School of Business

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11951/5

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Browsing School of Business by Author "Matovu, Fred"

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    The effects of Agricultural Extension Services on farm yields in Uganda: evidence from Agriculture Census Data
    (2015) Sebaggala, Richard; Matovu, Fred
    The present study investigates the productivity effects of agricultural extension services in Uganda drawing upon Uganda Agriculture Census (UCA) data (2008/2009). The descriptive show that 21% of farming households had accessed extension services from public and other providers. The proportion of household who initiated contact extension were only 3% compared to 8% through predetermined visits by extension agents and 10% through both routine and on demand. However, it was revealed that popular information sources among farmers were radio (88%) and fellow farmers (72%). We estimated treatment effect of extension contact using counterfactual framework. Results of the treatment effect model show a significant effect of access to extension services on yield. On average, farming households who had extension contact were more productive than farming households with no extension contact Implementing the ivtreatreg stata command that take care of the selection into homogeneous and heterogeneous treatment, we estimated the average treatment effect (ATE), average treatment effects on the treated (ATET) and average treatment effects on the non-treated (ATENT). The ATE had a negative sign meaning that farming households who had extension contact would have been less productive if they had not got access to extension services. The negative average value of ATET (x) implies that farming households who had extension contact would on average produce less than one tonne per acreage if they get more access to extension services, demonstrating diminishing returns associated with more and more extension contacts. The mean value of the ATENT(x) predict that on average farming households who had no extension contact would have been more productive if they had extension access. Crop productivity OLS and 2SLS estimates show that extension contact matters for farmer productivity more so if extension contact is initiated by farmer. The study recommends that extension contact has favouarble effect on farmer productivity and therefore efforts should be geared at reforming the extension system to reach the majority of unreached farmers and focus more on empowering farmers to demand extension services themselves.
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    Ill-health and labour market outcomes in Uganda: evidence from 2005/06 national household survey
    (2012) Matovu, Fred; Birungi, Patrick; Sebaggala, Richard
    This study set out to examine the impact of ill-health on labour market outcomes in Uganda using UNHS 2005/06. Specifically, the study examined the potential economic loss of ill-health and the effects of ill-health on labour market participation, productivity and labour supply across gender and residence. We estimated three models: labour market participation, labour productivity and labour supply models. Ordinary Least Squares and two-stage Instrumental variable estimation methods were used to estimate the impact of ill-health on productivity and labour supply. The study results show that the cost of absenteeism due to ill-health was estimated to be equivalent to USD 1. 8m per year, about 0.02% of GDP in 2005. The annual average number of days worked falls as health state deteriorates and that poor health significantly lowers the number of days worked in year compared to good health. Malaria was found to be a major cause of illness among workers despite the existing cost-effective and efficacious interventions to combat malaria. The study recommends increased support to the health sector to enhance performance of the existing health interventions and improve access to healthcare services particularly to the poor. The study revealed that ill-health negatively impacts economic growth through reduced economic output due to work absenteeism. This is implies that investment in health programs has economic value by averting GDP loss due to poor health of workers. In addition, ill-health of workers affects labour market outcomes through labour supply and labour force participation but not labour productivity. The results therefore calls for health improving interventions in countries were funding to the health sector as remained low and stagnant. The improvement in labour participation and supply as result of improved health generates economic benefits to worker, the household, employer and overall economy and therefore a feasible poverty-reducing strategy.