Browsing by Author "Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Impact on Household Poverty in Selected Villages in Rural Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2012-05) Ayalew, Zewdu; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    Poverty is pervasive in rural Ethiopia. The Growth and Transformation Plan stipulated that increasing agricultural productivity of farmers is one entry point for poverty reduction. In this Regard, studying the sources of productivity growth and its implication for poverty reduction is very important for policy making. So far, studies in Ethiopia focused on productivity per se. Other studies on household poverty also paid more attention on the impact of productivity-enhancing factors such as roads and improved agricultural water management technologies on household poverty. However, studies on the impact of productivity growth on poverty reduction are limited. In an attempt to fill this gap, this study analyzed sources of agricultural productivity and its impact on household poverty. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) was employed to decompose the Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index using the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey data. The results showed that agricultural TFP grew for the sample households. The analysis further showed that the main source of TFP growth was improvement in technical efficiency. The results also revealed that there is no growth in technology (the state of knowledge) of the farmers that sign ificantly shifts the production frontier upward. Results of Two Stages Least Squares (2SLS) fixed effects regression also indicated that growth in technical efficiency reduces household poverty. Other productivity indicators, land and labor productivity, also reduces household poverty, albeit not as responsive as technical efficiency.
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    An Assessmet of Road And Drainage Infrastructure System Integration And Provision In Shire-Indasilassie Town, Tigray
    (Addis Ababauniversity, 2011-06) Kiros, Amaha; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    Wilh increasing Irend of urbanizalion, provision of adequate urban Slorm water drainage facililies plays greater role in maintaining communily safety and municipal asset from flood hazard However, development of Ihese syslems is al its infant level in many of the secondary towns of Ethiopia. Shireindasilassie is one of the secondmy lawns in Ethiopia where huge amount of resource is depleted yearly al household and municipal level because of flooding. Despite Ihe huge deslruclion of Ihe public reSOllrce, seriousness of Ihe problem is, however, nOI well recognized by municipal aUlhorities. IYmradays. Ihe ideal location of Ihe lawn wilh respeci 10 lawns such as Gondar, Humera. and Mekele is am'acling people from Ihe nearby rural hillleriands and consequenlly exacerbale Ihe problem offlooding alld illegal mulliplicalion of slums and squaller selliements ill Ihe town. These situalions Irigger the researcher 10 select this research problem in Ihe lawn under discussion. Cognizanl of Ihe deplh and breadlh of the problem, Ihe main i11lel1lion of Ihe researcher in conducting this swdy was to assess the cOlldition of USWD system. delermine the eXlenl of road and USWD il1legration, and assess Ihe risk of .flood hazard wilhin the COl1leXI of Ihe social, economic, physical and inslilutional almosphere of Ihe lown. For Ihe accomplishment of Ihese objectives, the researcher employed mix of qualitalive and qualllilative data from households and 1'Orious responsible municipal authorilies. Result of Ihe study c1earl" shows Ihal Ihe exisling USWD facililies in Ihe town are inadequate to properly remove urban storm water in the 10H'n. As a result of Ihis, huge resources are depleled yearly bOlh at household and municipal level. Resull of the household sUlTey on flood damage also reveals that income level of Ihe majorilY of Ihe households in Ihe town is unable to solve the financial burdens of flood damage. The basic impeding facto rs for USWD developmenl, according 10 the findings of Ih is research, are disil1legrated infrastruclural managemenl. lack of qualified human power and lack of adequale finance. Finally, Ihe researcher recommends Ihe municipalilY to strenglhen Ihe capacilY of human power and eSlablish H"Orkable organizational structures conducive for communication of the variou5 slakehold2rs and inlegration of related injraslruclural deparlmel1ls Key Words: Gi'ban Storm !l'ater Drainage, Road injraslruclure, Conventional Storm WaleI' Drainage Sntems, Source Control Measures 10 Flooding, impervious sUljaces, Infiltration
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    Changes and Prospects of Women in the Informal Business Sector in Addis Ababa: The case of Merkato
    (Addis Ababa University, 2012-07) Tiiahun, Yalgallesh; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    Th is stlldy lras conducted in Merkato, Addis Ababa lI'ith th e oilll of a,sessin g the major cha ll enges al1ll pro.lpeC IS of women in the inf'orlllal bllsiness sector. Th e informal secto r 1}I'()1'ides lIlore than half of the emploYlllent opportllll ity in IIriJan areas of Ethi opia. The seC/o r plays an important role in absorbing s /II pllls labor and help women ge nerating income. Despite ouch contributions, th e inf'ormal ,ector is ,aid to face challenges specifically for women operators in th e developing world. So me of the major problems inclllde: la ck of wo rking capita l, poor working environment, lack of acce,s to credit and tr a iningj{lcilities. In fact, the challenges womenface in the informal ,ectors are not velY well studied in th e context of Addis Ababa. A case study approach was employed. Both prilllw y and secondary da ta were collec ted through questionnaire, interview and observat ion. A sample of 80 r espondents was taken Fom women informal operators in Merkato area. In addition, key informants were considered Fom Woreda Trade and Indllstry Office, and women 's Affair Office. The data were a nalyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings of th e study show that, pOOr workin g condition, shortage of working capital, lack of access to credit , lack of business skill/ training, sho rtage of raw materials, lack of inji-astru cture and service j{lcilities and police harassment are th e major challenges women face in th e study ar ea. In f act, findings suggest th at informal secto rs are serving as important safety nets for th e poor and marg inalized women who do not get e mployment opportunities in the for mal sector. Hen ce future interventions may consider as to how to transform informal business into legal ones so that women can get access to credit facilities (from financial institutions) and training (that can them impro ve th ei r business skills), In this re ga rd, es tablishing them into micro and small enterprises IVould play a great role in providing other necessary facilities sa as to change the living standard of informal operators, espec ially women.
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    Innovation and conventional lending practice of banks in Ethiopia: Perspectives from patented innova
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-06) Bitew, Sewale; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    The research was initiated to pinpoint the trend of bank lending from the context of enabling startups and innovations, to clarify the current practice of lending from the above context, to identify the basic facto rs that influence the success of innovations and to forward workable solutions in the area. The basic methods of data collection used to come up with the findings of the research were: interviews with bank professionals and patented innovators, desk review of lending policies of selected banks, review of innovation and patenting policy of the nation, reviewing the domestic credit portfolio of the country and survey question naires. The survey questionnaire was collected from 40 different minor inventors out of a total of around 70 inventors and 1 to inventions. The basic data analysis methods used to analyze the data obtained in the aforementioned ways were description and econometric analysis. T he findings obtained through these methods show that: bank lending has been skewed towards more organized, experienced and collateral possessing firms than new startups and innovators. In addition , the current practice has nothing new when compared with the trend despite the fact that the share of loan granted to the manufacturing sector has increased recently. Finally, in assessing the factors that affect the success of innovation, access to finance was found the only significant variable. Educational level, fami ly size, nature of the invention and availability of training were found insignificant to affect the success of innovation. Basing this, the researcher forwarded some workable solutions regarding the need for frequent revision of innovation policies, separating the possession of private banks from respective borrowers and encouraging financial policies that favor new startups and innovators. Key Words: innovation, patenting, access to finance, lending
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    Participation in Watershed Management Programs and Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Bassonaworana District, Central Highlands of Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2018-06) Tafa, Kidane; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    Many studies globally and nationally have underlined the natural resources which are the base of agriculture and other economic activities are under threat of degradation in many forms. In Ethiopia, there is a widespread concern about the threat of land degradation due to soil erosion that potentially results in decreased agricultural production. In response to this, government and other partners have taken various initiatives via implementing different watershed management programs (WMPs) and promoting sustainable land management practices (SLMPs) so as to prevent soil erosion and enhance sustainable agriculture. However, the adoption of these practices by farm households is low (Tesfaye et al., 2014; Wolka, 2014). Accordingly, the productivity of agriculture in the country has remained one of the lowest in the world. Owing to these facts, researchers, policy makers and practitioners have big concern on these issues. On the other hand, despite the number of studied on SLMPs, prior empirical studies have focused on the adoption and impact of single practice/technology in different plots ignoring the combined use of SLMPs in a plot. In addition to this adoption of SLMPs in combinations may provide greater or lower revenues than individuals since the cost involved in implementing SLMPs is varied. In view of these, empirical evidence on the use of combinations of SLMPs and their impact is rather scanty. Thus, this thesis sought to shed some light on these issues by providing empirical evidence from Bassonaworana district, Ethiopia. ……….
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    Performance and Challenges of Zonal Taxi Transport System in Addis Ababa
    (Addis Ababa University, 2012-06) Mekuriaw, Wondem; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    In consideration of the importance of transportation for other sectors and the public, Addis Ababa transport branch office has taken several measures to improve the transportation situation of the city. One of the major measures taken by the city transport branch office is zonal taxi transport system. However, anecdotal evidences indicate that problems are plenty such as shortage of taxis, chopping of routes into several segments, charging passengers over normal fares, taxis do not have or invisible root plates, passengers assaulted by taxi drivers and conductors, lose control and coordination of actors, passive participation of actors, vague accountable relationships of actors, poor in providing solution for grievances in time, and others. In fact, whether the system has brought about the desired result is yet to be assessed. Besides, accountability relationship and actors’ participation in the system is nor clearly known. Thus, in line of above gaps, the objectives of the study were to: i) measure the performance of zonal taxi transport system in the city, ii) examine the accountability relationships and actors’ participation, and grievance handling mechanisms, iii) identify challenges that hinder the system from being effective, and iv) suggest recommendation to improve the services. Both qualitative and quantitative data have been utilized. The study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through questionnaire, unstructured interviews and personal observations. They were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Secondary data were also consulted from published and unpublished documents and reports. The performance of zonal taxi transport system was measured in terms of accessibility, affordability, quality, accountability relationship, participation of actors and grievance handling. Findings of the study indicate that accessibility and quality of zonal taxi transport system is relatively better because of the opening up of new routes, fair distribution of taxis, protection of criminal activities, and reduction of traffic accidents by giving break for drivers and others. But, it is difficult to say that there is improvement on the affordability where the system helps taxi drivers to exploit the poor. Besides, the system is ineffective in creation of organizational structure, which hinders establishment of strong accountability relationship and active participation of actors. Therefore, to make the system more effective, possible remedial actions should be taken, such as promoting taxi associations to Plc. and contracting out zones to them, establishing organizations with government holding of majority shares, and installation of computerized working system
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    The Role of Informal Sector in Food Security: The Case of Addis Ababa
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-07) Seleshi, Samrawit; Alamirew, Bamlaku (PhD)
    Over the past decades, informal sector has been growing fa st in Ethiopia. The maj or reason cited for this is the growing rate of rural -urban mi gration and in ab ility of the formal employment sector to prov ide joh for the active labor force. Because capac ity of formal employment scctor is very limited . those llligrants and urban poor dwell ers are urged to join informal sector. Thus, this master th es is deals with the contribution of informal sector towards enhancing food security status and vu lnerabil ity level of households in the city of Addi s Ababa. The study cmploys both primary and secondary data col lection tec hniques to gath cr thc des ired facts and info rmati on. The primary data was selected usin g questionn ai re in wh ich arou nd 222 respondents were part icipated . For sampling purpose the researcher divided Addis Ababa in to four groups us ing the city map. From these fo ur groups one sub-city was se lected purpos ive ly by considering time alld money constraints. The selected sub-cities are Bole, Arada, Nefas Silk Lafto and Ak aki Kaliti sub-c ity. In turn . seco ndary data was collected from diff'erent journals, books, resea rches, magazine and other published and unpubli shed materials from library and internet searc hing. In order to analyze the coll ec ted data both desc ri pti ve and econollletrics data anal ys is techniques were appli ed. The descripti ve analysis was used to exam ine the characteri stics of in formal sector operators. their demographic charac teri sti cs. sources of capital. income statu s, participation, planning, saving habit, food securi ty status and vuln erabi li ty level or respondents. Further, income inequality is anal yzed by using Lorenz curve and ANOVA. In addition, to analyze determin ants of food security and vulnerab ility status or the informal sec tor opera to rs, pro bit and ordered probit reg ress ion lllodeis were eillployed.The find ings of the sludy show an important contribut ion of in fo rmal sec tor employment towards enhancing food access ibili ty of the poor. Around 67.3% percent get adequate income to cover their dai ly food expenses. On the other hand, aimosl 62 .7 % of the respondents claim that they cannot survive anv further without their busin ess. They are more vulnerabl e. The major determin ants that alTcct both food security and vulnerability status of in formal sec tor operators are age, sex, household size, experience in the business, worki ng time per day, saving, total earni ngs, borrowing and I i vel i hood strategies . . The researcher advocates that the government should give suf ficient attenl ion to this neglcc ted but promi nent sector in the country's economy. This could be done through improving the capaci ty of poor inlormal sec tor operators and facil i tating credit sources with low collateral alld bureaucratic procedures. Key words: Informal sec to I', Food security, Urban poor dwellers, Addis Ababa