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Begin New Search Political Geography Kenya Publication Year within 25 Years

151. Boda-bodas Rule: Non-agricultural Activities and Their Inequality Implications in Western Kenya

Author:
Jann Lay, George Michuki M'Mukaria, and  Toman Omar Mahmoud
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Engagement in non-agricultural activities in rural areas can be classified into survival-led or opportunity-led. Survival-led diversification would decrease inequality by increasing the incomes of poorer households and thus reduce poverty. By contrast, opportunity-led diversification would increase inequality and have a minor effect on poverty, as it tends to be confined to non-poor households. Using data from Western Kenya, we confirm the existence of the differently motivated diversification strategies. Yet, the poverty and inequality implications differ somewhat from our expectations. Our findings indicate that in addition to asset constraints, rural households also face limited or relatively risky high-return opportunities outside agriculture.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

152. Securing Household Income among Small-scale Farmers in Kakamega District: Possibilities and Limitations of Diversification

Author:
Henriette Dose
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In the debate of sustainable rural livelihoods, diversification is seen as a way to secure incomes and to increase food security. On the basis of a data set on income security, this paper analyses to what extent this applies to small-scale farmers in Kakamega District, Kenya. Using the sustainable rural livelihoods approach, this paper draws the conclusion, that (1) diversification in agricultural production is not sufficient for securing rural livelihoods in Kakamega District; (2) a sufficient income diversification depends heavily on requirements like access to education, infrastructure, as well as investment capital; and (3) small-scale farmers in Kakamega District in most cases lack these requirements, therefore not being able to achieve secure household incomes or increased food security.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, and Economics
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

153. Free Distribution Or Cost-Sharing? Evidence From A Randomized Malaria Prevention Experiment

Author:
Jessica Cohen
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
It is widely believed that cost-sharing—charging a subsidized, positive price—for a health product is necessary to avoid wasting resources on those who will not use or do not need the product. We explore this argument in the context of a field experiment in Kenya, in which we randomized the price at which pregnant women could buy long lasting anti-malarial insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) at prenatal clinics. We find no evidence that cost-sharing reduces wastage on those that will not use the product: women who received free ITNs are not less likely to use them than those who paid subsidized positive prices. We also find no evidence that cost-sharing induces selection of women who need the net more: those who pay higher prices appear no sicker than the prenatal clients in the control group in terms of measured anemia (an important indicator of malaria). Cost-sharing does, however, considerably dampen demand. We find that uptake drops by 75 percent when the price of ITNs increases from 0 to $0.75, the price at which ITNs are currently sold to pregnant women in Kenya. We combine our estimates in a cost-effectiveness analysis of ITN prices on infant mortality that incorporates both private and social returns to ITN usage. Overall, given the large positive externality associated with widespread usage of insecticide-treated nets, our results suggest that free distribution to pregnant women is both more effective and more cost-effective than cost-sharing.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Health, and World Health Organization
Political Geography:
Kenya

154. Choosing Strategic African Partners: How Heavy are the Anchors?

Author:
Alex Vines
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
A televised post-election crisis in Kenya demands a government response, but where are the west's partners in Africa and what are the strategic interests? And as several more states prepare to vote, which are the ones to watch?
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

155. AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocations: Children's Nutrition and Schooling in Kenya

Author:
Markus Goldstein, Joshua Graff Zivin, and Harsha Thirumurthy
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The provision of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment has emerged as a key component of the global response to HIV/AIDS, but very little is known about the impact of this intervention on the welfare of children in the households of treated persons. We estimate the impact of ARV treatment on children's schooling and nutrition outcomes using longitudinal household survey data collected in collaboration with a treatment program in western Kenya. We find that children's weekly hours of school attendance increase by over 20 percent within six months after treatment is initiated for the adult household member. For boys in treatment households, these increases closely follow their reduced market labor supply. Similarly, young children's short-term nutritional status—as measured by their weight-for-height Z-score—also improves dramatically. We also present evidence that the impact of treatment is considerably larger when compared to the counterfactual scenario of no ARV treatment. The results illustrate how intrahousehold allocations of time and resources are altered in response to significant health improvements. Since the improvements in children's schooling and nutrition at these critical early ages will affect their socio-economic outcomes and wellbeing in adulthood, the widespread provision of ARV treatment is likely to generate significant long-run welfare benefits.
Topic:
Health and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

156. What's in it for Labour? Private social standards in the cut flower industries of Kenya and Tanzania

Author:
Lone Riisgaard
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Export of cut flowers from East Africa to Europe is an example of how tightened quality regulations and increasing concern with social and environmental issues have created a highly codified industry. For producers participating in value chains driven by large retailers, adopting social and environmental standards is a requirement and specificities are dictated by the buyers. In this paper focus is on private social standards and the opportunities and challenges they pose for labour organizations, especially trade unions. By incorporating the concept of labour agency, global value chain analysis is widened to encompass not just industrial development but also labour development.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and Emerging Markets
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Tanzania, and East Africa

157. Some Assembly Required: Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Author:
Timothy Carney
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Regional mediators and international facilitators helped the two main opposing forces in Sudan's fifty-year civil war, the National Congress Party (NCP) of the North and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) of the South, to reach a detailed Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) after two-and-a-half years of negotiation, from 2002 to 2005. The United States served as the catalyst for the peace process and then became part of a group of facilitators including the United Kingdom, Norway, and Italy. At different points during negotiations, each of these countries exerted influence on the Sudanese parties. Kenya took the lead in mediating the negotiations under General Lazaro Sumbeiywo. Sudan Vice President Ali Osman Taha, representing the North, and Dr. John Garang, representing the South, spent fifteen months negotiating the final agreement in Naivasha, Kenya. Implementation of the CPA requires continuing good security with minimal fighting, agreement on the boundaries of North and South that affect the distribution of Sudan's oil wealth, completion of midterm elections, and a referendum in the South. Slow implementation of key provisions of the CPA is causing Sudanese to question the political will and even the good faith of the northern government. Failure to provide an immediate peace dividend, lack of competence in managing southern expectations, and corruption have led to public criticism of the southern authorities. Hope is waning that the CPA will pave the way to a modern, united Sudan with a government responsive to all its peoples. The SPLM/A leadership is focusing on developing the South rather than creating a national political movement. The crisis in Darfur has diverted the international community's attention. Implementing the CPA will require sustained international pressure and imagination to help resolve numerous political, economic, and social problems.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, United States, United Kingdom, Sudan, Norway, and Italy

158. Editor's Note

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This special volume has a complicated history, and its release has been long in coming. The distant hinterland includes many months of preparation and discussion to form what became the National Civic Forum (NCF). Twenty-seven Somalis, made up of a mixture of scholars, senior professionals, and highly experienced national figures, assembled in Nairobi, Kenya, in late 2004 to start a disciplined exploration of the Somali conditions and what might possibly be done about them. That initial and successful retreat led to a public and widely circulated press release that underscored a nonpartisan commitment to the well-being of the Somali people through ideas that stress unity, peace, freedom, and constitutional civic life.
Political Geography:
Kenya, Somalia, and Nairobi

159. National Civic Forum Charter (English and Somali)

Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The National Civic Forum is an independent, non-partisan organization founded by a cohort of Somali scholars and professionals who met on September 20th–24th, 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya. NCF's mission is to generate and disseminate creative ideas that may assist in educating the Somali people in order for them to establish a democratic political order, durable peace, justice, rule of law and sustainable development.
Political Geography:
Kenya, Somalia, and Nairobi

160. Does the Private Sector Care About AIDS?

Author:
Vijaya Ramachandran, Manju Kedia Shah, and Ginger Turner
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the determinants of firms' decision to provide HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Using data from 860 firms and 4,955 workers in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, it shows that larger firms, and firms with higher skilled workers tend to invest more in AIDS prevention. Firms where more than 50 percent of workers are unionized are also more likely to do more prevention activity. Finally, these characteristics are also significant in determining whether or not a firm carries out pre-employment health checks of its workers. The results shed light on the likelihood of private sector intervention and the gaps that will require public sector assistance.
Topic:
Health, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania