A capability approach to the analysis of rural households' wellbeing in Nigeria

Rural households in Nigeria have been characterized as poor, and with little opportunity for development. Many studies have equated poverty with well being, however empirical literature on well being is less researched. This paper attempts bridge the knowledge gap in the empirical literature of well being studies and specifically the use of the capability approach in its application in the Nigerian well being context which is not as well researched as poverty studies. The study made use of the Nigerian Core welfare indices survey questionnaires of 2006 to provide data relevant to capability well being dimensions. The dimensions include housing, health, nutrition, education, asset ownership/economic, information flow and security. The first part of the study involve developing indices of well being using the fuzzy set in order to generate a composite well being index by the elementary indicators of the well being dimensions. The second part of the study used a logistic regression to explore the variability in achieving the composite well being index value by a set of Conversion factors. The fuzzy set result revealed that the capability to attain a desired state of well being is highest with respect to asset ownership and lowest with respect to security. The logistic analysis shows that the predicted probability of attaining the mean capability well being level increases for male headed rural households, increasing educational level and age of the head, increasing household size, employment in the public sector and residence in any other geopolitical zone except the Northwestern zone.Well being, Capability, Rural Households, Nigeria

Economic Valuation Of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)

The paper reviewed the methods in use for the economic valuation of Non-timber forest products. In the main, three methods are used. They are direct market price, indirect market price and non-market estimates. No method is superior to the other but appropriate method of valuation depends on the objective of the study. Also in use, is the financial valuation method. NTFPs can be classified as tradable or non tradable. The tradable NTFPs are significant in international trade. Non-timber forest products also constitute a critical component of food security; it serves as an important source of income for the poor in many developing countries. Value is not the inherent property of an entity. It is only a measure of a relationship between a subject and the object of valuation within a context (time and place or hypothetical scenario). There is a fundamental distinction to be made between a valuation exercise that sets out to explain how choices are made by individual resource users and one that seeks to maximize community. NTFPs include Edibles such as Mushroom, ferns etc. medicinal and dietary supplements, floral products and specialty wood products.Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs); Economic Valuation; Livelihood and Food security

Gender Bias in Microlending: Do Opposites Attract?

This study exploits a quasi-random assignment of clients to loan officers using a unique database and survey from a large microfinance bank in Nigeria to show that opposite-sex preferences affect credit demand and supply. We find that clients matched to loan officers of the opposite gender are more likely to receive credit and are more likely to return for an additional loan with the credit lender

WELFARE AND WELFARE STATISM

As was famously stated by Margaret Mead, “Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts”. The contemporary discourse surrounding welfare and welfare statismis the fruit of a long history whose roots can be traced back through different societies in addressing the universal questions of care and provision. This article is an account of the diverse origins of modern Welfare discourse, as well as a normative overview of the varying arguments in favour of, and against i

Reflections on international migration and development in sub-Saharan Africa

This reflective article sketches the specificity of migratory flows in sub-Saharan Africa, which is essentially intra-regional. While changing dynamically, the distinctive features include increasing female migration, diversification of migration destinations, transformation of labour flows into commercial migration, and emigration of skilled health and other professionals. These migrations take place largely within the context of sub-regional economic unions which are dominated by the economies of a single country, and movements of persons have been directed to a limited number of countries within these unions. Emigration pressure is fuelled by unstable politics, poverty and rapidly growing populations. In general, remittances have been rising steeply and are an important source of income for many poor countries and serve as lifeline to pay for basic services, health care, education of siblings and children and to enhance agricultural production. Yet, millennium development goals and other development agendas are being compromised by the emigration of scarce skilled manpower. A major challenge now facing the region is how to retain, attract back and effectively utilise the rare skills of nationals living abroad for national development. The paper concludes by stressing the need for rich countries to help poor African countries foster local development, reduce poverty and create domestic employment in the spirit of co-responsibility

Mnemonic as an innovative approach to creative teaching of secondary school chemistry

Chemistry as a secondary school subject despite its importance and central role in science and development is often found difficult to understand by students. Chief among the contributing factors being the approaches used by chemistry teachers which tend to make chemistry concepts to be too abstract and uninteresting to students. Thus, most often, students tend to view concepts in chemistry as being too “volatile” as they often are unable to remember them. Thus, in order to ensure that chemistry teaching and learning become more interesting and for students to be able to remember learnt chemistry concepts, the use of mnemonics was suggested. This suggestion is based on the premise that learning and remembering of  information becomes better when presented in forms that are personal, surprising or humorous and when various scientific facts and procedures to be learnt are well connected to more familiar words and phrases. Mnemonic is defined as a memory aid meant to assist in the learning and recall of information that might have been somewhat problematic to recall. Using some chemistry concepts, the paper identified some forms in which  mnemonics can be used innovatively in teaching senior school chemistry. The paper then advocated for the creative usage of mnemonics in teaching chemistry to be included as a vital component of initial training and the retraining of secondary school chemistry teachers. [AJCE 4(2), Special Issue, May 2014

Performances Of The Full Information Estimators In A Two-Equation Structural Model With Correlated Disturbances

The performances of two full information techniques, Three Stage Least Squares (3SLS) and Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) of simultaneous equation models with correlated disturbance terms are compared with the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method in small samples. Comparative performance evaluation of the estimators was done using Average of Estimates, Total Absolute Bias (TAB) of Estimates, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Sum of Squared Residuals (RSS) of parameter estimates. The results of the Monte Carlo experiment showed that OLS is best with large negative or positive correlation, while 3SLS is best with feebly correlated error terms in the case of replication-based averages. The total absolute biases increase consistently as the sample size increases for OLSwhile FIML estimates reveal no distinct pattern. The magnitudes of the estimates yielded by two estimators, OLS and 3SLS, exhibited fairly consistent reaction to changes in magnitudes and direction of correlations of error terms

Investment Opportunities for Tree Crops Development, Processing and Marketing in Nigeria

Nigeria is blessed with various ecology ranging from the mangrove swamps and rainforest in the south, derived and guinea savannah in the north. These agro-ecological zones provide suitable climate and edaphic conditions for the production of various tree crops both local and exotic. This paper discusses investment opportunities for tree crops development, processing and marketing in Nigeria, the development of which will contribute significantly to economic growth   and development of the country. The paper therefore encourages both local and foreign investors to exploit the opportunities in the  tree crops sub-sector of the Nigerian economy. Keywords: Tree Crops, Farming System, Capital Investments,Crop Processing, Export