Essays on remittances, welfare and productivity of agricultural households in selected sub-Saharan African countries
| dc.contributor.advisor | Adjasi, Charles Komla | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Eghan, Mark | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. University of Stellenbosch Business School. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-10-21T21:30:18Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-20T10:01:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-10-21T21:30:18Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-02-20T10:01:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-12 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH SUMMARY: The study assesses the impact of remittance flows on the productivity and welfare of agricultural households in sub-Saharan Africa. The thesis is organised into three empirical essays. The first empirical essay tests the impact of remittance receipts on agricultural productivity in Ghana. Using propensity score matching (PSM) methods it assesses whether heterogeneity in the economic activity of farming households affects the effects of remittances on the productivity of tradable and non-tradable crop farming households in Ghana. We find that, the involvement of farming households in other economic activities alters the impact of remittances on crop yield. This differential impact also varies according to whether the crop is tradeable or not. The second essay answers the question: What is the distributional effect of remittances on household welfare in The Gambia? We examine this question with an instrumental variable quantile regression approach to estimate the distributional welfare effect of remittances in The Gambia. After instrumenting for the endogenous remittance variable in the model and controlling for household demographic characteristics, the paper finds that the effect of remittance on household welfare is positive and significant; however, the effect is not uniform across the income quantiles. We find that rich households receiving remittances have greater welfare impacts than low-income households receiving remittances. Even though remittances have a higher welfare impact on rich households, the impact of a 10.12% increase in the welfare of low-income households is substantial. This suggests the possibility that remittances can be an enabling channel for low-income households to migrate to middle income status. The third essay estimates the impact of remittances on vulnerability to expected poverty among agricultural households in Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia. We found that households that benefitted from remittances in all three countries could smoothing consumption to reduce their vulnerability to expected poverty and therefore guard against future poverty. In addition, although urban households were less vulnerable than rural households to expected poverty, rural households that received remittances became less vulnerable to expected poverty. This underscores the importance of remittances in enhancing the welfare of poorer households. The overall conclusion of the study is that remittances provide non-labour income that helps to improve the welfare of agricultural households, reduce poverty levels and reduce the vulnerability of agricultural households to expected poverty. These positive effects of remittances are more on poorer households. Since agricultural households are generally among the poor and vulnerable population in SSA, the results show that remittance helps to reduce the poverty and vulnerability to poverty among the poor of the poor. It is recommended that governments in sub-Saharan Africa put in place policies that ensure a reduction in the cost of sending remittances especially to rural farming households as an indirect way of reducing vulnerability to expected poverty. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Oorbetalings word toenemend belangrik as ’n bron van kapitaal in ontwikkelende ekonomiee. Wat veral vir akademici en beleidmakers van belang is, is die potensiele impak daarvan op ontvanger-huishoudings. Die studie ondersoek die verhouding tussen die oorblywende vloei na Afrika suid van die Sahara en die ontwikkeling van die landbou te beoordeel deur te fokus op die gevolge vir produktiwiteit en huishoudelike welstand. Die proefskrif is georganiseer in drie empiriese opstelle. Die eerste empiriese opstel toets die impak van die oorbetalings ontvang op landbouproduktiwiteit. Die opstel gebruik ooreensteming in geneigdheidstelling-metodes (PSM) om empiries te beoordeel of heterogeniteit in die ekonomiese aktiwiteit van boerderyhuishoudings die gevolge van oorbetalings op produktiwiteit van verhandelbare en nie-verhandelbare gewasboerdery in Ghana beinvloed. Ons het gevind dat die betrokkenheid van huishoudings in ander ekonomiese aktiwiteite die impak van oorbetalings op die opbrengs van die oes verander. Hierdie differensiele impak wissel ook afhangende of die gewas verhandelbaar is of nie. Hierdie referaat dra by tot kennis deur te ondersoek of die effek van oorbetalings op landbouproduktiwiteit verskil volgens die aard van gewasproduksie; groot uitvoergewasse teenoor voedsel/nie-uitvoergewasse. Die innovasie in hierdie proefskrif is die uiteensetting van die effek van oorbetaling op produktiwiteit gebaseer op die verhandelbaarheid van die gewas. Die tweede opstel beantwoord die vraag: Wat is die verspreidingseffek van oorbetalings op huishoudelike welsyn in Gambie? Ons ondersoek hierdie vraag met ’n instrumentele veranderlike kwantielregressie-benadering om die verspreiding van die welstandseffek van oorbetalings in Gambie te beraam met behulp van Gambie se Derde Geintegreerde Huishoudelike Opname (GHO). Na die instrumentering van die endogene oorbetalingsveranderlike in die model en die beheer van huishoudelike demografiese eienskappe, het die ondersoek gevind dat die gevolge van oorbetaling op huishoudelike welstand positief en beduidend is, maar, nie eenvormig oor die inkomstekwantiele nie. Ons vind dat ryk huishoudings wat oorbetalings ontvang, groter welstandimpakte het as huishoudings met 'n lae inkomste wat oorbetalings ontvang. Alhoewel oorbetalings 'n hoer welstandsimpak op ryk huishoudings het, is die impak van 9,64 persent toename in die welstand van huishouding met ’n lae inkomste aansienlik. Dit dui op die moontlikheid dat oorbetalings ’n instaatstellende kanaal kan wees vir huishoudings met ’n lae inkomste om na die middel inkomstestatus te migreer. Hierdie referaat lewer 'n beduidende bydrae tot kennis deur die verspreidingswelsyn-effekte van oorbetalings op huishoudelike welsyn te skat. Die derde artikel beraam die impak van oorbetalings op die kwesbaarheid met verwagte armoede onder landbouhuishoudings in Gambie, Ghana en Nigerie. Ons het gevind dat huishoudings wat voordeel trek uit oorbetalings in al drie lande verbruik kan verminder om hul kwesbaarheid teen verwagte armoede te verminder en daarom teen toekomstige armoede te beskerm. Alhoewel stedelike huishoudings minder kwesbaar was as plattelandse huishoudings vir moontlike armoede, was landelike huishoudings wat oorbetalings ontvang het, minder kwesbaar vir verwagte armoede. Dit onderstreep die belangrikheid van oorbetalings in die verbetering van die welstand van armer huishoudings. Hierdie referaat dra by tot die literatuur deur die uitwerking van oorbetalings op die kwesbaarheid vir verwagte armoede van landbouhuishoudings te evalueer, om beter begrip van die dinamiese gedrag van huishoudings se verbruik in die toekoms te verskaf. Die algehele gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat oorbetalings nie-arbeidsinkomste verskaf wat help om die welstand van landbouhuishoudings te verbeter, armoedevlakke te verminder en die kwesbaarheid van landbouhuishoudings vir verwagte armoede te verminder. Hierdie positiewe uitwerking van oorbetalings beinvloed armer huishoudings meer. Aangesien landbouhuishoudings oor die algemeen onder die arm en kwesbar bevolking in SSA is, verskaf die studie bewyse dat oorbetalings help om die armoede en kwesbaarheid vir armoede onder die armes van die armes te verminder. Die studie beveel aan dat regerings in Afrika suid van die Sahara beleide moet instel wat 'n vermindering in die koste van die stuur van oorbetalings verseker aan veral landelike boerehuishoudings om verhoogde oorbetalingsvloei te verseker as 'n indirekte manier om kwesbaarheid vir verwagte armoede te verminder. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Doctorate | |
| dc.embargo.terms | 2024-10-23 | |
| dc.format.extent | xviii, 188 pages : illustrations, includes annexures | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/129394 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Agricultural productivity -- Africa, Sub-Saharan | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Africa, Sub-Saharan | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- Africa, Sub-Saharan | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.name | UCTD | |
| dc.title | Essays on remittances, welfare and productivity of agricultural households in selected sub-Saharan African countries | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |
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