The impact of agricultural extension on farm production in resettlement areas of Zimbabwe

In this paper, we revisit the contested issue of the impact of agricultural extension on farm production. We exploit two features of the data available to us: its longitudinal nature and explicit measures of farmer ability. We find that after controlling for innate productivity characteristics and farmer ability either using household fixed effects estimation, or by including a measure of farmer ability and village fixed effects, access to agricultural extension services, defined as receiving one or two visits per agricultural year, raises the value of crop production by about 15 per cent. This parameter estimate is statistically significant. However, we also find variability in these parameter estimates across individual crop years, with the impact being markedly different in drought and non-drought years. Collectively, these results suggest that although access to farm-level extension visits does increase productivity even after controlling for innate productivity characteristics and farmer ability, results from single-year cross-sectional studies should be treated with caution

Promoting transparency in the NGO sector: Examining the availability and reliability of self-reported data

Amid widespread calls for NGOs to become more accountable and transparent, this work examines the prevalence of discrepancies between what NGOs say and what they do. It does so using a unique dataset of 300 NGOs in Uganda with corresponding beneficiary assessments. Investigating NGO dishonesty with regards to financial transparency and community participation, the study finds a high incidence of misrepresentation among NGOs. Results from a Heckman probit model suggest that the determinants of misrepresentation differ according to the subject matter: the threat of being caught reduces the likelihood of dishonesty about financial transparency, while a desire to ‘save face’ to maintain a good reputation appears to be the main motivator of a misrepresentation of community consultation. The analysis provides tentative indications that NGOs with antagonistic relations with the government may be more likely to hide information and be dishonest. It also lends some support to the view that excessive and unrealistic donor demands may be an obstacle to openness and transparency. The findings of this work caution against an overly naïve and simplistic view of NGOs, and specifically, an overreliance on reported information when regulating, monitoring or surveying NGOs.

Investing in development or investing in relief: Quantifying the poverty tradeoffs using Zimbabwe household panel data

This study examines the consequences of alternative relief and development interventions on the well being of households in rural Zimbabwe. It does so by: a) establishing a framework that links household resources to levels of poverty; b) validating the quantitative data with group wealth rankings by the households in the study; c) estimating key parameters within this framework, namely: the determinants of net crop income; the determinants of private transfers; and the links between increased incomes and the accumulation of capital stock; and d) conducting a counterfactual exercise in which relief assistance is reduced and reallocating these funds to improve access to agricultural extension and increased holdings of capital stock. Under these counterfactuals, the incidence and severity of poverty in non-drought years fall significantly. The best performing counterfactual, improving access to extension and increasing capital stock reduces the incidence of food poverty by 11 per cent. Under the most basic scenario, the increased income generated by transforming relief aid into agricultural capital is sufficient to fund an adequate diet for each person in each beneficiary household for six months. Further, such improvements in well being are achieved without households necessarily being made worse off during a drought year. These results suggest that for the households in this sample, there is a significant opportunity cost associated with the shift in external aid resources from development to emergency assistance.

The Resources and Governance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Uganda

Using original survey data, we document the activities, resources, and governance structure of NGOs operating in Uganda. The NGO sector is funded primarily by international non-governmental organizations and bilateral donors. We find large differences in size and funding across NGOs, with only a few NGOs attracting most of the funding. Most NGOs are small and underfunded and focus on raising awareness and advocacy. Few NGOs are faith-based. Most screening and monitoring is done by grant agencies. Some monitoring is also done internally by members and trustees. Few respondents were able to provide coherent financial accounts. Reporting requirements appear onerous given the limited organizational capacity of Ugandan NGOs.

A Model of NGO Regulation with an Application to Uganda

We develop a model of regulation of service-delivery NGOs, where future grants are conditional on prior spending of some minimal proportion of current revenue on direct project-related expenses. Such regulation induces some NGOs to increase current project spending, but imposes wasteful costs of compliance verification on all NGOs. Under a large class of parametric configurations, we find that regulation increases total discounted project expenditure over a regime of no regulation, when verification costs constitute no more than 15% of initial revenue. We characterize the optimal regulatory policy under these configurations. We apply our analysis to a large sample of NGOs from Uganda, and find regulation to be beneficial in that context.Regulation of non-governmental organizations, developing countries, Uganda

The Resources and Governance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Uganda

Using original survey data, we document the activities, resources, and governance structure of NGOs operating in Uganda. The NGO sector is funded primarily by international non-governmental organizations and bilateral donors. We Þnd large differences in size and funding across NGOs, with only a few NGOs attracting most of the funding. Most NGOs are small and underfunded and focus on raising awareness and advocacy. Few NGOs are faith-based. Most screening and monitoring is done by grant agencies. Some monitoring is also done internally by members and trustees. Few respondents were able to provide coherent financial accounts. Reporting requirements appear onerous given the limited organizational capacity of Ugandan NGOs.

A Model of NGO Regulation with an Application to Uganda

We develop a model of regulation of service-delivery NGOs, where future grants are conditional on prior spending of some minimal proportion of current revenue on direct project-related expenses. Such regulation induces some NGOs to increase current project spending, but imposes wasteful costs of compliance verification on all NGOs. Under a large class of parametric configurations, we find that regulation increases total discounted project expenditure over a regime of no regulation, when verification costs constitute no more than 15% of initial revenue. We characterize the optimal regulatory policy under these configurations. We apply our analysis to a large sample of NGOs from Uganda, and find regulation to be beneficial in that context.regulation of non-governmental organizations, developing countries, Uganda

Export-oriented Industrialisation Through Primary Processing?

Recent research suggests that East Asia's manufactured export success is not replicable in other developing countries, with lower skill/land ratios. This conclusion, however, is based on a narrow definition of manufactured exports. The present paper asks whether the chances of export-oriented industrialisation in countries with low skill/land ratios seem better when the definition of manufactures is broadened to include processed primary products. The answer from its cross-country econometric analysis is "yes" for countries with moderately skilled labour forces (as in Latin America), but "no” for countries where levels of skill are low (as in Africa)

Revisiting forever gained: income dynamics in the resettlement areas of Zimbabwe

This paper examines income dynamics for a panel of households resettled on former white-owned farms in the aftermath of Zimbabwe's independence. There are four core findings: (i) there has been an impressive accumulation of assets by these households; (ii) while this accumulation has played a role in increases in crop income, increases in returns to these assets have been especially important in generating the dramatic increase in crop incomes observed in these households; (iii) differences in initial conditions across these households, such as previous farming experience, have few persistent effects; and (iv) growth in incomes has been shared across all households, with the largest percentage increases in predicted incomes recorded by households that had the lowest predicted incomes at the beginning of the survey.