Cost analysis of road traffic crashes in South Africa

Chaff cutter is an extensively used machine in Indian rural households to chop fodder for feeding draft and mulch to animals. A survey was conducted in five villages of Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh (a northern state of India) to determine the causal factors responsible for chaff cutter injuries. It was observed that major injuries were caused during children playing with the machine and workers feeding the fodder in to the chute. Further, a survey of chaff cutter manufacturers was conducted to determine the critical dimensions of the machine so that safety interventions could be developed. Based on the survey results and mechanism of injuries, three safety interventions were developed to prevent the injuries. These interventions can be retrofitted on old machines and can be incorporated in new machines as well. Experiments were conducted using different fodder crops to observe difficulty in chaff cutting with the safety interventions. It was observed that incorporation of the interventions had no effect on performance of chaff cutting operation. These were retrofitted on existing machines at different locations and the response was very positive.     

Technical efficiency of small scale farmers: An application of the stochastic frontier production function to rural and urban farmers in Ondo State,Nigeria

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to estimate empirically the technical efficiency of rural and urban small-scale farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria, using the stochastic frontier production function. With the rapid urbanization being currently experienced in Nigeria, the socio-economic and the farming environment in both the rural and urban centres are undergoing transformation. This study involved collection and analysis of data on 200 food crop farmers from rural and urban centres in Ondo state of Nigeria. The results of analysis show that there are wide differences in the socio-economic and production inputs of the farmers from rural and urban centres. While farmers from rural centres have relatively larger farms, the urban farmers have better access to production inputs, especially, fertilizer. However, rural farmers, with a mean technical efficiency of 0.66 are found to be more technically efficient than urban farmers, who have a mean technical efficiency of 0.57. There is a wide confidence interval around the point estimates of the technical efficiency scores. Level of education, farming experience and land are found to have negative effects on technical inefficiency of both rural and urban farms. The marginal effect of inefficiency variables is, however, found to be highest for education among both rural and urban farms.     

Human and Institutional Capacity Building and Utilization in Science and Technology in Africa: An Appraisal of Africa's Performance to-date and The Way Forward

Abstract: The paper notes that much effort and resources have been invested in educating and training many Africans both at home and abroad. Similarly, a variety of purposeful African scientific and engineering institutions, have been established across the entire continent by African governments, and in several cases, with the support of donors and international organisations. This paper assesses how African countries have fared in the process, particularly in three critical areas: nurturing of these institutions, provision of an environment in which science and technology could thrive, and the development and utilisation of Africa's human resources. In suggesting action plans for the future, the paper discusses how other countries of the world are preparing for the future and the steps Africa must take in order to be able to compete effectively and successfully in the global market of the new millennium. The paper concludes that if Africa is to be relevant in the 21^stcentury and be the master of its own destiny, each African country must understand the dialectics of institution building, particularly in science and technology, and the roles of such institutions in national development agenda. Above all, each African country must place a premium on visionary leadership and a priority on the recognition and effective utilisation of the talents, abilities and the creativity of its citizens. Résumé: L'article indique que beaucoup d'efforts et de ressources ont été consacrés à la formation d'un grand nombre d'Africains sur place et à l'étranger. Parallèlement, une série d'institutions africaines scientifiques et techniques a été créée par les gouvernements africains à travers tout le continent et, dans plusieurs cas, avec le soutien des bailleurs de fonds et des organisations internationales. L'article évalue le comportement des pays africains dans le processus et, en particulier, dans trois domaines essentiels: l'entretien de ces institutions, la mise en place d'un environnement favorable à l'épanouissement de la science et de la technologie, le perfectionnement et l'utilisation des ressources humaines africaines. En proposant des plans d'action pour l'avenir, l'auteur examine comment d'autres pays du monde préparent l'avenir et les mesures que l'Afrique doit prendre pour pouvoir soutenir avec efficacité et succès la concurrence sur le marché mondial du nouveau millénaire. En conclusion, l'auteur fait remarquer que si l'Afrique veut rester dans le peloton au 21 èrne siècle et maîtriser sa propre destinée, chaque pays africain doit comprendre la dialectique du renforcement institutionnel, en particulier, dans les domaines scientifiques et technologiques, et les rôles que ces institutions doivent jouer dans le programme de développement national. Chaque pays africain doit, par-dessus tout, privilégier une conduite futuriste des affaires et accorder la prioritéà la reconnaissance et à l'utilisation efficace des talents, des compétences et de la créativité des citoyens.     

Absorptive capacity and innovation: when is it better to cooperate?

Cooperation can benefit and hurt firms at the same time. An important question then is: when is it better to cooperate? And, once the decision to cooperate is made, how can an appropriate partner be selected? In this paper we present a model of inter-firm cooperation driven by cognitive distance, appropriability conditions and external knowledge. Absorptive capacity of firms develops as an outcome of the interaction between absorptive R&D and cognitive distance from voluntary and involuntary knowledge spillovers. Thus, we offer a revision of the original model by Cohen and Levinthal (Econ J 99(397):569–596, 1989), accounting for recent empirical findings and explicitly modeling absorptive capacity within the framework of interactive learning. We apply that to the analysis of firms’ cooperation and R&D investment preferences. The results show that cognitive distance and appropriability conditions between a firm and its cooperation partner have an ambiguous effect on the profit generated by the firm. Thus, a firm chooses to cooperate and selects a partner conditional on the investments in absorptive capacity it is willing to make to solve the understandability/novelty trade-off.     

An empirical investigation of tourism-led growth hypothesis in the European countries: evidence from augmented mean group estimator

Portuguese Economic Journal - Due to urbanization and the need for people to go from one country to another either for commercial purpose or tourism, it is therefore important to determine the...