Policy Entrepreneurs and the Advocacy for Vaccination During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article draws on Kingdon\u27s Multiple Streams Framework to examine the policy entrepreneurs that emerged, the windows of opportunity they identified, and the strategies they used to advocate for mass vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article indicates that politicians, public figures, and governmental and non-governmental organizations played the role of policy entrepreneurs. The article asserts that the problems of high morbidity, mortality, and economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic have social equity implications. Although COVID-19 vaccines are available, there is low political support for vaccination. The article draws attention to the problems, politics, and challenges of asserting COVID-19 vaccination policies. It reports on windows of opportunity policy entrepreneurs identified, and what strategies they used to advocate COVID-19 vaccination, and offers policy implications for addressing social equity concerns and other challenges facing the U.S. economy

Gentrification and Nonprofit Activities for Neighborhood Development in Baltimore, Maryland and Houston, Texas

This study examines the role of community-based nonprofit organizations in neighborhood revitalization/community development and their impact on the level of housing services. The neighborhoods in the study represent certain universalities of gentrification in older communities, and therefore selected for the study. By going beyond the profitability of gentrification, this study examines the social costs associated with gentrification through the lens of nonprofit organizations using quantitative data from Baltimore, Maryland and Houston, Texas. Taking into account nonprofit organizations as important actors in the gentrification field, this study contributes to the understanding of the social cost of gentrification and how community-based nonprofit organizations can be key to mitigating displacement of neighborhood residents and the erosion of social capital

Performance analysis of existing catfish and tilapia value chains and market systems in Nigeria: A post-farmgate value chain scoping study

Nigeria is the largest fish producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fish plays a crucial role in supporting the livelihoods of fish producers and actors along the post-farmgate value chain in the country. Despite the virtues of the aquaculture and fisheries subsectors to enhance the livelihoods of value chain actors, major gaps exist related to efficiencies of the fish value chain. These gaps include the financial performance of post-farmgate actors, gender-disaggregated data on value chain actors, the roles of women and youths in fish trade, and post-farmgate food safety practices. The aim of this study is to fill the data gap in the post-farmgate fish value chain to provide evidence-based policy suggestions to enhance the aquaculture subsector in Nigeria. Using primary data, our study provides evidence on the economic, environmental, social, nutritional and food safety performance of the post-farmgate fish value chain. Our study finds that, in general, fish value chains are economically viable (profitable) and inclusive, as women and youths own over half of post-farmgate value chain activities. These results are of interest to both private and public sector decision-makers and policymakers because they provide quantitative data on value creation (fish sales, employment, service provision), social performance (women and youth empowerment), and environmental, nutritional and food safety challenges along fish value chains

The Adoption, Management, and Performance of Local Government Investment Pools: A Comparative Analysis of State Practices

This dissertation examines the factors influencing a state’s decision to adopt a local government investment pool (LGIP), the institutional arrangements used in managing them, and the effect of the institutional types on LGIP performance. The dissertation extends the policy adoption theory with insights from investment theory to demonstrate that management credibility influences the likelihood of a state’s LGIP adoption. The study finds that the quality of financial management, the quality of professional leadership, proximate state neighbors who have previously adopted an LGIP, and economic factors determine a state’s proclivity to policy adoption. The dissertation also describes the institutional arrangements used in managing LGIPs and develops typologies based on their institutional arrangements. The dissertation compares LGIPs depending on the risk aversion of their institutional arrangements. The research extends the risk-return tradeoff in investment theory to LGIP institutional arrangements. The empirical findings show that LGIP institutional arrangement that has greater risk report higher performance. The dissertation also finds that competition in the LGIP market due to multiple vendors, and periods of economic recession account for higher performance because of higher risk-taking behaviors associated with them. This dissertation promotes public funds investment laws that emphasize prudent management of government finances and guides managers of the public purse on the types of institutional choices that optimize returns with minimal risk

UNT Research Symposium on African Studies

Paper accompanying a presentation for the 2015 University of North Texas (UNT) Student and Faculty Research Symposium on African Studies. This paper discusses electoral decentralization in Ghana and what Ghana's local governments really need for economic development