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Economic conditions

Poverty, income distribution and labour markets in Ethiopia

Medarbetare: Bigsten, Arne | Kebede, Bereket | Shimeles, Abebe
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2005
Ämnesord: Ethiopia, poverty, Economic conditions, income distribution, household income, labour market, Business and economics, Ekonomi
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of just over US$100. Understanding the causes of the country's widespread poverty is of the utmost importance. Until recently, however, very little household data was available. This study deals with the many aspects of poverty and income distribution in Ethiopia. It analyses the determinants of poverty and how its conditions have changed in both rural and urban areas over time. Rural and urban poverty profiles and the dynamics of poverty are examined, measurements taken of consumption poverty are compared with individual perceptions of poverty, and an analysis is made of the distribution of intra-household expenditure and the dynamics of income distribution. In addition, the functioning of the urban labour market returns to education, and the effects of education on household welfare are investigated. Finally, there is extensive discussion of the wide range of policies that need to be coordinated for poverty reduction in Ethiopia.

Begging and almsgiving in Ghana : Muslim positions towards poverty and distress

Upphovsperson: Weiss, Holger
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: Muslims, Islam, Economic conditions, Marginality, Poverty alleviation, Social welfare, Social security, Political islam, Ghana, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The vast majority of Muslims in Africa generally do not 'objectify' concepts such as poverty and religion in discussion. Poverty is a situation for 'ordinary' poor people in rural or urban poor areas where people seek to make marginal gains in income to avoid ever-threatening destitution and social disintegration. Most of these 'ordinary' poor people, especially poor and illiterate women, do not really believe that things can change. There exists, however, in all Muslim societies and communities in Africa a minority that criticize social and political conditions in society with the stated aim of striving for an Islamic solution to poverty and injustice. The common denominator for this group is that they are urban educated Muslims, having both a traditional educational background and, usually but not always, a modern, secular one, too. For them, the concept of poverty more readily forms part of a religious discourse involving feasible strategies for change. Their basic idea is to highlight the possibilities of generating new forms of financial resources by combining Islamic ethics and norms with a modern development-oriented outlook. Their vision is the usability of obligatory almsgiving in a modern context, namely that, instead of the traditional individual-centred 'person-to-person' charities, zakāt or obligatory almsgiving should be directed to become the source of communal and collective societal improvement. This study focuses on the conditions of poverty and the debate among Muslims in Ghana, a West African country with a substantial but largely economically and politically marginalized Muslim population.

Perspectives on Côte d'Ivoire : between political breakdown and post-conflict peace

Upphovsperson: Obi, Cyril
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: Civil war, conflicts, political development, Economic conditions, Peaceful coexistence, Peace building, Post-conflict reconstruction, Citizenship, Côte d'Ivoire, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The three articles in this Discussion Paper explore different perspectives to the complex causes of the civil war that broke out in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002. They are written against the background of the signing of yet another peace agreement between the Ivorian government and the former rebel New Forces (NF) in March 2007. This volume also provides a context where the prospects for post-conflict peace, national reconciliation and democracy in Côte d’Ivoire could be critically analysed.

Eritrea : a dream deferred

Upphovsperson: Kibreab, Gaim
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | London : James Currey; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Eritrea, Post-independence, national liberation movements, Nation-building, Economic conditions, political development, Civil war, Human rights violations, Social change, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Eritrean independence under the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (now the People's Front for Democracy and Justice) became an international cause celebre during the 1980s. Eritrea was the first African nation to gain independence in the post-colonial period and appeared to be opening a new and progressive path in African politics. But the promise of the revolution was soon betrayed by the outbreak of war with Ethiopia, the PFDJ's increasingly repressive domestic policies, its mismanagement of the country's economy, and its hostile relations with its neighbours.The PFDJ government dismantled existing formal and informal institutions, crippled the private sector, banned private newspapers, civil and political society organisations, expelled international NGOs and aid agencies when over two-thirds of the population were dependent on food aid, detained without trial journalists, thousands of dissidents, and former leaders of the liberation struggle, and turned national service from an instrument of nation building and national integration into an instrument of open-ended forced labour.In this well-researched first account of post-independence Eritrea, Gaim Kibreab gives a detailed and critical analysis of how things went woefully wrong and how the former 'liberators' turned into oppressors with no respect for the rule of law, human rights and religious freedom. CONTENT 1  Introduction 2  The Broken Promises, Demand for Change & Violation of Human Rights 3  Associational Life in Independent Eritrea 4  Towards an Explanation 5  The Demise of the Private Sector 6  PFDJ's Dominance of the Economy & the Consequences 7  Freedom of Association, Political Stability & Institutions 8  Shattered Promises: In Lieu of a Conclusion

Aid and poverty reduction in Zambia : mission unaccomplished

Upphovspersoner: Saasa, Oliver S. | Carlsson, Jerker
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2002
Ämnesord: Zambia, Southern Africa, poverty, Economic conditions, Development aid, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Zambia, a once prosperous African country, now has 73 percent of its people below the poverty line and by the early 1990s, the country had reached a level where the UN General Assembly included it on the list of the least developed countries. With crippling indebtedness amidst poor economic performance, Zambia is at present one of the world's most heavily indebted low-income countries. And poverty continues to take its toll with the province housing the capital city registering the highest increase in poverty over the 1996 to 1998 period. This means that, although rural areas have the highest poverty levels, Zambia's urban centres are fast catching up. With help from donors, poverty reduction is at the centre stage on the Zambia development agenda after almost two decades of externally prescribed experiments with adjustment and stabilisation as a panacea for welfare improvement. But despite significant aid volumes and structural reforms, the country is getting deeper and deeper into poverty. What is the missing link between aid and positive change? Is the problem mainly that the volume of aid is not sufficient and, as is often heard, more of it would make a difference? Is the sluggish social and economic progress in Zambia appropriately diagnosed and correct remedies and strategies prescribed? This book attempts to address these and related questions.

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