to examine the effect of tax payer education reforms on the voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya; to find out the effect of tax policy reforms on the voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya and to establish the joint effect of tax reforms on the voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study covered the reforms undertaken for the period 2008 to 2018. The study was guided by the economic deterrence theory, the Allingham and Sandmo theory and the fiscal psychology models. The study applied a mixed methods research design. The study targeted all the 8983 licensed SMEs within the Nairobi CBD and 27 KRA officials handling tax issues within the Nairobi CBD region. In selecting the sample, simple random sampling and purposive sampling were used. Primary data using semi-structured questionnaires and structured interview guides was collected. The data analysis was undertaken using qualitative and quantitative approaches. A multiple linear regression model was used to show the link between tax reforms and tax compliance among SMEs in Nairobi County. The study findings showed that all the tax reforms had a positive and significant isolated or individual effect on voluntary tax compliance among businesses under study. Results on the combined effect of tax reforms on voluntary tax compliance among these businesses revealed that technological tax reforms, administrative tax reforms, taxpayer education reforms and tax policy reforms had a joint positive and significant effect on voluntary tax compliance among SMEs in Nairobi County. The study therefore concluded that implementation of effective tax reforms simultaneously was likely to improve the level of voluntary tax compliance among SMEs. Several recommendations were made in line with the findings obtained

Effect of Market Structure on Financial Performance of Deposit Taking Microfinance Institutions in Nairobi City County, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of market structure on financial performance of Deposit Taking Microfinance Institutions (DTMIs) in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Mixed method of research design was used and data was collected using questionnaires and secondary data collection sheet. Target population was the 12 registered DTMIs in Kenya from which sixty (60) portfolio managers and credit officers were randomly selected to form the sample size. Cronbach test of 0.809 was obtained and validity of the research instruments was ensured through content, criterion and construct validity testing. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics which included correlation analysis, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis. The study established a positive statistically significant relationship between market structure and financial performance. The market structure explained 62.2% of the changes in the financial performance DTMIs in Kenya. It’s recommended that, market share should be strengthened in financial institutions to enable them proactively increase their deposit accounts and number of clients. Keywords: market structure, financial performance, Deposit Taking Microfinance Institutions (DTMIs

"Asset Ownership Across Generations"

This paper examines cross-generational connections in asset ownership. It begins by presenting a theoretical framework that develops the distinction between the intergenerational transfer of knowledge about financial assets and the direct transfer of dollars from parents to children. Its analysis of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) reveals intergenerational correlations in asset ownership, and we find evidence to suggest that parental asset ownership or family-based exposure to assets affects adult childrenÕs decisions about bank account and stock ownership.