222 research outputs found
Speciation of chromium in soils near Sheba Leather Industry, Wukro Ethiopia
No full textA study on speciation of chromium in soils near Sheba Leather Industry was performed by Flame Atomic Absorption (FAAS) after selective extraction of Cr(VI) using the EPA 3060A method, and oxidizing the Cr(III) residue in the soils with HNO3 and H2O2. The extraction method was evaluated using the spiking method with satisfactory results (recoveries>95% and RSDs<5%). The limit of detection (LOD) for Cr(VI) based on three times the standard deviations of the blank (for n=5) was 0.56 μg g-1. Statistical evaluation indicated that the comparison of the sum of the concentrations of chromium species to that of the total concentration of chromium do not show any difference at 95% level of confidence. Besides, no statistically significant difference at 95% confidence level was observed between the UV-vis spectrophotometry and FAAS results for Cr(VI). However, it is observed that selective extraction of Cr(VI) using EPA 3060A and subsequent determination by FAAS is simple and faster compared to the other method. Furthermore, for comparison and as control two soil samples collected from a distance of about 2 km from the main Industry and effluent stream. The results indicate that higher total chromium content was observed in soils collected from the target area. Nevertheless, the maximum concentrations of Cr(VI) found in soil samples collected around Sheba Leather Industry was 9.9 μg g -1 and are within the acceptable level of 10 μg g-1 in accordance with the WHO. © 2013 Elsevier B.V
When do special interests run rampant ? disentangling the role in banking crises of elections, incomplete information, and checks and balances
No full textThe author investigates the political determinants of government decisions that benefit special interest groups - especially government decisions to deal with banking crises. He finds that the better informed the voters, the more proximate elections, and the larger the number of political veto players ( conditional on the costs to voters of relevant policy decision), the smaller the government's fiscal transfer are to the financial sector and the less likely the government is to exercise forbearance in dealing with insolvent financial institutions. The results suggest that policies thatmight be appropriate for mitigating banking crises in the United States might be less effective in settings where voters are less informed, where elections are less competitive, and where there are fewer veto players, because in these settings checks and balances are missing. These policies include: a) Disseminating information about the costs of inefficient government decisions. b) Improving the structure of legislative regulatory oversight. c) Intervening early in insolvent banks. The author concludes that the more veto players there are, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups (contrary to previous views). Moreover, the closer the elections, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups.
Wage rates and job queues - does the public sector overpay in Ethiopia?
No full textThe public sector's share in wage employment is higher in Africa - including Ethiopia's urban labor market - than in developed economies. Fuller unionization, greater job security, and more generous non-wage benefits in the public sector lead one to assume that workers might queue up for public sector jobs.Do higher wage rates in Ethiopia's public sector create such a queue? The author extends Lee's two-stage structural probit analysis to test (with data from a recent urban household survey) and measure the existence and scope of such a queue for public sector jobs in Ethiopia. The results reject the absence of job rationing in favor of an implicit queue of most private sector workers for public sector jobs. The queue exists mainly because of popular expectations of a wage premium (between 11 and 40 percent) in the public sector. Controlling for individual differences in expectations of the sectoral wage differences, the author finds that skill does not significantly affect a worker's sector preferences, but some social characteristics do. A worker with a traditional farming background is more likely to be in the queue than is a second-generation urban dweller. This is interesting, considering that the influx of rural migrants to urban centers in the last few decades has been partly fueled by hopes of public sector employment. On average, women are more likely than men, and workers in provincial towns more likely than workers in the capital, to prefer public sector jobs. Level of schooling and job experience do not seem to affect preferences for the public over the private sector. The probability of a worker's being selected from the public sector queue decreases with the wage rate the worker potentially commands as a public sector employee. Workers on the lower end of the pay scale are more likely to be selected. Among workers who join the queue for public sector jobs, men are more likely to be hired than women and skilled workers are more likely to be hired than less-skilled workers.Public Health Promotion,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Statistical&Mathematical Sciences,Economic Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economic Stabilization,Inequality,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Macroeconomic Management
Rigidities in employment protection and exporting
No full textA large number of studies have shown that contribution of exporters to economic growth and development is much higher than non-exporting firms. This evidence has lead governments to improve their trade policies in order to increase foreign exposure of firms. However, improvements in trade policies can only be fully effective when they are complemented with other regulatory reforms that improve the investment climate for firms. This study focuses on a particular aspect of investment climate, namely employment protection legislation, and shows how these regulations discourage firms from exporting. Using a rich set of firm level data from 26 countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, the author shows that firms that cannot create new jobs due to restrictive labor regulations are less likely to export. Evidence shows that firms that plan to export expand their size before they start to export. However the rigidities in labor markets make this adjustment costly. Higher costs of labor decrease operating profits and lead to a higher threshold value of productivity required for entering export markets. As a result, a smaller fraction of firms chooses to export.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Microfinance,Small Scale Enterprise,E-Business
Big constraints to small firms'growth ? business environment and employment growth across firms
No full textUsing data on more than 56,000 enterprises in 90 countries, this paper finds that objective conditions in the business environment vary substantially across firms of different sizes and that there are important non-linearities in their impact on employment growth. The paper focuses on four areas: access to finance, business regulations, corruption, and infrastructure. The results, particularly on the impacts of finance and corruption on growth, depend on whether and how the analysis accounts for the possible endogeneity of the business environment. Controlling for endogeneity revises the finding that small firms benefit most from access to finance, particularly for sources of finance associated with investment and growth. The findings are also sensitive to how “small” is defined. Differentiating micro (less than 10 employees) from other small firms shows that, while small firms can be disadvantaged in such an environment, micro firms tend to be proportionally less affected by a weak business climate – and, on occasion, it can help them to grow. Overall, allowing different size classifications provides insights into the impact of the business environment that are lost in more aggregate analyses.Microfinance,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Small Scale Enterprise,Access to Finance,Labor Policies
Good and Bad Institutions: Is the Debate Over? Cross-Country Firm-Level Evidence from the Textile Industry
No full textUsing firm-level data from nine developing countries we demonstrate that (a) certain institutions like restrictive labour market regulations that are considered to be bad for economic growth might be beneficial for production efficiency, whereas (b) good business environment which is considered to be beneficial for economic growth might have an adverse impact on production efficiency. We argue that our results suggest that the debate about the implications of institutional quality is far from being over, and classification of institutions into "good" and "bad" might be premature.institutional quality, production efficiency, stochastic frontier model
How business is done and the'doing business'indicators : the investment climate when firms have climate control
No full textThis paper examines de jure and de facto measures of regulations, finding the relationship between them is neither one for one, nor linear."Doing Business"provides indicators of the formal time and costs associated with fully complying with regulations. Enterprise Surveys report the actual experiences of a wide range of firms. First, there are significant variations in reported times to complete the same transaction by firms facing the same formal policy. Second, regulatory compliance appears"under water"as firms report actual times much less than the Doing Business reported days. Third, the data reveal substantial differences between favored and disfavored firms in the same location. Favored firms show minimal variation, so Doing Business has little predictive power for the times they report. For disfavored firms, the variation is greater, although still not significantly correlated with Doing Business. Fourth, where multiple Enterprise Surveys are available, there is little association over time, with reductions in Doing Business days as likely to be accompanied by increases in Enterprise Surveys days. Comparing these two types of measures suggests very different ways of thinking about policy versus policy implementation, what"a climate"for firms in a country might mean, and what the options for"policy reform"really are.E-Business,Microfinance,Access to Finance,Climate Change Economics,Banks&Banking Reform
Assessing the Role of Literary Texts in Students’ Cultural Awareness, Historical Understanding, and Challenges Faced by EFL Students
No full textLiterary texts play a crucial role in language classrooms by offering engaging narratives and diverse cultural perspectives that enhance language learning and deepen understanding of cultural and historical contexts. This study investigated the impact of literary texts on cultural awareness and historical experience among 76 undergraduate EFL students selected through availability sampling. Data were collected via questionnaires and interviews with both students and instructors to assess cultural awareness, historical understanding, and challenges faced with literary texts. Quantitative data were analyzed statistically, while qualitative data from interviews were thematically analyzed. The findings revealed that students recognized the positive influence of literary texts on their cultural and historical appreciation. However, a significant gap exists between theoretical understanding and practical application, attributed to challenges such as linguistic complexities, unfamiliar cultural references, and insufficient instructional support. To address these issues, the study recommends integrating interactive discussions and activities that connect literary themes to real-world contexts, enhancing language comprehension support, and fostering a collaborative classroom environment that encourages critical thinking. Additionally, incorporating multimedia resources and diverse literary genres can boost engagement and broaden students’ perspectives on the cultural and historical themes presented in texts. These strategies aim to deepen students’ understanding of literature and improve their ability to apply theoretical concepts effectively in language education
Crisis Management in Nigeria’s Public Sector and the Impact of the Organised Labour Union: Interrogating the Nexus between Industrial Harmony and Political Stability
No full textMicroeconomic consequences and macroeconomic causes of foreign direct investment in southern African economies
No full textThe causes and consequences of foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries remains a subject of debate among researchers and policymakers alike. The authors use international data and a new micro-data set of firms in thirteen Southern African Developing Countries (SADCs) to investigate the benefits and determinants of FDI in this region. FDI appears to have facilitated local development in the SADC region. Foreign firms tend to perform better than domestic firms, tend to be larger, are located in richer and better-governed countries and in countries with more competitive financial intermediaries, and they are more likely to export than domestic firms. They also exhibit positive spillover effects to domestic firms. Relying on a standard model to predict the country-level FDI inflows per capita, the authors find that SADC is attracting their expected level of FDI inflows, at least relative to its income level, human capital, demographic structure, institutions, and economic track record. There are some differences between SADC and the rest of the world in FDI behavior: in SADC, the income level is less important and openness more so. The authors use two comparison groups to compare with SADC to shed light on why other regions have attracted more FDI per capita than SADC. The factors that explain SADC’s low FDI inflows are economic fundamentals (e.g., previous growth rates, average income, phone density, and the adult share of population).Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Investment and Investment Climate,Foreign Direct Investment,Debt Markets
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