Evaluating competing theories of informal sector entrepreneurship: a study of the determinants of cross-country variations in enterprises starting-up unregistered

To advance understanding of the reasons for informal sector entrepreneurship, this paper evaluates the determinants of cross-country variations in the extent to which enterprises are unregistered when they start operating. Reporting World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data on 67,515 enterprises across 142 countries, the finding is that one in five (19.9 per cent) of the formal enterprises surveyed started-up unregistered, although this varies from all enterprises surveyed in some countries (e.g., Pakistan) to 1 per cent of surveyed enterprises in Slovakia. To explain these cross-country variations, four competing theories are evaluated which variously assert that nonregistration is determined by either: economic under-development and poorer quality governance (modernisation theory); too much state interference (neo-liberal theory); too little state intervention (political economy theory), or an incongruence between the laws and rules of formal institutions and the beliefs, values and norms of informal institutions (institutional theory). A multilevel probit regression analysis confirms the modernisation, political economy and institutional theories, but not neo-liberal theory. Beyond economic under-development, therefore, nonregistration is associated with too little state intervention and the rules of formal institutions being incongruent with the socially shared beliefs of entrepreneurs. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of these findings

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Visual Impairment among Rural School-Age Children of Goro District, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia

Background: Refractive error is one of the major causes of blindness and visual impairment in children; but community based studies are scarce especially in rural parts of Ethiopia. So, this study aims to assess the prevalence of refractive error and its magnitude as a cause of visual impairment among school-age children of rural community.Methods: This community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 1 to April 30, 2009 in rural villages of Goro district of Gurage Zone, found south west of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was used with simple random selection of representative villages in the district. Chi-Square and t-tests were used in the data analysis.Results: A total of 570 school-age children (age 7-15) were evaluated, 54% boys and 46% girls. The prevalence of refractive error was 3.5% (myopia 2.6% and hyperopia 0.9%). Refractive error was the major cause of visual impairment accounting for 54% of all causes in the study group. No child was found wearing corrective spectacles during the study period.Conclusion: Refractive error was the commonest cause of visual impairment in children of the district, but no measures were taken to reduce the burden in the community. So, large scale community level screening for refractive error should be conducted and integrated with regular school eye screening programs. Effective strategies need to be devised to provide low cost corrective spectacles in the rural community.Keywords: Refractive error, visual acuity, visual impairment, childre

Heavy metal concentrations in fish tissues from Gilgel Gibe (I) Hydroelectric Dam Reservoir, Ethiopia

In this study, the concentrations of selected heavy metals including Cr, Co, Cu, Cd, and Pb were determined in gills, livers, and muscles of two fish species: Orochromis niloticus and Labeoberbus infermedius. The fish samples were collected from Gilgel Gibe I hydroelectric dam reservoir in may 2017. Prior to their quantitative determinations by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, tissue samples were digested by a microwave digestion. Except, Cr (in gills) and Cd (in muscles), the target metals were detected in the gills, livers and muscles of both fish species and showed varied distributions among the tissues. But, the two species were nearly exhibited similar accumulation orders for the studied heavy metals. The order of concentrations of the metals in gill, liver and muscle of Labeoberbus infermedius were: Cu > Pb > Co > Cd; Cr > Cu > Pb > Co > Cd; and Cr > Pb > Cu > Co, respectively and while, in gill, liver and muscle of Orochromis niloticus were: Cu > Co > Pb > Cd; Cr > Cu > Co > Pb > Cd; and Cr > Pb > Cu > Co, respectively. The highest concentrations of Cr and Co were determined in livers; Cd was detected in the gills of both species; Cu was obtained in the liver of Labeoberbus infermedius and in the gill of Orochromis niloticus. Significant differences were observed among the mean concentrations of the metals in the fish tissues (p < 0.05). The concentrations Cr, Co, and Pb were higher than the maximum permissible limits recommended by FAO/WHO and EU. The concentration of Cu was below the maximum permissible limit of FAO/WHO, but above that of EU.Keywords: Gilgel Gibe I hydroelectric Dam; Orochromis niloticusor; Labeoberbus infermedius; Heavy metal

Contesting the underperformance thesis of women entrepreneurs: firm-level evidence from South Africa

This paper provides one of the first known evaluations of whether enterprises in which women are owners underperform male-owned enterprises in the developing world. Until now, the widespread assumption, mostly from developed world studies, has been that enterprises in which women are owners underperform male-owned enterprises. To evaluate this in developing countries where there is a dearth of studies, cross-sectional data is reported from a 2007 World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) of 937 South African enterprises. The finding is that enterprises that are women-owned or jointly owned by men and women perform better than those owned solely by men, after controlling for other determinants of firm performance as well as potential sample selection bias. The outcome is a call to transcend the underperformance thesis regarding women entrepreneurs and for greater resources to be devoted to the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship and women’s involvement in firm ownership

FinTech and women’s entrepreneurship in Africa: the case of Burkina Faso and Cameroon

Our article examines the role of financial technology (FinTech) in improving the occupational choices of women in the global South. We analyse the link between FinTech and entrepreneurship, drawing on large data sets from central and western Africa that hold important novel policy implications for the wider Africa region. Our study helps to clarify if and when financial technology use may translate into self-employment, and how it can contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of marginalised social groups. The article calls for a critical view of financial inclusion and highlights the importance of considering gendered livelihood and resource access patterns. Most of the existing research on financial inclusion in Africa is linked to access to and use of formal bank-based finance. Hence, the expanding mobile money use in Africa is viewed as contributing to financial inclusion. We argue that the dynamics involved are much more complex, and FinTech enters into and interacts with a sophisticated web of informal and formal financial institutions and transactional patterns. Disaggregating our analysis by gender, we explore how the use of mobile money enhances women’s entrepreneurship. The article also advances policy recommendations with important implications for the development of FinTech in the continent

Trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2016

Background: At the national level in Ethiopia, there is limited knowledge of trends and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), particularly during the Millenium Development Goal (MDG) era (2000–2015). The study aimed to examine the trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding and EBF in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2016. Methods: Using the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data for the years: 2000 (n = 3680), 2005 (n = 3528), 2011 (n = 4037) and 2016 (n = 3861), trends in early initiation of breastfeeding and EBF were estimated. Multivariate logistic regression models that adjusted for confounders, sampling weight, clustering and stratification were used to examine the association between socioeconomic, demographic, health service and community level factors with early initiation of breastfeeding and EBF from 2000 to 2016. Results: The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding increased from 48.8% in 2000 to 75.7% in 2016 in Ethiopia. Improvement in EBF prevalence was not statistically significant (from 54.5% in 2000 to 59.9% in 2016). Over the study period, informal maternal employment (Adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 0.75; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.68, 0.83), frequent antenatal care visits (aOR 0.74; 95% CI 0.65, 0.85), and cesarean birthing (aOR 0.22; 95% CI 0.17, 0.30) were associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding. Birthing in the health facility (aOR 1.35; 95% CI 1.05, 1.75) and residing in the metropolis region (aOR 1.95; 95% CI 1.65, 2.32) were associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding. In a similar period, informally employed mothers (aOR 1.37; 95% CI 1.15, 1.63) and those with six or more family size (aOR 1.46; 95% CI 1.10, 1.93) were more likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies. Conclusion: Early initiation of breastfeeding improved in Ethiopia during the MDG era but it is still below the national target; progress in EBF remained slow. To improve breastfeeding outcomes and meet the global breastfeeding targets in Ethiopia, infant feeding efforts should focus on improving key modifiable factors, including place and mode of birthing and socioeconomic status of mothers

Trends and factors associated with complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia from 2005 to 2016

Introducing appropriate complementary feeding at 6 months of age is crucial for the optimal growth and development of an infant. In Ethiopia, however, no previous national‐level studies have examined the trends and associated factors of complementary feeding practices. The aim of this study is to investigate the trends and determinants of complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia from 2005 to 2016. The study was conducted using the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data for 2005 (N = 2,520), 2011 (N = 2,850), and 2016 (N = 2,864). Percentage point changes in complementary feeding indicators were estimated to examine the trends over the EDHS years. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between socioeconomic, demographic, health service, and community‐level factors and (a) the introduction of complementary foods, (b) minimum dietary diversity (MDD), (c) minimum meal frequency (MMF), and (d) minimum acceptable diet (MAD). The proportion of mothers who met MDD increased from 6.3% to 13.5% (p < .001), and MAD increased from 4.1% to 7.1% (p = .003) from 2005 to 2016. Improvements in the introduction of complementary foods (from 50.3% to 59.5%, p = .051) and MMF (from 41.3% to 43.6%, p = .288) were not statistically significant. Maternal education and occupation were associated with the introduction of complementary foods, MDD, MMF, and MAD. Higher partner education and frequent antenatal visits were associated with MDD and MAD. Children whose mothers listened to the radio had higher odds of MDD, MMF, and MAD. Our analysis of the EDHS suggests that the proportion of MDD and MAD were unacceptably low. Interventions aiming to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia should also target mothers with low education, antenatal service usage, and media exposure

Associations between infant and young child feeding practices and acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea in Ethiopia : a propensity score matching approach

Background Acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhoea are the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia. Understanding the associations between infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and ARI and diarrhoea can inform IYCF policy interventions and advocacy in Ethiopia. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between IYCF practices and ARI and diarrhoea in Ethiopian children. Methods This study used the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data for the years 2000 (n = 3680), 2005 (n = 3528), 2011 (n = 4037), and 2016 (n = 3861). The association between IYCF practices and (i) ARI and (ii) diarrhoea were investigated using propensity score matching and multivariable logistic regression models. The IYCF practices include early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), predominant breastfeeding, introduction of complementary foods, continued breastfeeding at two years and bottle feeding. Results Infants and young children who were breastfed within 1-hour of birth and those who were exclusively breastfed had a lower prevalence of ARI. Infants who were exclusively and predominantly breastfed had a lower prevalence of diarrhoea. Early initiation of breastfeeding (Odds ratio [OR]: 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72, 0.92) and EBF (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.83) were associated with lower risk of ARI. Bottle-fed children had higher odds of ARI (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.68). Early initiation of breastfeeding and EBF were associated with lower odds of diarrhoea (OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.94 for Early initiation of breastfeeding and OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.65 for EBF). Infants who were predominantly breastfed were less likely to experience diarrhoea (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.89). Conclusion The recommended best practices for preventing ARI and diarrhoeal diseases in infants and young children namely: the early initiation of breastfeeding, EBF and avoidance of bottle feeding should be institutionalized and scale-up in Ethiopia as part of implementation science approach to cover the know-do-gaps

Mapping geographical differences and examining the determinants of childhood stunting in Ethiopia : a Bayesian geostatistical analysis

Understanding the specific geographical distribution of stunting is essential for planning and implementing targeted public health interventions in high-burdened countries. This study investigated geographical variations in the prevalence of stunting sub-nationally, and the determinants of stunting among children under 5 years of age in Ethiopia. We used the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) dataset for children aged 0–59 months with valid anthropometric measurements and geographic coordinates (n = 9089). We modelled the prevalence of stunting and its determinants using Bayesian geospatially explicit regression models. The prevalence of stunting among children under five years was 36.3% (95% credible interval (CrI); 22.6%, 51.4%) in Ethiopia, with wide variations sub-nationally and by age group. The prevalence of childhood stunting ranged from 56.6% (37.4–74.6%) in the Mekelle Special zone of the Tigray region to 25.5% (10.5–48.9%) in the Sheka zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region. Factors associated with a reduced likelihood of stunting in Ethiopia included non-receipt of breastmilk, mother’s BMI (overweight/obese), employment status (employed), and higher household wealth, while the enablers were residence in the “arid” geographic areas, small birth size of the child, and mother’s BMI (underweight). The prevalence and determinants of stunting varied across Ethiopia. Efforts to reduce the burden of childhood stunting should consider geographical heterogeneity and modifiable risk factors

A quadrature filter approach for registration accuracy assessment of fundus images

This paper presents a method to automatically assess the accuracy of image registration. It is applicable to images in which vessels are the main landmarks such as fundus images and angiography. The method simultaneously exploits not only the position, but also the intensity profile across the vasculatures. The accuracy measure is defined as the energy of the odd component of the 1D vessel profile in the difference image divided by the total energy of the corresponding vessels in the constituting images. Scale and orientation-selective quadrature filter banks have been employed to analyze the 1D signal profiles. Subsequently, the relative energy measure has been calibrated such that the measure translates to a spatial misalignment in pixels. The method was validated on a fundus image dataset from a diabetic retinopathy screening program at the Rotterdam Eye Hospital. An evaluation showed that the proposed measure assesses the registration accuracy with a bias of -0.1 pixels and a precision (standard deviation) of 0.9 pixels. The small Fourier footprint of the orientation selective quadrature filters makes the method robust against noise