Search results for " Africa"
showing 10 items of 604 documents
Enabling environments for equity, access and quality education post-2015: Lessons from South Africa and Tanzania
2016
Abstract In this paper we seek to contribute to the post-2015 education agenda by shifting the focus from considerations of what education goals and targets should be to a people-centred exploration of enabling environments, within and beyond education, for equity, access and quality. Theoretically, the paper draws on the capabilities approach. Empirically, we present data from two independent qualitative studies conducted in South Africa (n = 40) and Tanzania (n = 10) with university students who accessed higher education despite trends of low participation for their social class and/or gender. The paper highlights the importance of taking account of both instrumental and intrinsic values …
Ownership, Board Compensation and Company Performance in Sub-Saharan African Countries
2013
In countries with weak institutions, board governance becomes more important. This study uses a unique dataset from listed sub-Saharan African companies to examine the relationship between ownership composition and board compensation. It further analyses the association between board compensation and company performance. The findings indicate that board ownership and chief executive officer ownership are positively associated, whereas state ownership and concentrated ownership are negatively associated with board compensation. There is no evidence of a significant association between chairperson ownership or foreign ownership and board compensation. Finally, there is a negative but not sig…
Knowing is half the battle: Seasonal forecasts, adaptive cropping systems, and the mediating role of private markets in Zambia
2019
Abstract This paper examines how smallholders living in regions where a drought is forecasted adapt their farm practices in response to receiving seasonal forecast information. The article draws on a unique longitudinal dataset in Zambia, which collected information from farm households before and after a significant drought caused by the 2015/2016 El-Nino Southern Oscillation. It finds that farmers residing in areas forecasted to be drought-affected and receiving seasonal forecast information are significantly more likely to integrate drought tolerant crops into their cropping systems compared to similar households not receiving this information. Moreover, the probability that a farmer imp…
Outside‐in Politicization of EU–Western Africa Relations: What Role for Civil Society Organizations?
2021
This article explores the empirical relevance of researching outside-in politicization processes in European studies. To this end, it examines to what extent and how civil society organizations (CSOs) have contributed to the politicization of EU policies towards Western Africa in two cases: the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements and the EU's engagement with the G5 Sahel. CSOs were strongly engaged in the trade negotiations, while they were largely excluded from the G5 Sahel process. In both cases this was due to CSOs' own initiatives, or the absence thereof, with these strongly linked to being either invited or discouraged by official actors. The article argues that authority tr…
Determinants of Board Structure in Microfinance Institutions: Evidence from East Africa
2013
This study investigates the association between the unique characteristics of microfinance institutions and board structure. The agency and resource dependence theories provided theoretical guidance for this study. Using a panel dataset of 63 microfinance institutions in East Africa, we found that the presence of regulations and international influence is associated with larger boards, while the presence of founders is associated with small boards and less board independence. There is a higher level of board gender diversity in microfinance institutions managed by founders. There is greater diversity of nationalities in microfinance institutions that are internationally influenced. The imp…
Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth
2016
Les Documents de Travail de l'IREDU, n°2016-1; This paper tests for heterogeneous effects of cognitive skills on economic growth across countries. Using a new extended dataset on cognitive skills and controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that the magnitude of the effect is about 60 per cent higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, and it more than doubles when low TFP countries are compared to high TFP countries. There are also marked differences across geographic regions. Using data on the share of the population with advanced and minimum skill levels, our results also indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skill…
La qualité de l'éducation de base en Afrique francophone : contexte, constat et facteurs d'efficacité
2003
03050 - Coll. "Cahiers de l'Académie des Sciences morales et politiques"; L'auteur s'interroge sur l'aspect qualitatif de l'école primaire africaine francophone. Trois questions principales sont abordées : i) dans quel contexte général faut-il apprécier la qualité des systèmes ? ii) quels résultats sur la qualité des apprentissages des élèves ? et iii) sur quels facteurs peut-on agir pour améliorer la qualité de l'école ? C'est ce dernier point qui sert de conclusion.
Les modèles de simulation pour la planification de l'éducation en Afrique subsaharienne. Une simplicité appauvrissante et inféconde
2014
More than elsewhere, the issues covering educational planning are important in sub-Saharan Africa. Simulation models are the main tool of this type of planning. Most were designed or inspired by the World Bank or UNESCO. Yet, these models are too simplistic. This simplicity is a choice, although it is badly argued. The resulting vagueness is totally unacceptable, although imperceptible due to the simplicity of the models, which are not testable by facts. The simulation models are thus a sham and African educational systems continue to suffer grave imbalance in the allocation of resources. The conception of quality models, designed with a genuine concern to guide action, is possible and urge…
How can countries use cross-national research results to address "the big policy issues" ? (Case studies from Francophone Africa)
2006
06058http://www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/pubs/G117.pdf?class=IIEP_PDF_pubs&page=G117&estat_url=http://www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/pubs/G117.pdf; The “Program on the Analysis of Education Systems“ (PASEC) was launched in 1991 at the conference of francophone education ministers (CONFEMEN) in Djibouti and carried out its first country evaluation one year later in the same country. Since then, 13 individual country evaluations have been carried out in francophone sub-Saharan Africa, including panel studies following primary students from 2nd to 6th grade within a given country. The primary objective of PASEC evaluations is not the comparison of student achievement across countries, but the analysis of …
Questions d'alphabétisation dans le contexte africain
2012
Despite the proportion of illiterate people in sub-Saharan Africa having declined between 1985 and 2008, the number of illiterates has actually increased during the period. It is within this context, that since April 2000, the international community has been committed to six Education for All goals. One of these goals is to achieve a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy levels by 2015. This thesis aims to analyse how primary education and literacy programs (two processes on which educational policy can intervene) enable the populations of sub-Saharan Africa to acquire basic reading skills. In the vast majority of African countries, the analysis based on household surveys shows that sc…