https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/25 2022-10-31T05:27:51Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3871 Making it to the PhD: Gender and student performance in sub-Saharan Africa Fisher, Monica; Nyabaro, Violet; Mendum, Ruth; Osiru, Moses Women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) impedes progress in solving Africa’s complex development problems. As in other regions, women’s participation in STEM drops progressively moving up the education and career ladder, with women currently constituting 30% of Africa’s STEM researchers. This study elucidates gender-based differences in PhD performance using new survey data from 227 alumni of STEM PhD programs in 17 African countries. We find that, compared to their male counterparts, sampled women had about one less paper accepted for publication during their doctoral studies and took about half a year longer to finish their PhD training. Negative binomial regression models provide insights on the observed differences in women’s and men’s PhD performance. Results indicate that the correlates of publication productivity and time to PhD completion are very similar for women and men, but some gender-based differences are observed. For publication output, we find that good supervision had a stronger impact for men than women; and getting married during the PhD reduced women’s publication productivity but increased that of men. Becoming a parent during the PhD training was a key reason that women took longer to complete the PhD, according to our results. Findings suggest that having a female supervisor, attending an institution with gender policies in place, and pursuing the PhD in a department where sexual harassment by faculty was perceived as uncommon were enabling factors for women’s timely completion of their doctoral studies. Two priority interventions emerge from this study: (1) family-friendly policies and facilities that are supportive of women’s roles as wives and mothers and (2) fostering broader linkages and networks for women in STEM, including ensuring mentoring and supervisory support that is tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3870 Does adoption of on-farm tree planting depend on Forest co-management? Evidence from selected Forest sites in Kenya Laichena, Joshua Kenya’s forest sector operated without a formal forest policy until 1957 when White Paper No. 85 of 1957 was published, and which outlined ten principles on forest management: Reservation; protection; management; industry; finance; employment; African areas; private forests and other forests not under the State ownership; public amenity, and; wildlife research and education. The first principle was restated as a policy in 1968 through Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1968 and adopted as the Forest Act (Cap. 385). This Act provided for development of the Kenya Forestry Master Plan and establishment control and regulation of central forests and forest areas in Nairobi and on unalienated government land under the Forests Department. Under this governance regime, access to State forests was tightly controlled by forest guards who ensured continued forest health through exclusion, and only activities approved by the Forest Department were carried out. Forest neighbouring communities and other stakeholders remained mere spectators in forest management. Nonetheless, in the 1970s and 1980s, Kenya was rated highly in plantation development alongside countries such as Chile 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3869 Teacher Beliefs About Sustainable Agriculture: A Self-made Measurement Scale Muma, Mathew; Martin, Robert; Shelley, Mack The study‟s purpose was to analyze the validity of the construct of a self-made Alternative-Conventional Agricultural Paradigm scale using the teacher population teaching high school agriculture in the North Central Region of the USA. A random sample of 844 teachers was drawn. Teachers were self-administered questionnaires with 5-point Likert-type scales. Instrument inter-item consistency and item coherence were determined. The relatively high coefficient alpha (.82), mean item total correlation (.40), and unrotated first factors with modest number of items loading on the factor means that the scale has mainly one underlying construct. The teacher population holds consistent views and attitudes about SA constituting an agricultural paradigm. The instrument items are coherent as components of a whole and are related. However, the teacher population did not hold stronger paradigmatic views on the scale as can be expected because of their relatively low mean score item-total correlation and coefficient alpha for the instrument compared to what was found for the scale in the Beus and Dunlap (1991) study. This should be expected because agriculture teachers are not strong adherents of the two agricultural paradigms who can be expected to make extreme and polar scores on the scale. The instrument can therefore be used to preliminarily gauge the paradigmatic orientation of agriculture teachers in the region. Further research with the instrument with known groups supporting the two paradigms is necessary to establish its validity 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3843 Teacher Differences in Beliefs and Perceptions About Sustainable Agriculture: Influence on the Teaching of High School Agriculture Curriculum Muma, Mathew; Martin, Robert; Shelley, Mack The purpose of the study was to determine agriculture teacher differences in beliefs and perceptions about sustainable agriculture (SA) and the associations of these with the teaching of SA in the 12 states of the Midwest US. A descriptive design using self-administered structured questionnaires with Likert measurements was adopted. A stratified random sample of 844 teachers were self-administered the questionnaires. Data were analyzed by ANOVA by comparing means and conducting post-hoc tests. Teachers who agreed and those who disagreed about SA beliefs had no statistically significant difference in their mean ratings of beliefs about SA. Those who were neutral and those who disagreed about SA beliefs had similar mean ratings. Teachers who agreed with SA beliefs and those who were neutral about SA beliefs had a statistically significant difference in their mean ratings of SA beliefs. All three of those groups taught SA topics to a moderate extent. This was not the case for teachers who differed about their perceptions of SA topics/practices. Therefore, teacher differences in beliefs about SA may or may not influence the teaching of SA topics. Teacher perceptions of selected SA practices only influenced the extent to which teachers taught SA. SA goals can be achieved via teaching to influence teacher knowledge, affect, cognition, behavior, and actions towards SA. Teacher professional development needs can be identified from their differences in perceptions about SA practices. An education approach promoting the building of bridges among different perspectives about SA and systems teaching-learning can help to achieve SA goals. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3841 Domestic trade regulation and growth of wholesale and retail firms: evidence from Kenya Karanja, John Gakuu The aim of this paper was to assess the effect of Kenya’s domestic trade regulations on the growth of wholesale and retail firms in Kenya. To achieve the study objective, the existing domestic trade regulatory framework was reviewed, and policy gaps were identified. Further, a cross-sectional dataset from the World Bank enterprise survey 2018 was used for empirical analysis as it contains regulatory variables that influence the growth of wholesale and retail trade firms. The Tobit model was used for regression analysis. The study established that business registration regulations, licensing regulations, firm size, use of mobile money, business websites, membership in a trade association, and training of employees support firms’ ability to grow and therefore create jobs. The study recommended that there is a need to develop a framework that will coordinate both national and county governments in the implementation of business registration reforms provided under the Business Registration Act of 2015 and other reforms provided for ease of doing business in the country. Further, there is a need to reduce business licensing obstacles across the counties by simplifying business license application procedures, conditions, and requirements. Finally, there is a need to fast-track the implementation of the MSE Act 2012 and the MSE regulations 2019 on trade associations, as well as to assess their contribution to the wholesale and retail trade sectors’ self-regulation since their enactment and, if necessary, to revise them. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3782 Institutions and Export Performance: Firm Level Evidence from Kenya Mwatu, Shadrack Muthami This study sought to examine how institutions shape export performance using Kenyan data. The left-censored random-effects Tobit and the random-effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimators were applied on panel data obtained from World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys covering 2007, 2013, and 2018. Using a vector of institutional variables touching on the efficiency of the court system, access to trade finance, tax inspections, bribes during tax inspections, on-the-job trainings, customs regulations, quality certifications, informal competition, operating licenses, and trade permits, the results indicate that specific institutions on quality certification, trade finance, and on-the-job trainings are associated with improvement in export performance while bureaucratic tax inspections dampen prospects from export trade. The findings are robust as the coefficients from the Tobit estimator are reinforced by those from the GLS estimator. These findings constitute an original attempt to examine the interlink between institutions and export performance with specific focus on the Kenyan context. Pertaining the trade environment, the findings point towards a need to enhance institutional capacity, undertake reforms of export-related institutions, invest towards a national quality infrastructure, and entrench self-regulation not only in Kenya, but also among other developing countries. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/3561 Determinants of manufacturing firms’ Research and Development investments: evidence from Kenya Shibia, Adan Guyo This study investigates effects of firm-level, sector-level and business environment factors on manufacturing firms’ Research and Development (R&D) investment decisions in Kenya. Design/methodology/approach – Panel Probit regression model is employed to analyse effects of the explanatory variables on manufacturing firms R&D investment decisions. Findings – Access to external finance, lower informal sector competition, exports market participation, larger firm size and firms in high technology subsectors increase probabilities of undertaking R&D investment decisions. Research limitations/implications – The findings underscore the need to consider institutional framework, aimed at easing business environment constraints related to access to finance, export promotion and competition from informal sector enterprises. Future research should consider cross-country analysis within the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region to understand implications of institutional contexts that prove to be a challenge to address in a study based within a single country. Practical implications – Policymakers need to consider addressing business environment constraints that impede R&D investments by private sector enterprises in developing countries. Formal private sector firms should design R&D investment strategies and lobby for policy interventions targeted at business environment constraints. Originality/value – This study considers effects of variables underexplored in existing literature, notably competition from informal sector firms, R&D-intensity technological classification and an objective measure of access to finance. The study also utilises a panel survey data, which was underexplored in prior studies within SSA economies. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/2786 Determinants of micro and small enterprises growth in Kenya The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of investment climate and firm-specific variables on the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Kenya. The paper utilized a cross-section survey data of 2,536 MSEs in Kenya. Using the sales growth as the dependent variable, the paper tests the hypotheses that investment climate variables – entrepreneur perception of fairness and affordability of the courts in dealing with commercial disputes, access to formal credit, connections to utilities, crime incidences; and firm-specific resources affect MSE growth. The paper is among the first to establish effects of entrepreneur perception on MSE growth with regards the court system in dealing with business disputes in terms of fairness, timeliness, affordability and enforcement. The paper also extends limited extant research on MSE growth constraints with regards to incidences of insecurity, access to bank credit, connections to utilities and internal resources. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/2776 Agricultural market access and dietary diversity in Kenya: Gender considerations towards improved household nutritional outcomes Achieving food and nutritional security by all people at all times is a key development goal at the global, regional and national levels. To achieve access to sufficient safe food of acceptable quality at all times, gender mainstreaming in food and nutritional policies, programmes and projects is increasingly being recognized as important to the realization of this goal. In addition, access to well-functioning markets is likely to improve farmers profitability and their access to diverse nutritious foods. This paper avails evidence on the effect of gendered access to organized agricultural markets on household dietary diversity scores in Kenya using nationwide survey data. Using an inverse probability weighted treatment-effect estimator, we evaluate whether improving women’s and men’s access to well-functioning agricultural markets facilitates diet diversity among households. The analysis shows that while improving both women and men’s agricultural commercialization through organised marketing systems improves the dietary diversity outcomes of households, the effect of women is double that of men. However, greater effects are achieved when both the female and male in the same household have access to well-functioning agricultural markets. Further, addressing human and socio-economic needs of households are also important in enhancing households’ dietary diversity quality. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.kippra.or.ke/handle/123456789/2746 Food security and welfare changes under COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impacts and responses in Kenya The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all Sub-Saharan economies through a multitude of impact channels. The study determines the medium-term macroeconomic outcomes of the pandemic on the Kenyan economy and links the results with a detailed food security and nutrition microsimulation module. It thus evaluates the effectiveness of the adopted government measures to reduce the negative outcomes on food security and to enable economic recovery at aggregate, sectoral and household levels. Through income support measures, the food sector and food demand partially recover. However, 1.3% of households still fall below calorie intake thresholds, many of which are in rural areas. Results also indicate that the state of food security in Kenya remains vulnerable to the evolution of the pandemic abroad. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z