How the leopard has changed its spots: past dynamics and future opportunities

Agribusiness,

Determinants of Household Poverty Dynamics in Rural Regions of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Poverty has always been studied in a world of certainty. However, if the aim of studying poverty is not only improving the well-being of households who are currently poor, but also preventing people from becoming poor in the future, a new forward looking perspective must be adopted. For thinking about appropriate forward-looking anti-poverty interventions (i.e. interventions that aim to prevent or reduce future poverty rather than alleviate current poverty), the critical need then is to go beyond a cataloging of who is currently poor and who is not, to an assessment of households’ vulnerability to poverty. This study analyses a panel dataset on a representative sample of 150 rural households interviewed in 2007 and 2008 in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province to empirical assess the dynamics of poverty and estimate the determinants of households’ vulnerability to poverty. The result of the study indicates that the number of vulnerable households is significantly larger than for the currently poor households; the vulnerability index was found to be 0,62 compared to 0,56 headcount index in 2008. This implies that while 56 percent of the sampled households are poor (ex post) in 2008, 62 percent are vulnerable to becoming poor (ex ante) in future. The result of the Probit model shows that the age, level of education and occupation of the household head, dependency ratio, exposure to idiosyncratic risks and access to credit are statistically significant in explaining a households’ vulnerability to poverty.Poverty, vulnerability, poverty dynamics, risks, rural households, Food Security and Poverty,

MULTINOMIAL LOGIT ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD COOKING FUEL CHOICE IN RURAL KENYA: A CASE OF KISUMU DISTRICT

The study uses multinomial logit model to investigate the factors that determine household cooking fuel choice between firewood, charcoal, and kerosene in Kisumu, Kenya. Empirical results indicate that level of education of wife, the level of education of husband, type of food mostly cooked, whether or not the household owns the dwelling unit, and whether or not the dwelling unit is traditional or modern type are important factors that determine household cooking fuel choice. Implications for regional and national fuel policies are discussed.Consumer/Household Economics,

The effects of economic incentives in controlling pollution in the South African Leather Industry

Pollution of the environment is becoming an increasingly serious problem. A large contributor to this is industry which generates effluent as a by-product of its production process. Two methods of controlling the pollution generated by industry are the so-called “command and control†techniques and economic incentives. In theory, economic incentives promise a more economically efficient and equitable means of pollution control. This paper sets out to ascertain whether this would hold in practice by applying environmental economic theory to the practical problem of controlling the effluent generated by one particular industry, viz the South African leather industry.Environmental Economics and Policy,

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF RESETTLEMENT FARMERS OF ZIMBABWE

This paper examines the technical efficiency of the resettlement sector of the agricultural system in Zimbabwe. The land reform programme aims to redistribute land from large-scale commercial farmers to the small-scale peasantry sector so as to reduce rural poverty. Since such an agrarian reform could result in higher output, higher labour absorption, and a more equitable distribution of income, it is important to assess the level of efficiency of the beneficiaries of this programme. The stochastic frontier function model of the Cobb-Douglas type was used to determine the technical efficiency of a group of 44 cotton farmers from Mutanda resettlement scheme of Manicaland province. Technical inefficiency effects are estimated and are assumed to be a function of other observable variables related to the farming operations. The results reveal some technical efficiency levels of the sample farmers that are varied widely, ranging from 22 per cent to 99 percent, with a mean value of about 71%. The technical inefficiency effects are found to be significant at the 25 per cent level. Technical inefficiency of cotton production decreased with increased family size and age of the head of household, but increased with farm size and education level of head of household.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Determinants of Household Poverty Dynamics in Rural Regions of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Poverty has always been studied in a world of certainty. However, if the aim of studying poverty is not only improving the well-being of households who are currently poor, but also preventing people from becoming poor in the future, a new forward looking perspective must be adopted. For thinking about appropriate forward-looking anti-poverty interventions (i.e. interventions that aim to prevent or reduce future poverty rather than alleviate current poverty), the critical need then is to go beyond a cataloging of who is currently poor and who is not, to an assessment of households’ vulnerability to poverty. This study analyses a panel dataset on a representative sample of 150 rural households interviewed in 2007 and 2008 in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province to empirical assess the dynamics of poverty and estimate the determinants of households’ vulnerability to poverty. The result of the study indicates that the number of vulnerable households is significantly larger than for the currently poor households; the vulnerability index was found to be 0,62 compared to 0,56 headcount index in 2008. This implies that while 56 percent of the sampled households are poor (ex post) in 2008, 62 percent are vulnerable to becoming poor (ex ante) in future. The result of the Probit model shows that the age, level of education and occupation of the household head, dependency ratio, exposure to idiosyncratic risks and access to credit are statistically significant in explaining a households’ vulnerability to poverty

Economics of Meat Production from the Springbuck in the Eastern Cape Karoo

The feasibility of springbuck based meat production in the EC Karoo was analysed through a stochastic budgeting model, while overtly taking cost and price risk into consideration. Monte Carlo simulation of a springbuck based meat production enterprise was used to quantify the risks that would be faced by springbuck ranchers. Springbuck ranching has been proven a viable alternative in the production of highly nutritious and healthy meat (venison) that is on high demand in European markets and more recently with a promising and growing local demand as well. The results indicate that in the Eastern Cape Karoo, springbuck ranching for meat production is a viable business. As the call for more environmentally friendlier rangelands utilisation economic systems intensifies, rangelands owners in the EC Karoo have a practicable option. At the very least, an alternative to broaden their incomes with springbuck based meat production exists

MULTINOMIAL LOGIT ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD COOKING FUEL CHOICE IN RURAL KENYA: A CASE OF KISUMU DISTRICT

The study uses multinomial logit model to investigate the factors that determine household cooking fuel choice between firewood, charcoal, and kerosene in Kisumu, Kenya. Empirical results indicate that level of education of wife, the level of education of husband, type of food mostly cooked, whether or not the household owns the dwelling unit, and whether or not the dwelling unit is traditional or modern type are important factors that determine household cooking fuel choice. Implications for regional and national fuel policies are discussed

Multinominal logit analysis of household cooking fuel choice in rural Kenya: The case of Kisumu district

The study uses multinomial logit model to investigate the factors that determine household cooking fuel choice between firewood, charcoal, and kerosene in Kisumu, Kenya. Empirical results indicate that level of education of wife, the level of education of husband, type of food mostly cooked, whether or not the household owns the dwelling unit, and whether or not the dwelling unit is traditional or modern type are important factors that determine household cooking fuel choice. Implications for regional and national fuel policies are discussed