Rajan K. Sampath

Defense spending and economic growth in developing countries: A causality analysis

Abstract Military spending can affect economic growth either negatively, through a crowding out of investment, or positively, through an expansion of aggregate demand. Using Granger causality methods extended to incorporate non-stationary and cointegration, this paper evaluates the causal relations between defense spending and economic growth in 62 developing countries. The results showed that unidirectional causality was found in 23 countries, from either defense expenditures to economic growth or vice versa, while bi-directional causality existed in 7 countries. Causality did not exist in 18 countries that were integrated of the same order, while in 14 countries the data were integrated of differing orders. The long-run effects were distinguished from short-run causality when cointegration existed. Some of the limitations of the methods and results were also discussed.

Issues in irrigation pricing in developing countries

Abstract This paper surveys the current literature on irrigation pricing in developing countries and discusses the important issues involved. In particular, this paper discusses the role of government in irrigation development and allocation, economics of irrigation pricing, current status of irrigation water pricing and cost recovery in developing countries, and the reasons for the marginal cost pricing principal being not followed in developing countries. The paper also provides some suggestions for improving methods of water pricing and cost recovery.

Poverty in Bangladesh: Measurement, decomposition and intertemporal comparison

This article, using the methodology developed by Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke to measure and decompose poverty, provides estimates of the levels of poverty in rural and urban areas in Bangladesh. It investigates in the context of Bangladesh, the most powerful effect of poverty in terms of a shortfall in food for daily calorie intake by the poor. It provides intertemporal comparison of poverty and its decomposition among subgroups. It also makes comparisons between the results obtained in this study with those currently available. The results of the study show a significant improvement in poverty situations in rural areas from 1982 to 1986. The article also discusses the policy implications of its findings.

Equity Measures for Irrigation Performance Evaluation

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the analytical issues involved in developing and using practical measures of equity for irrigation project performance evaluation. Deriving from the economic literature on equity in income distribution, the paper discusses the usefulness of seven different axioms for equity measures in evaluating the robustness of seven different positive measures of equity such as the range, the relative mean deviation, the variance, the coefficient of variation, the standard deviation of logarithms, the Gini coefficient and Theils information measure. Based on the fulfillment/non-fulfillment of different axioms, the paper discusses the relative merits/demerits of the above-mentioned seven different measures and concludes on the basis of this critical evaluation that Theils information measure is more useful than the rest since it fulfills many of the important axioms in addition to its being amenable for decomposition analysis.

An analysis of the water management performance of small holder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe

This paper analyses the water management performance of small holder irrigation systems in Zimbabwe. The government and farmer managed systems are compared in terms of their ability to match desired with actual water supply. Desired supply is defined as crop water requirements adjusted downwards by rainfall where relevant. The Theil measure of accuracy of forecasts is used to calculate the error committed by each system in trying to match water supply and demand. The analysis shows that, everything else being equal, the farmer managed system performs better than the government system in matching supply and demand. This means that the farmer managed systems should be encouraged for future small holder irrigation development in Zimbabwe.

An Economic Evaluation of Smallholder Irrigation Systems in Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper analyses the economic performance of three smallholder irrigation management systems in Zimbabwe; namely the two formal systems, Agritex (government) managed and community (farmer) managed, and the informal bani (dambo, vlei, wetland) management system. The dry land system is compared with the irrigated systems. Production function analysis is used to evaluate production efficiency, the Theil information theoretic measure is used to evaluate inequity in the distribution of benefits from irrigation and the Theil forecast error method is used to evaluate managementperformance.The results show that the farmer-managedcommunity system consistently outperforms the government system in production, distribution and management performance. The results also show that the bani system has potential to contribute positively to future irrigation development. The paper analyses the policy implications of these results and outlines the potential impacts of the policy choices on the welfare of smallhol...

Performance measure for improving irrigation management

A measure to evaluate performance in irrigation systems is analyzed using the mean square prediction error concept. In the context of irrigation system management, the term error means the deviation of actual performance from a reference performance. The measure assesses performance in terms of the management objectives of adequacy and dependability of water delivery and an equitable distribution among various water users. It provides an understanding of the management capacity to schedule and distribute water in an irrigation system. Application of the performance measure is demonstrated by evaluating performance of an irrigation system in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan.

Operation-management factors associated with early-postnatal mortality of US foals

Of 7320 equine foals reported born alive during 1997 on 1043 operations that had equids on 1 January 1997, and that participated in the United States National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Equine 1998 Study, 120 foals were reported to have died (by either euthanasia or natural causes) within the first 2 days of a live birth. The weighted estimate was 1.7% mortality (standard error=0.5) within the first 2 days of live birth for all foals born on operations in the 28 states included in the study.A multivariable logistic-regression model revealed that foals born in the southern region were more likely to have been reported to have died within the first 2 days of live birth than in the western region. In addition, the following operation-level factors were associated with increased odds of a foal dying within the first 2 days of live birth: not routinely testing newborn foals for adequate absorption of colostral immunoglobulins during the first 2 days of life; adding new resident equids to the operation during 1997; having non-resident equids stay on the operation for 1-30 days during 1997; never requiring an official health certificate (for operations that had non-resident equids stay on the operation for 1-30 days); using something other than straw or hay as the predominant bedding type; and feeding equids a vitamin-mineral supplement/premix with forage and/or grain.

A benefit-cost analysis of smallholder irrigated farms in Zimbabwe

The government of Zimbabwe uses agricultural development as one of the ways to stimulate economic growth. Agriculture in Zimbabwe is characterized by a dual agrarian system comprising the large scale commercial sector and the smallholder communal sector. The communal sector, 47 percent of the country, supports more than 70 percent of the population. One strategy used to improve agricultural performance is the development of agricultural infrastructure. Of the 117, 830 ha developed for irrigation only slightly more than 6 percent is in the communal (smallholder) sector. The smallholder irrigation systems are managed under four different systems, namely the government-managed Agritex, farmer-managed community, the informal bani (dambo) managed by farmers and the ARDA outgrowers managed jointly by a parastatal and farmers. This paper evaluates the benefits and costs associated with these different management systems. Benefit-cost ratios are computed for each system. The bani system achieves higher benefit-cost ratios than the community, which achieves higher ratios than the Agritex management system. This indicates that the government should consider using the community system for developing the potential 93,000 ha of communal smallholder irrigation systems. It should also seriously consider the bani system as an alternative development strategy.

A comparative analysis of the influence of socioeconomic variables on the financial performance of smallholder irrigation systems in Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper evaluates the influence of socioeconomic variables on participating in marketing cooperatives on the financial performance of small holder irrigation systems in Zimbabwe: use of credit, participation in labor groups, master farmer training, literacy, keeping of farm records, participation in savings clubs, and the gender of the plot holder. Three smallholder irrigation management systems namely the government managed Agritex, the farmer managed community, and the informal bani (dambo) are compared. In the Agritex schemes, participating in labor groups is the only variable influencing financial performance. None of the variables studied are important on the community schemes, perhaps because unlike on Agritex schemes, where the government makes production decisions, community scheme farmers make their own decisions. In the bani schemes, marketing cooperatives, credit use, literacy, record keeping, and the gender of the plot holder are significant. The government should consider extending credit, developing sustainable production recommendations, and developing training programs directly applicable to the bani environment. The bani system achieves the most equitable income distribution and is more efficient than both the community and Agritex systems. The government policy of ignoring this system in development efforts directly contradicts the concepts of equity and efficiency.