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Article
Publication date: 2 February 2010

K. Ogundari, T.T. Amos and S.O. Ojo

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the technical efficiency (TE) of the rainfed rice farming system in Nigeria.

441

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the technical efficiency (TE) of the rainfed rice farming system in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Special attention is directed to the construction of confidence interval (CI) for individual efficiency estimates using stochastic frontier production model.

Findings

The results show that the coefficient of the regression monotonically and significantly increased output level, while returns‐to‐scale (RTS) of 0.943 suggest decreasing RTS in the study. An average point estimate of TE of 0.669 is obtained from the analysis. CI show that the TE intervals are quite wide, as the assumption that farms originally identified to be on the frontier, or very close to the frontier, by the point estimate may be below the frontier. Age and years of schooling of the farmers are efficiency‐increasing policy variables found in the study.

Originality/value

Contrary to the previous efficiency studies, the present study demonstrates that economic inferences drawn on the basis of CI seem plausible to provide much more fruitful and insightful information about the TE of farms in the country, rather than the point estimation alone.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

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Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Kolawole Ogundari and Adebayo Aromolaran

This study aims to investigate the causal relationship between nutrition and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

407

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the causal relationship between nutrition and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic panel causality test based on the Blundell-Bond’s system generalized methods-of-moment was used. To make efficient inference for the estimates, the authors check for the panel unit root and co-integration relationship amongst the variables.

Findings

The variables were found to be non-stationary at level, stationary after first difference and co-integrated. The results of the causality tests reveal evidence of long and short-run bidirectional causality between nutrition and economic growth, which implies that nutritional improvement is a cause and consequence of economic growth and vice versa.

Originality/value

This is the first study to consider causality between nutrition and economic growth in the region.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

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Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Kolawole Ogundari, Shoichi Ito and Victor O Okoruwa

– The purpose of this paper is to examine how the intakes of calories, proteins, and fats vary with income in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

310

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the intakes of calories, proteins, and fats vary with income in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design/methodology/approach

Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields a balanced panel was employed for analysis. Nutrient-income elasticities are estimated based on the aggregate Engel Curve framework, using a feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) technique that is robust to autocorrelation.

Findings

The estimated nutrient-income elasticities are small: a 10 percent increase in income will lead, respectively, to rises of about 0.73, 0.87, and 0.90 percent in calories, proteins, and fats intake; showing that policies that are aimed at eliminating malnutrition through only the growth of per capita income will have positive but limited impacts. The estimated aggregate Engel Curve and the non-parametric plots show that at higher income levels the relationship between income and nutrient intake is non-linear and diminished, suggesting a low likelihood for the manifestation of an obesity epidemic in SSA.

Originality/value

This is the very study that attempts to look at the nutrition-income elasticities at cross-country level in SSA.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2022

Kolawole Ogundari

This study aims to address two research questions. First, do the agricultural extension services have an impact on the potential outcomes considered in the primary studies, and to…

631

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to address two research questions. First, do the agricultural extension services have an impact on the potential outcomes considered in the primary studies, and to what extent? Second, how sensitive is the reported impact to the study-specific characteristics in the primary studies?

Design/methodology/approach

The paper synthesizes 45 studies that assessed the causal impact of agricultural extension services published in 2004–2021, using meta-regression analysis. It considers three measures of effect sizes – Cohen’s, Hedges and principal correlation coefficient (PCC) – to standardize the reported impact of agricultural extension services in the primary studies.

Findings

The empirical results show that, on average, agricultural extension services have statistically significant and positive impacts on the potential outcomes identified in the primary studies. However, the magnitude of the impact is considered medium-sized. Other results show that the effect size estimates of agricultural extension services' impact significantly vary with the data type (cross-sectional data vs. panel data), research design (non-experimental vs. experimental design) and econometric methods employed in the primary studies.

Practical implications

One can argue that the medium-sized impact we estimated indicates evidence of a moderate, weak relationship between agricultural extension services and the potential outcomes considered in the primary studies. This means that agricultural extension services need to be restructured in the current form to stimulate change in the agricultural sector globally. In addition, the sensitivity of effect sizes to study attributes (i.e. data types, research design and econometric methods) shows that researchers and academicians need to pay attention to these attributes to provide more reliable estimates for policy purposes.

Originality/value

This is the first study that attempts to shed light on the overall performance of agricultural extension services using a meta-regression analysis approach.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

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Article
Publication date: 23 November 2021

Kolawole Ogundari

The cyclical behavior of US crime rates reflects the dynamics of crime in the country. This paper aims to investigate the US's club convergence of crime rates to provide insights…

166

Abstract

Purpose

The cyclical behavior of US crime rates reflects the dynamics of crime in the country. This paper aims to investigate the US's club convergence of crime rates to provide insights into whether the crime rates increased or decreased over time. The paper also analyzes the factors influencing the probability of states converging to a particular convergence club of crime.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on balanced panel data from all 50 states and the district of Columbia on violent and property crime rates covering 1976–2019. This yields a cross-state panel of 2,244 observations with 55 time periods and 51 groups. In addition, the author used a club clustering procedure to investigate the convergence hypothesis in the study.

Findings

The empirical results support population convergence of violent crime rates. However, the evidence that supports population convergence of property crime rates in the study is not found. Further analysis using the club clustering procedure shows that property crime rates converge into three clubs. The existence of club convergence in property crime rates means that the variation in the property crime rates tends to narrow among the states within each of the clubs identified in the study. Analysis based on an ordered probit model identifies economic, geographic and human capital factors that significantly drive the state's convergence club membership.

Practical implications

The central policy insight from these results is that crime rates grow slowly over time, as evident by the convergence of violent crime and club convergence of property crime in the study. Moreover, the existence of club convergence of property crime is an indication that policies to mitigate property crime might need to target states within each club. This includes the efforts to use state rather than national crime-fighting policies.

Social implications

As crimes are committed at the local level, this study's primary limitation is the lack of community-level data on crime and other factors considered. Analysis based on community-level data might provide a better representation of crime dynamics. However, the author hopes to consider this as less aggregated data are available to use in future research.

Originality/value

The paper provides new insights into the convergence of crime rates using the club convergence procedure in the USA. This is considered an improvement to the methods used in the previous studies.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

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Article
Publication date: 7 January 2014

Kolawole Ogundari

The aim of this study is in twofolds. First, to take a critical look at nutrient consumed and its trends and second, to examine the relationship between share of nutrient consumed…

243

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is in twofolds. First, to take a critical look at nutrient consumed and its trends and second, to examine the relationship between share of nutrient consumed across selected food groups and per capita income in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses seemingly unrelated regressions.

Findings

The result of the first objective reveals that the average calorie, protein and fat intakes were still below the recommended daily allowance since the 1960s as diets in Nigeria remained very much cereal-based over the years. Also, the results of objective two show that calorie, protein, and fat share of animal products respond positively but inelastic to the per capita income growth in Nigeria over the years.

Originality/value

Contrary to previous studies, the present study is designed not to fit aggregated nutrient demand from various food items as a function of income, but to relate the nutrient share of each homogenous and heterogeneous food product categories to the aggregated nutrient intake from these food groups and per capita income in Nigeria.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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Article
Publication date: 4 May 2022

Kolawole Ogundari, Adebayo Aromolaran and Joseph Oluwagbenga Akinwehinmi

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many households to experience income shocks because of the unprecedented job loss, resulting in the demand for public and private food assistance…

140

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many households to experience income shocks because of the unprecedented job loss, resulting in the demand for public and private food assistance programs and a surge in unemployment insurance filing in the USA. This study aims to investigate the association between social safety programs (e.g. supplementary nutritional assistance programs (SNAP), unemployment insurance and charitable food assistance) and household food sufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used the Household Pulse Surveys (HPS) conducted by the US Census Bureau from August 2020 to March 2021. And, the authors used an ordered probit model for the empirical analysis because the indicator of food sufficiency constructed from the HPS is an ordinal variable with four categories. The indicator identifies four groups of households: severe food insufficiency, moderate food insufficiency, mild food sufficiency and food sufficiency.

Findings

The results show that food sufficiency is significantly higher among the SNAP, unemployment insurance and charitable food assistance recipients than non-recipients. Furthermore, the results indicate that food sufficiency is significantly lower among black, Asian, Hispanic and other races than white households. Concerning the intersectional effect of social safety net programs and race/ethnicity on household food sufficiency, the authors find that the household food sufficiency is significantly higher among white, black and Asian households who benefited from SNAP, compared with non-beneficiary households. On the other hand, the authors find no evidence that participation in SNAP increases food sufficiency significantly among Hispanics and other races. In addition, the likelihood of food sufficiency increases significantly among white, black, Asian, Hispanic and other races that received unemployment insurance and charitable food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with those who did not benefit from the programs.

Practical implications

These results underscore the critical role collective America’s social safety net programs played in increasing food sufficiency among Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the results suggest that families' basic needs (food sufficiency) would have been at risk if these safety net programs were not available to households during the pandemic. This, therefore, highlights the important role that government- and non-government-supported food emergency assistance programs can play in preventing people from facing food insufficiency problems in a tough time or during a crisis in the USA.

Originality/value

This study highlights the dynamic relationship between Americans’ social safety net programs and household food sufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

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Article
Publication date: 17 May 2021

Stanley Emife Nwani

The purpose of this study is to examine the interactive role of human capital development (HCD) in foreign aid-growth relations in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa countries from…

378

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the interactive role of human capital development (HCD) in foreign aid-growth relations in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa countries from 1985–2019.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used panel data that cut across all countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa collected from The World Bank’s Development Indicators. The data were analysed using Bai and Ng panel unit root idiosyncratic cross-sectional tests and the system generalised method of moments (SGMM).

Findings

The study found that foreign aid and HCD have negative impacts on economic growth. Fortunately, the interaction of human capital with foreign aid reduces the extent to which foreign aid impedes economic growth. The presumption is that South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa economies had not reaped the potential growth effect of foreign aid inflows due to high illiteracy rates and weak social capacities. The peculiarity of these regions hinders the absorptive capacity to transform positive externality associated with foreign aid into sizeable economic prosperity.

Practical implications

It is imperative for South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa countries to not depend on foreign aid; instead, the strategic action by policymakers should be to developing sustainable social capacities with HCD as the centre-piece.

Originality/value

The highpoint of this study is its inter-regional approach and the interplay between human capital and foreign aid using the second generation panel unit root estimator and the SGMM approaches.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

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Article
Publication date: 29 July 2020

Roseline Tapuwa Karambakuwa, Ronney Ncwadi and Andrew Phiri

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of human capital on economic growth for a selected sample of nine SSA countries between 1980 and 2014 using a panel econometric…

480

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of human capital on economic growth for a selected sample of nine SSA countries between 1980 and 2014 using a panel econometric approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors estimate a log-linearized endogenous using the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and the dynamic ordinary least squares (POLS) applied to our panel data time series.

Findings

The empirical analysis shows an insignificant effect of human capital on economic growth for our selected sample. These findings remain unchanged even after adding interactive terms to human capital, which are representatives of government spending as well as foreign direct investment. Nevertheless, the authors establish a positive and significant effect of the interactive term between urbanization and human capital on economic growth.

Practical implications

The results emphasize the need for African policymakers to develop urbanized, “smart”, technologically driven cities within the SSA region as a platform toward strengthening the impact of human capital-economic growth relationship.

Originality/value

This study becomes the first in the literature to validate the human capital–urbanization–growth relationship for African countries.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 47 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

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Article
Publication date: 16 August 2022

Abebayehu Girma Geffersa

The purpose of this paper is to measure technical efficiency and examine its determinants while disentangling unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity from actual inefficiency…

200

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to measure technical efficiency and examine its determinants while disentangling unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity from actual inefficiency using comprehensive household-level panel data.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper estimates technical efficiency based on the true random-effects stochastic production frontier estimator with a Mundlak adjustment. By utilising comprehensive panel data with 4,694 observations from 39 districts of four major maize-producing regions in Ethiopia, the author measures technical efficiency and examine its determinants while disentangling unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity from technical inefficiency. By using competing stochastic production frontier estimators, the author provides insights into the influence of farm heterogeneity on measuring farm efficiency and the subsequent impact on the ranking of farmers based on their efficiency scores.

Findings

The study results indicate that ignoring unobservable farmer heterogeneity leads to a downwards bias of technical efficiency estimates with a consequent effect on the ranking of farmers based on their efficiency scores. The mean technical efficiency score implied that about a 34% increase in maize productivity can be achieved with the current input use and technology in Ethiopia. The key determinants of the technical inefficiency of maize farmers are the age, gender and formal education level of the household head, household size, income, livestock ownership, and participation in off-farm activities.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings of this study are critical for informing policy on improving agricultural production and productivity, a few important things are worth considering in terms of the generalisability of the findings. First, the study relied on secondary data, so only a snapshot of environmental factors was accounted for in the empirical estimations. Second, there could be other sources of unmeasured potential sources of heterogeneity caused by persistent technical inefficiency and endogeneity of inputs. Third, the study is limited to one country. Therefore, future research should extend the analysis to ensure the generalisability of the empirical findings regarding the extent to which unmeasured potential sources of heterogeneity caused by persistent technical inefficiency, endogeneity of inputs and other unobservable country-specific features – such as geographical differences.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on agricultural productivity and efficiency by providing new evidence on the influence of unobservable heterogeneity in a farm efficiency analysis. While agricultural production is characterised by heterogeneous production conditions, the influence of unobservable farm heterogeneity has generally been ignored in technical efficiency estimations, particularly in the context of smallholder farming. The value of this paper comes from disentailing producer-specific random heterogeneity from the actual inefficiency.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 72 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

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