bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management training: An impact theory
Authors: Berardinelli Paula K. , Burrow James L. , Dillon Jones Linda S.
Published: July 2007

A theory of the impact of management training on organizational performance has been constructed according to Dubin's theory‐building process (1978). To develop and validate the theory, a review of the literature on the transfer of training and its impact, a case‐study methodology including focus group interviews with managers in a Fortune 500 company, and structured evaluations by panels of management and training experts were used. The proposed theory expands upon previous conceptualizations of impact by exploring the relationships between learning experience, individual characteristics, and work environment. The theory‐building process details the transformation and combination of these variables into testable hypotheses to predict the impact of training variables on organizational performance.
Partnerships for training transfer: Lessons from a corporate study
Authors: Brinkerhoff Robert O. , Montesino Max U.
Published: July 2007

This study explores the impact of two management interventions, a pre‐training expectations discussion and an after‐training follow‐up discussion, on the transfer of skills from training programs to the work situation. Ninety‐one trainees in five skill development courses in a Fortune 200 company in Michigan participated in this study. For each course, the trainees were randomly assigned to two groups: (1) those whose managers provided the specified pre‐ and postsession interventions and (2) those whose managers did not provide them. Comparisons were made to see which group reported more instances of training transfer and selected transfer‐related factors. The results showed significantly higher training usage and a more positive perception regarding the forces that encourage transfer of training within the work environment among the trainees who received the management support interventions. On the other hand, the trainees who did not receive management support reported lower training usage and perceived more forces mitigating against transfer. The findings provide further evidence that support provided by managers before and after training leads to greater transfer of training. The study recommends building strong trainer‐manager‐trainee partnerships in the phases before, during, and after training.
Outcome comparisons of formal outplacement services and informal support
Authors: Davy Jeanette A. , Anderson Joe S. , Dimarco Nicholas
Published: July 2007

White‐collar workers were surveyed approximately three months and six months following layoffs. Approximately half of the respondents received extensive outplacement assistance while the remaining respondents, not having formal outplacement available, participated in an informal social support group sponsored by the community. Results indicate that individuals receiving formal outplacement training had higher job search self‐efficacy and were more optimistic regarding recovery from job loss than were those going to the informal social support group. While no differences were observed between the two groups on the number of job offers received after three months, members of the social support group appear to have the advantage in finding jobs comparable to their previous jobs. These findings and their implications are discussed.
The impact of ideology on development in the third world
Authors: Tordoff William
Published: July 2007

This article discusses the meaning of ‘ideology’ and ‘development’ and the relationship betwen them. It examines external constraints on development, including dependence on the industrialized West and the crippling burden of debt servicing, and the issue of privatization, which is seen as cutting across the ideological boundaries separating capitalist and socialist states. It also reviews internal constraints on development, such as the shortage of essential skills and the adoption of policies favouring the urban areas, and argues that they are largely independent of ideological considerations. It maintains that the apparent strength of the movement towards de‐ideologization in Africa may not prove permanent.
Environmental economics and international aid
Authors: Highton Nick
Published: July 2007

In recent years concern over environmental issues have moved high up the political agenda. This has accelerated particularly in the run up to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. Two sets of concerns have dominated attention: the problem of degrading environments within developing countries and global issues such as climate change and ozone depletion. The prime focus of attention in the developing countries has traditionally been on the former. Concerns over the latter originated primarily in the industrialised world but the issue is now recognised to have important implications also for the developing countries. New aid mechanisms are being formed to assist these countries address global environmental issues. This paper discusses economic approaches to assessing environmental impacts and attempts to examine the trade‐offs which developing countries face in addressing national as compared international environmental problems.
Should aid be used for debt buy‐backs?
Authors: Faber Mike
Published: July 2007

There is disagreement between different aid agencies and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and amongst academics about the efficacy of using foreign aid to enable Third World governments to buy back portions of their own external debt. This article describes four hypothetical transactions and uses them to examine the main issues and arguments. The many different motives which may give rise to a buy‐back make it difficult to use any one technique to appraise their development effectiveness. The article then considers the use of buy‐backs to assist the private sector in LDCs and to reduce the claims of a donor government's own agencies. An interpretation is offered of the UK government's policies towards the use of aid for debt reduction supplemented by reference to the strategy designed for dealing with part of Zambia's debt and the description of the deficits of the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) as ‘unintended past aid’. In the light of these interpretations the original question is reconsidered.
Should aid donors support economic and social research?
Authors: Gregory N. F.
Published: July 2007

Aid donors devote substantial sums to economic and social research. This is justified by its contribution to development. Aid agencies should act as agents for the intended beneficiaries of research, principally LDC policy‐makers. The research agenda should reflect the perspectives of both researchers and beneficiaries. Due to market failure, donors need to support research capacity. They can do this through their funding policy towards individual research projects, support for broader programmes of research, or by lump‐sum financing of research institutions. The location of research affects its contribution to development: there may be a trade‐off between quality of research and other objectives.
The prebisch‐singer terms of trade controversy revisited
Authors: Sapsford D. , Sarkar P. , Singer H. W.
Published: July 2007

The controversy surrounding the long‐run trend in the terms of trade between primary products and manufactured goods is a topic which continues to attract considerable research attention. This paper provides a detailed review of the controversy and offers a re‐examination of the statistical evidence. The results reported in this paper raise serious doubts regarding Cuddington and Urzua's (1989) conclusion that, apart from an abrupt drop after 1920, the net barter terms of trade have been trendless over the twentieth century.
Assessing the impact of NGO rural poverty alleviation programmes: Evidence from South India
Authors: Robinson Mark A.
Published: July 2007

NGO poverty alleviation programmes are often compared favourably with those of governments in terms of their ability to reach and benefit the rural poor. This paper draws on the evidence of four detailed evaluations of NGO credit and income‐generation programmes in south India to examine the basis for such comparisons. From these assessments it concludes that the NGOs were able to raise the economic status of the poor, but that it proved difficult to reach the very poorest sections of rural communities through such interventions. The implications of these findings are that other types of intervention may be more appropriate for the poorest, and that NGOs need to strengthen their research and appraisal capacity to enhance their effectiveness in alleviating poverty.
Generalization in rural development: Eleven villages in South Gujarat, India
Authors: George Shanti
Published: July 2007

Sweeping generalizations are often heard about ‘the rural impact’ of some developmental intervention: one notable case is that of dairy cooperatives in India. This paper examines the dairy cooperatives in 11 villages of one sub‐district in western India, and finds such great variations between them that it could be argued that the cooperative was 11 different institutions in these villages. Generalizations can, however, be put forward about the relation of dairy cooperatives in these villages to hierarchies of caste, agrarian class and gender, but through a focus on the latter variables rather than on dairy co‐operatives as prime movers of change.
Technical change, productivity, and sustainability in irrigated cropping systems of South Asia: Emerging issues in the post‐green revolution Era
Authors: Byerlee Derek
Published: July 2007

Recent trends in the productivity of South Asia's irrigated cropping systems are reviewed with emphasis on the large, densely populated Indo‐Gangetic plains of Pakistan and India and parts of Bangladesh, where wheat is an important crop. Technical and institutional problems emerging in these areas may seriously impinge on the ability to maintain the gains in food‐grain productivity and sustain the resource base in the next two decades. Future productivity increases in South Asian cropping systems depend on a new strategy that implies profound changes in agricultural research priorities and in the institutions that foster technical change in agriculture.
Monitoring and evaluation in agricultural and rural development projects: Lessons and learning
Authors: Coleman Gilroy
Published: July 2007

Project M&E systems are a requirement of most major funding agencies and result from a concern that many projects fail because they are badly managed. However, M&E systems themselves have a poor record. This paper argues (a) that project design is a significant factor in project failure and (b) that the over‐ambitious terms of reference for M&E systems contribute to their failure. Technical issues may permit managers to ignore M&E information, but these issues may not be as important as the potential threat which information may represent. Progress is being made in addressing these issues but M&E has been slow to learn from its own experience.
Macroeconomic adjustments, economic growth and the balance of payments in Ghana, 1983‐88
Authors: Kusi Newman Kwadwo
Published: July 2007

This paper seeks to investigate the manner in which, and the extent to which, Ghana adjusted to its economic imbalances in the 1983–88 period. The analysis involves a decomposition of the adjustment process into absorption reduction, switching and growth of traded goods output. The results show that successful adjustment to the external imbalance was achieved not so much by absorption reduction but by the expansion of traded goods output and switch of domestic expenditure in favour of non‐tradeable goods and services. The expansion of traded goods output was also the major source of increased domestic output and income during the period. Despite the considerable progress made, the growth of the economy is yet to become self‐sustaining based on the strength of domestic savings and private investment.
The appropriate role of agricultural insurance in developing countries
Authors: Hazell Peter B. R.
Published: July 2007

Multiple‐risk crop insurance programmes have proven expensive to governments but have not lived up to their expectations. Many agricultural risks cannot be insured on a financially sound basis, but there is scope for increased insurance of farm assets, of the life and health of rural people, and of some specific perils that affect crop and livestock yields. Such insurance could be efficiently provided by the private sector if governments were to remove some of the important constraints impinging on commercial insurers. The greatest challenge is to find ways of insuring low‐income rural households against natural hazards on a financially sound basis. Simple lottery schemes that provide insurance against catastrophic weather events (e.g. drought or flood) recorded at regional weather stations might prove effective.
Public expenditure and economic performance: A comparison of developed and low‐income developing economies
Authors: Sattar Zaidi
Published: July 2007

Governments incur expenditures in order to fulfill the following roles in the economy: (a) to correct distortions or market failures; (b) regulate private activity that might harm society; (c) provide public goods and services (i.e. economic and social infrastructure); and (d) often engage in productive activity. Some of these activities improve economic efficiency while others reduce it. There is also considerable evidence of inefficiency in the public provision of goods and services. However, the nature and extent of government involvement in the economy varies significantly between the developed industrial market economies and the developing world, particularly the low‐income economies. Historically, government in the developing economies have exercised relatively greater control and direction over their economies in all the above categories, while public sector involvement in the developed economies has remained largely confined to the provision of public goods and services, regulatory functions and the management of income‐maintenance programmes. Citing historical evidence, a number of leading economists have argued that government size has had no impact, one way or another, on economic performance of industrial market economies. For the low‐income economies the evidence, though mixed, points more towards a positive overall impact of government on growth performance. The present exercise, using a simple growth‐modeling framework and a longer span of time‐series data, produces additional evidence in support of the above propositions. Moreover, this study seems to confirm the Gerschenkron hypothesis that an effective role of the state is directly linked with the ‘stage of backwardness’ of the economy.
Transition in eastern Europe: Does the sequence of privatization matter?
Authors: Maciaszek‐Roberts Barbara
Published: July 2007

The paper considers privatization in Eastern Europe with government playing an active role in choosing a whole industry to be privatized. Sectoral privatization in Poland serves as an example. The question of sequence of privatization is restricted here to the choice between whether to privatize an intermediate goods sector or a consumer goods sector first. A computable general equilibrium model based on social accounting matrices is elaborated and used for simulations. The results show that households benefit from the privatization of a consumer goods industry but the consequences for the economy are less favourable.
A political economy of market‐led structural adjustment. A case‐study of Fiji
Authors: Cameron John
Published: July 2007

For Fiji, the decade after political independence in 1970 provided economic and political room for manoeuvre based upon leveling the uneven playing field of the colonial inheritance. But by the end of the 1970s, issues of post‐colonial macroeconomic imbalances and structural poverty were emerging. The economic debates of the 1980s opened up a range of policy choices. Only after the coups of 1987 did the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment approach gain dominance. The coups were in the interest of a chiefly group who are able to benefit from partial exposure to market forces— providing this exposure excludes land—a position accepted in IMF/World Bank recommendations.
Developing countries, GATT and the uruguay round
Authors: Greenaway David
Published: July 2007

The Uruguay Round is the most ambitious Round of multilateral trade negotiations ever undertaken under GATT, with over 100 contracting parties negotiating on 15 separate issues. This paper evaluates developing country involvement in GATT and their interests in the Uruguay Round. Historically, developing countries have emphasized special and differential treatment. Within the Uruguay Round, efforts have been directed more at securing liberalization. A successful Round holds out the promise of considerable short‐run and long‐run benefits. These benefits are discussed, as are the potential costs of failure.
External constraint and India's import behaviour: An analysis in the almost ideal demand system framework
Authors: Ray Ranjan , Chatterjee Srikanta
Published: July 2007

This paper analyses India's import sourcing over the period 1960–85 in a preference‐consistent, utility‐maximizing framework using the ‘almost ideal demand system’. Assuming separability between exports, imports and domestic production, the paper estimates unrestricted, homogeneity and symmetry‐constrained versions of this demand system on Indian import data, and tests for the empirical validity of the restrictions. The results are analysed and some implications for commercial policy changes examined. The empirical evidence of this exercise seems to point to the need for a wider concept of ‘rationality’ than has been used in the recent literature, particularly when estimating preference‐consistent import‐export demand functions of a developing mixed economy with central planning.
Aid and government: A dynamic model of aid, income and fiscal behaviour
Authors: White Howard
Published: July 2007

A recent advance in the analysis of the impact of aid inflows on domestic savings has been models that focus specifically on the response of public savings to higher aid. The theoretical consensus of this new literature is that aid displaces taxes and that the increment to government expenditure is less than the value of the aid inflow. This paper presents a simple model that replicates this result and then shows that the result need no longer hold once we allow for feedback effects through higher income. Whether or not aid adversely affects taxes is shown to depend, inter alia, on the impact of aid on private investment.
Disasters and development. A case study from Peru
Authors: Schilderman Theo
Published: July 2007

When the Alto Mayo region of Peru was struck by an earthquake, in May 1990, the official response to the disaster did not provide an effective solution. An alternative approach, based on active participation by community organizations in planning and managing the response, and integrating disaster mitigation within the context of wider regional development, proved much more successful. This case from Peru shows that the coping abilities of disaster survivors are often underestimated by the authorities and prove to be an essential resource in reconstruction. It may be a useful example for other disaster locations with a strong presence of community organizations.
‘Graduation’ problems amongst micro and small enterprises in Eastern Nigeria, 1960–91
Authors: Onyeiwu Steve
Published: July 2007

One of the contending issues in the literature is the question of what determines the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). In this article a sample of 37 firms, established in Eastern Nigeria about four decades ago, is used to evaluate why some firms grow while others stagnate. The study shows that only a few of the sample firms had grown into larger categories, while the majority had either stagnated or closed entirely. The case histories of the successful firms are examined, and it appears that they were able to grow because of their adoption of innovative management strategies which are generally uncommon amongst MSEs.
Global environmental change and mechanisms for north‐south resource transfers
Authors: Brown Katrina , Adger W. Neil , Turner R. Kerry
Published: July 2007

Global Environmental Change is central to the debate on the relationship between environmental degradaton and economic development. This paper examines the agreements signed at the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992 and highlights some implications for developing countries. The interim mechanism for resource transfer under the Conventions is the Global Enviornmental Facility, but it appears that transfers on a scale necessary to bring anout sustainable development as envisaged by Agenda 21 cannot be made through this mechanism alone. It is argued here that other mechanisms to promote development, such as debt relief, should not be ignored.
Mainstream sustainable development: The challenge of putting theory into practice
Authors: Adams W. M. , Thomas D. H. L.
Published: July 2007

This paper outlines the main features of the mainstream of sustainable development thinking and the documents from which it is drawn. It then explores these in the context of a wetland conservation project in northern Nigeria. Issues of environment and development have been tackled in different ways, through protected area designation, development microprojects and concern for river basin management. It is concluded that the practical implementation of ‘sustainable development’ projects is far more complex and problematic than might at first appear.
Sustain ability—oriented appraisal of agricultural projects
Authors: Van Pelt Michiel J. F.
Published: July 2007

The concept of sustainable development requires a different approach to the appraisal of agricultural projects. The introduction of a new sustainability criterion creates complex policy problems, including the definition of sustainable levels of resource use in agriculture, trade‐offs between environmental and income objectives and differences in the perspectives of farmers and decision‐makers. Multicriteria analysis (MCA) is shown to be a potentially useful analytical tool in sustainability‐oriented project appraisal. Outcomes of cost‐benefit analysis (CBA) may be used as an input to MCA.
An econometric model of the monetary sector of the Bangladesh economy
Authors: Parikh A. , Starmer C.
Published: July 2007

An econometric model of the monetary sector of Bangladesh is formulated and estimated using annual data for the period 1974–87. The model is evaluated using a range of diagnostic tests and the results from dynamic simulations. The simulations indicate that, historically, inflation, real output growth and monetary growth are all consistent with a structuralist framework in which exogenous shocks such as harvest failures play a leading role in monetary expansions via their effects on food prices. Accommodationist monetary policies may generate further inflationary pressures, though there may be short periods during which monetary expansions increase real output. Excess supplies of real money balances do not appear to have any significant impact on real expenditures.
Explaining policy reform implementation in Guinea: The role of both internal and external factors
Authors: Clapp Jennifer A.
Published: July 2007

This paper examines the factors which affected the implementation of structural adjustment reforms in Guinea, a country which to date has received little attention, but which has experienced many of the classic problems of policy reform implementation. It is found that while recent attention given to domestic factors such as governance and institutional capacity in explaining the poor adjustment implementation record in Africa are justified, external factors such as donor behaviour and world market conditions played an equally important role. These domestic and external factors in Guinea affected not only the adoption and actual implementation of specific reform measures, but also the state's overall commitment to maintaining the adjustment programme once it was in place.
Demobilization and insecurity: A study in the economics of the transition from war to peace
Authors: Collier Paul
Published: July 2007

Cross‐section econometrics is used to investigate the effect of demobilization on crime in Uganda. The results show that in the short term demobilization significantly increased crime if soldiers lacked access to land, but significantly reduced it if they had access. Neither of these effects persisted. The paper also discusses the effect of demobilization on the security of the state.
Reconciling alternative macro‐models of optimal borrowing for developing countries: An expository note
Authors: Gemmell Norman
Published: July 2007

This paper applies the standard 2 × 2 trade model to an inter‐temporal context, to demonstrate that previous (macro) optimization models of international borrowing for LDCs are special cases of a more general (and more flexible) model of optimal borrowing. It demonstrates that previous models involve only inter‐temporal consumption smoothing and profit inter‐temporal specialization in production.
The importance of remittances for the level and distribution of economic well‐being in lesotho
Authors: Gustafsson Björn , Makonnen Negatu
Published: July 2007

Using the 1986/87 Household Budget Survey of Lesotho, we measure the extent of inequality, identify the determinants of economic well‐being and decompose total inequality by population subgroups. The results show large inequality in economic well‐being. Many households in Lesotho are heavily dependent on miners' remittances from the Republic of South Africa. In the study we quantify their effects on the level of well‐being and the extent of inequality. It is concluded that remittances decrease inequality in Lesotho. A regional analysis shows that, in comparison to urban areas, the effects of remittances are both in terms of average economic well‐being and inequality larger for rural areas, although the magnitudes of the effects vary within the rural part.
Crop insurance and crop credit: Impact of the comprehensive crop insurance scheme on cooperative credit in Gujarat
Authors: Mishra Pramod K.
Published: July 2007

This paper is an attempt to analyse the impact of a credit‐linked crop insurance scheme—the Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS) of India—on crop credit or short‐term agricultural credit, especially to small fanners. A dominant view on rural credit institutions is that they are unwilling to extend adequate credit to small farmers on account of the problems of information and enforcement, and that a crop insurance scheme—because it faces similar problems—would make little difference. A common device used in rural credit markets with a view to limiting the consequences arising out of agricultural risk, information asymmetries and enforcement problems is collateral. Small farmers in developing countries do not own adequate land and other assets which can be used as collateral, and consequently face a situation of inadequate availability of credit. The question is whether crop insurance can serve as a substitute (perhaps partial) for collateral. In view of the above facts, this paper addresses the issues whether the CCIS led to a significantly higher flow of institutional credit to farmers, especially small farmers, and whether there was any improvement in the repayment of loan—in other words, whether there was any collateral effect. The analysis is based on empirical data from Gujarat (India). The findings show that there is a significant increase in the flow of credit to insured farmers after the introduction of the CCIS. The expansion is in both coverage and size—there was an increase in the number of borrowers, and also in credit per borrower as well as per hectare. The share of small farmers (with land holdings of 2 ha or less) in the total loan increased from 19 per cent to 27 per cent. There was a significant increase in the repayment of loan in absolute terms—repayment per farmer and repayment per hectare. But it is not clear if the propensity to repay improved. The expansion of credit appears to be what one may call a collateral effect.
Rural people's organizations and agricultural extension in the upper north of thailand: Who benefits?
Authors: Garforth Chris
Published: July 2007

Recent developments in agricultural extension policy in Thailand emphasise the importance of working with and through local organisations of rural people (RPOs). The paper describes these developments and explores four sets of arguments commonly used to support them: that they will increase the efficiency of extension by reducing the unit cost of “contact” between farmers and extension staff; that they provide a more effective means of enabling farmers, both individually and collectively, to take action in the interests of local agricultural development; that they promote equity in the provision of extension services; and that they can lead to the empowering of rural people to take greater initiative in their own development. Northern Thailand has a long history of the active involvement of local organisations in agricultural development, most notably the independent “muang fai” irrigation associations. The present century has seen a number of government sponsored efforts to promote the formation of new types of RPOs, efforts which have met with mixed success. Research conducted by the Universities of Reading and Chiang Mai in the nine provinces of the upper north identified the varied processes by which RPOs come into being and investigated the relationships between RPOs and extension agencies in the government and voluntary sectors. A series of case studies in different parts of the region provides evidence in support of the above four sets of arguments. These studies also show, however, that current approaches can lead to new patterns of exclusion among the rural population and may lead to a debilitating dependence of newly created RPOs on government or voluntary agencies. The limitations of current approaches are identified and suggestions made for increasing the benefits of RPO‐based agricultural extension.
The status of women and the social context of reproduction
Authors: Jensen An‐Magritt
Published: July 2007

Recent fertility decline in Kenya has taken place at an uneven pace. According to the demographic and health survey (DHS) in 1989, one of the highest levels has occurred in Coast Province, and almost no decline has taken place in Western Province. It is a puzzling aspect that use of modern contraceptives in both these provinces is lower than the national average. The aim of the article is to broaden the understanding of the uneven pace of fertility decline. Attention is given to the social value of children and the role of women. It is argued that the impact of child mortality and sterility is underplayed in analyses based upon the DHS. The data are based upon two case studies, from Kwale in Coast Province and Bungoma in Western Province.
The fertility decline in Kenya
Authors: Robinson Warren C. , Harbison Sarah F.
Published: July 2007

The general outline of the demographic transition in western Europe is reviewed as a background for understanding demographic changes occurring in Asia and Africa. Although a number of scholars have held that Africa is somehow “different” and would not follow the path to demographic transition in the near future, recent evidence from Kenya indicates that contraceptive prevalence is rising and fertility is falling. Factors related to this change include relatively high levels of education, availability of health services, exposure to modernizing media and urban lifestyles, and a greatly strengthened family planning service delivery system.
Rural sector responses to economic crisis in Uganda
Authors: Bigsten Arne , Kayizzi‐Mugerwa Steve
Published: July 2007

This paper, based on a survey of farm households in Uganda's Masaka district, analyses the impact of the country's economic decline on the rural sector. The economic crisis has reduced the flow of resources from the urban areas, in terms of both goods and services and remittances from urban‐based relatives. To preserve their livelihoods, rural dwellers have had to diversify their sources of income. Ability to do this is constrained not only by household characteristics, such as size, age and education of head and time endowment, but also by economic variables such as the existence of markets, size of land holding and credit availability. It is argued that to reincorporate peasants into the modern sector it is necessary to remove the barriers which prevent them from realizing a fair return on their production factors and assets.
Economic decline and the growth of the informal sector: The Guyana and Jamaica experience
Authors: Bennett Karl M.
Published: July 2007

This paper employs the currency ratio model to estimate the size of the informal sector in Guyana and Jamaica from 1977 to 1989. It is shown that the official estimate of income for both countries, by excluding the informal sector, significantly understates true income levels. Fluctuations in the level of income generated by the informal sector mirrored fluctuations in estimates of official income for Guyana, but moved in a countercyclical fashion to official estimates for Jamaica. It is concluded that the growth of the sector did little to protect the poor in both countries from overall economic decline.
Health sector reform: Key issues in less developed countries
Authors: Cassels Andrew
Published: July 2007

This paper explores the meaning, and some of the practical implications, of health sector reform in less developed countries. It reviews the problems that reforms have to address, and the policy objectives they are designed to achieve. It argues that the process of reform is not concerned only with defining priorities and refining policies, but also with reforming and restructuring the institutions through which health policies are implemented. Even though some organizational principles are likely to be common to all reform programmes, a prescriptive approach to institutional reform is inappropriate. The choice of reform options can be influenced by technical advice and analysis, but the decision to proceed, and the subsequent success of implementation, will be dependent on political support. The latter part of the paper presents examples of institutional reform from several less developed countries and includes a consideration of the role and influence of donor agencies.
The political economy of user fees with targeting: Developing equitable health financing policy
Authors: Gilson Lucy , Russell Steven , Buse Kent
Published: July 2007

Since the 1980s user fees for government services have become an accepted financing option for the health and social sectors in developing countries. Even countries which had a tradition of providing health services free of charge have now introduced fees and the focus of debate has shifted from whether or not to introduce them, to when and how they should be introduced. Proponents of user fees stress that equity and efficiency gains can be achieved through the implementation of a cost‐recovery policy package. Within this package user fees are complemented by decentralization and combined with two targeting mechanisms favouring low income groups: exemptions, and the use of fee revenue to improve the services offered to them. The extension and improvement of primary health care, for example, will disproportionately benefit low income groups by addressing their health needs in a cost‐effective way.

However, targeting mechanisms, and exemptions in particular, have received little attention in theoretical debates within the health sector and current practices have rarely been reviewed. Relatively little is known about their effectiveness or about the conditions required to ensure and enhance it. This paper seeks to contribute to health financing policy debates by reviewing targeting options and assessing the available evidence concerning these issues. Success in protecting the poor appears to be limited and there are considerable informational, administrative, resource and socio‐political constraints undermining the development of effective targeting mechanisms. The paper, therefore, urges‐caution in developing health care financing policy and identifies a relevant research agenda.
The private health sector in Malawi: Opening pandora's box?
Authors: Banda Ellias Ngalande , Walt Gill
Published: July 2007

In 1987 the Malawi government liberalized its Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, allowing doctors in the public sector to undertake part‐time private practice, and permitting paramedical and allied health professionals to enter into private practice. Using a policy analysis approach, the authors trace the context within which policy change occurred, the actors involved, and how the process was initiated and implemented. A rapid survey was undertaken of about half the paramedicals and one fifth of the doctors practising privately. This showed that growth of private practice has been greatest among paramedicals, that a typical private clinic has a single practitioner, is located in a township, trading centre or peri‐urban area, and that although charges per patient visit are relatively low, incomes in the private sector are considerably higher than in the public sector. Growth in the private health sector raises a number of policy questions around control and quality of care for the majority of Malawians.
Households, health and crises: Coping with economic upheaval in Jordan, 1988–1991
Authors: Dejong Jocelyn
Published: July 2007

Drawing on baseline data from an urban development project which provided services and legal land tenure to Palestinian refugee‐squatters in five low‐income areas of Amman, Jordan, this article analyses the impact of economic crisis, structural adjustment and the Gulf War on two out of five of the upgraded communities. A study was conducted in 1991, following the Gulf crisis, to analyse the sustainability of child health improvements that had been achieved during the first five years of the upgrading project and to examine the relationships between poverty and health. It was found that several health indicators had deteriorated since 1985 (which was before the economic crisis which had begun in 1988), but that households used a number of strategies to alleviate the growing income constraints on access to health care and basic goods. Despite a sophisticated health care system, there were few institutionalized mechanisms to generate policy‐relevant data which might have led to action to protect the poor from the negative effects of the economic crises.
Does trade liberalization lead to productivity increases? A case study of Bolivian manufacturing
Authors: Jenkins Rhys
Published: July 2007

The impact of a more open trade regime on productivity is often cited as a major argument for trade liberalization. The paper reviews the theoretical arguments linking trade liberalization and productivity growth and the existing empirical evidence. It then provides an analysis of the Bolivian experience since the mid‐1980s, paying particular attention to three main mechanisms through which liberalization might lead to increased productivity. It concludes that there is no evidence that the Bolivian trade reforms have led to improved productivity performance.
Sustaining Southern NGOs in resource‐dependent environments
Authors: Hudock Ann C.
Published: July 2007

This paper argues that Southern non‐governmental organizations (SNGOs) are particularly vulnerable to external control, given their dependence on organizations in their environment for so many critical resources, and their inability to reduce uncertainty created by this dependence. After presenting a conceptual framework for understanding SNGOs transactions with organizations in their external environment, discussion turns to implications of resource dependence for Northern nongovernmental organizations (NNGOs) working with SNGOs in capacity building or scaling‐up initiatives in low‐income countries.
Malaysia: Industrial success and the role of the government
Authors: Lall Sanjaya
Published: July 2007

This paper deals with the debate on industrial policy in Malaysian industrialization. This was recently led by exports, mainly of electrical and electronic products by multinationals. Domestic‐oriented industrialization was promoted by moderate protection and state ownership of heavy industry. The government is now withdrawing from direct ownership, shifting to an East‐Asian‐style targeting of activities for promotion and concentrating on support measures. It is concluded that the neo‐liberal case that only market friendly policies were responsible for Malaysia's success is unwarranted. It notes the deficiencies and benefits of industrial policy, and makes a case for interventions in the future.
Indonesia: From ‘chronic dropout’ to ‘miracle’?
Authors: Hill Hal
Published: July 2007

This paper reviews Indonesia's development record and policy framework, focusing in particular on its industrial policy regime. Although not matching the Asian Tigers in its economic performance since 1970, the country has one of the most creditable records in the Third World. Indonesia has resembled its East Asian neighbours in its generally conservative macroeconomic management and, since the mid‐1980s, in its export orientation. However, it is difficult to discern any evidence to support the proposition that the government's industrial policy—in the sense of selective, micro‐level interventions—has contributed to Indonesia's rapid industrialization. A case could be made for more non‐discretionary intervention to enhance supply‐side capabilities, especially in the areas of education and training.
Economic efficiency of small farmers in a changing world: A survey of recent evidence
Authors: Ali Mubarak , Byerlee Derek
Published: July 2007

The growing literature on economic efficiency of farmers in Third World agriculture is reviewed with emphasis on conceptual and methodological issues, and empirical results of studies aimed at measuring technical efficiency. While substantial methodological progress has been made in measuring inefficiency, important conceptual problems remain. Results from regions undergoing rapid technological change suggest substantial technical inefficiencies, of the order of 30 per cent, as well as allocative inefficiencies on the use of purchased inputs. Most studies are able to relate levels of inefficiency to farmers' information and skills, and input supply problems. The results suggest that further improvements in productivity in Green Revolution areas will need to give more emphasis to exploiting the technical efficiency ‘gap’ through adaptive research, extension, farmer education, and improved input supply.
Why do multinational firms seek out joint ventures?
Authors: Blomström Magnus , Zejan Mario
Published: July 2007

This paper uses a model of dichotomous choice to distinguish the characteristics of Swedish multinational firms that seek out joint ventures from those that do not. The main findings suggest that firms with brief experience of foreign production and highly diversified product lines are the most likely to choose minority ownership. There was also some support for the hypothesis that multinationals choose minority ownership for affiliates producing different (two‐digit) output than their parents.
Intersectoral linkages in Asian agriculture
Authors: Parikh Ashok
Published: July 2007

The objectives of this paper are to provide a comprehensive survey of linkages (emerging from the net increase in income in the agricultural sector) to other sectors of the economy. Production, consumption, employment, saving‐investment and foreign trade linkages are discussed and their measurement and various concepts based on input‐output methodology are outlined. The advances on social accounting matrix analysis and partial input‐output models, in which income distribution is explicitly built‐in, are also considered. The methodology of computable general‐equilibrium models is used to conduct policy analysis in many developing countries. It is suggested that policy simulation before and after policy changes can be performed adequately with the help of computable general‐equilibrium models. It is, however, asserted that in developing agriculture, land reform, new technology and credit institutions can promote agricultural growth faster than employment growth leading to increases in productivity growth. This will presumably generate incomes and consumption growth intersectorally and also reduce inequality in the distribution of income if the government policies are correctly implemented.
Contractual relations, foreign direct investment, and technology transfer: The case of China
Authors: Leung H. M. , Thoburn John T. , Chau Esther , Tang S. H.
Published: July 2007

This paper discusses in terms of transactions costs how foreign investors choose contractual forms. It argues that the unusually wide choice of contracts available in China can be shown roughly to correspond to varying degrees of within‐firm governance. Other factors, particularly locational choice within China, contribute to reducing the scope for opportunism on the part of the host country where a well‐enforced legal framework is lacking. Technology transfer is rendered more complex by the importance of team organization in the technology on offer from firms from Hong Kong, the largest foreign investor.
Did mauritius really provide a ‘case study in Malthusian economics’?
Authors: Greenaway David , Milner Chris
Published: July 2007

In the early 1960s James Meade visited Mauritius as adviser to a Commission evaluating population structure and growth. Out of that visit emerged two papers which were Malthusian in their prognosis of economic prospects for Mauritius. This paper reconsiders the Meade evaluation and compares his predictions with actual outcomes. As it turns out, his pessimism was not justified. The factors which led him to reach his set of conclusions, and the factors which explain actual economic performance, are both assessed in detail.
Supporting small‐scale enterprises for women farmers in the Sahel
Authors: Creevey Lucy E.
Published: July 2007

This article explores reasons for the success and failure of small‐scale enterprise programmes for rural women in the Sahel sponsored by a Malian NGO. The CILCA Mali programme has assisted projects in rainfed crop production, vegetable production, sheep fattening, poultry raising, and soap and textile production based on a revolving credit scheme operating both for collective and individual loans. They have also placed heavy emphasis on training village women, on helping make viable village women's organizations, on health and sanitation activities and on preschools. Their eclectic approach, with its underlying emphasis on economically viable microenterprises in agricultural, animal husbandry and manufacturing activities, has been quite successful. It seems that the project has benefited village women both in terms of status and in terms of family welfare. The ‘integrated’ approach to development which tries to do everything simultaneously has often been criticized. in this case, though, the many non‐economic activities seem to have been important assets reinforcing the success of the micro‐enterprises. The generalist/technician character of the women's technical team and their back‐up from the rural technical institute are also factors in CILCA‐Mali's success. CILC A‐Mali may be seen as a useful example of what can be accomplished for and with village women in the poorest circumstances and the worst possible climatic conditions by a microenterprise strategy embedded in a broader village system approach.