African Journals Online
Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review
(EASSRR)

Abstracts (Vol 16 No 2)

Salient Socio-economic and Demographic Aspects of School Enrolment: The Case of Primary Schooling in Ethiopia
Mulugeta Gebreselassie and Amanuel Gebru

Abstract: Primary education makes people literate and numerate thereby enabling them to effectively manage their domestic and occupational duties. In Ethiopia the rate of primary school participation is very low even when compared with other Sub-Saharan African countries. Officially, the enrolment rate is 34% while, according to this study, it is 36% (with standard deviation 0.004). Based on the low levels of enrolment this study looks into the salient socio-economic and demographic aspects of school enrolment in Ethiopia. It uses the logistic regression method of analysis among several methods that can be used to predict a binary dependent variable from a set of explanatory variables. The results show that the probability of primary school enrolment is a function of variables which are related to the family and to the child. In fact variables related to the location of residence of the child and their interaction with the variable related to the family and the child are also found significant.

Openness, Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth: The Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Olasupo Akano

Abstract: Relative to most of their Asian counterparts, Sub-Saharan African economies have generally performed poorly in meeting their growth objectives since the 1960s. Using individual country time series and panel regressions, the paper investigates the role of the growth of capital stock per worker and openness in the economic growth experience of eleven Sub-Saharan African countries since the mid-60s. While the openness variable was found to have a strong positive effect on the observed pattern of economic growth, the capital-labour ratio paradoxically seems to have made a significant negative contribution to the growth process of the countries studied.

International Tourism in Kenya: Development, Problems and Challenges
Tom G. Ondicho

Abstract: The introduction of international tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa is relatively recent. In the context of Kenya, tourism development, in volume and value terms, exemplifies a success story (ECA 1978, 3; Dieke 1991). Despite remarkable progress in this respect in recent years, the tourism sector in the country has been constrained by certain internal and external factors. This article reviews the main features of international tourism development in Kenya, with particular reference to the problems and difficulties of development and the challenges that the industry faces on the eve of the millennium.

The Distribution of Welfare in Uganda
Paul Okiira Okwi and Darlison Kaija

Abstract: This paper examines the distribution of welfare in Uganda in 1997. The data used was obtained from a household survey conducted by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in the first quarter of 1997. The analysis of the data focused on the distribution of welfare as measured by household consumption expenditures. It also focused on the attributes of the poor and the very poor households and on the characteristics of their component members. The major findings of the analysis are that the poor are predominantly found in the rural areas, are less educated, have large household sizes, and are primarily agricultural workers. They lack basic services and amenities and have very low levels of expenditure. Inequality levels are high in Uganda as shown by the summary Measures of Inequality. Across regions we also see some divergence in welfare distribution and it is conclusively clear that welfare is unequally distributed in Uganda. The poor are sharing very little of the benefits of growth, while the rich are enjoying the greatest share of the benefits.

An Overview of Training Programs and Approaches for the Informal Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa
Mulat Demeke and Wolday Amha

Abstract: Training of individuals is one of the direct strategies to promote the informal sector which provides employment to the bulk of the urban population and is second only to smallholder agriculture as a rural employer. This paper reviews a wide range of training approaches employed to support new entrants into the informal sector, upgrade existing skills and assist disadvantaged groups. Apart from direct funding, the government is expected to formulate policies that would create a favourable environment for the private sector and NGOs to participate in the provision of training. The paper concludes by underlining that there are limits to what can be achieved through training alone. Successful training Programs are often an integral part of small-enterprise promotion packages which attempt to address several interrelated needs simultaneously.