Browsing by Author "Gachanja, Paul M."
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Item Agriculture production subsidies in developed countries: which way out for developing countries?(2003-09) Gachanja, Paul M.; Kosimbei, G. K.D eveloping countries participation in the world economy has declined alarmingly over the past 50 years in terms of GDp, exports and foreign investment. The Uruguay Round agreement on Agriculture (URAA) 2 brought world agricultural production and trade under a rules-based regime that not only governs market access, but also domestic support and export subsidies in the form of subsidies in the agricultural sector. In the developing countries, where agriculture is even more important, the biggest concern is with the effects on world markets of subsidized production and exports in DEeD countries. Agriculture is the backbone of the economies of many African countries. Agricultural exports account for a large share in total exports from these countries. Developed countries are known for giving agricultural production subsidies to farmers. These subsidies always depress world market prices rendering products from Africa and other developing countries uncompetitive. The general objective of this paper is to examine the effects of agriculture production subsidies in developed countries on agricultural performance in developing countries. The paper reveals that agriculture production subsidies hamper agriculture production in developing countries. The paper reveals that the subsidies should be reduced and agriculture production be left for the developing countries in the global economy.Item Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity Growth of Public Chartered Universities in Kenya(AJOEI, 2024-10) Ogechi, Vincent Ogaro; Gachanja, Paul M.Purpose of the study: The study aimed at assessing efficiency and growth in productivity of public universities in Kenya from 2017/2018 to 2021/2022 academic years. Problem statement: University education is critical in economic development. Public universities are funded by government. Despite of their importance, Kenyan public universities face huge funding gaps which have affected their efficiency and productivity over time. Methodology: The study employed the Malmquist Index to evaluate total factor productivity growth of public chartered universities in Kenya. Additionally, a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis was used to determine the technical efficiency of these institutions. Findings: The study found out that average TE score of 31 DMUs was 0.760. Out of the 31 public universities only 11 public universities were found to be technically efficient. The DMUs recorded a mean TFP growth of 0.018 representing a decline by 98.2%. TFP change was driven more by technical progress. Employee cost negatively affected technical efficiency while other variables positively influenced efficiency. Conclusion: The study concluded that the public universities experienced negative growth in total factor productivity and overall, they were technically inefficient. Recommendations: The study recommends that public universities should strive to improve their performance by 24% without altering their current input levels, while the government should rationalize staffing and increase funding to address financial challenges. Policymakers should prioritize efficient resource allocation strategies and set targets for monitoring efficiency changes in universities over time. Additionally, universities should be encouraged to develop innovative ways of generating internal revenue to supplement their income, given the current financial constraints.Item Industries and Communities: Symbiotic Dependency and Sustainability of the Magana Town Industrial Park in Kenya(Prime Journals (PJ), 2013) Mugenda, Olive M.; Maina, L.; Gachanja, Paul M.Industrial development is perceived as an important indicator of economic growth. Though industries may be elected by private and public parties to provide goods and services at a market price, their existence at a place or region can change forever the intricate relations and interactions of a community within its environment. The situation of industries in rural areas affects rural economies by creating a demand for labour, agricultural goods and services while also opening up the areas to in-migration, increased settlements, spatial concentration of amenities and infrastructural development. In general, industrial location could change the life of communities directly and indirectly in a way that older living patterns can never be recaptured. Hence, industry-community linkages arise warranting an evaluation of the nature, the benefits and the impacts from the two dimensions. This paper thus explores these issues grounded on the following questions: are industries ‘attracted' to locate in some locales by community-based variables that is, demographics, labour characteristics, prevailing socio-economic activities within the area? Do industries utilize the community advantages that propel them to locate at a place and do communities contribute to their operations? Do communities that ‘host' industries leap benefits from them for individual and communal development? How can rural industrial parks contribute tangibly to community level development leading to sustainable development? The findings discussed in this paper are derived from a survey targeting a peri-urban industrial park located in the periphery of Nairobi city. It drew from a sample of 902 respondents, several key informant interviews and focus group discussions with segments of the community. The findings prove that industries can indeed contribute to community change and that communities can leap benefits from industrial operations for their own development and sustainability. However, the extent of these two-way flow of benefits are dependent on: the level of interaction between host community and industry, the employment ratio of community working in industry, the CSR policy and practice embraced by the companies and the good will of community leaders to connect their operations with the ideals of CSR practiced by the companiesItem Resource Configurations on Sustainable Competitive advantage of Food and Beverage Firms in Kenya: A Resource Based View of the Firm(2015-02-25) Minja, D.; Gachanja, Paul M.; Mutunga, S.L.The resource based view has gained immense importance in business theorizing and has been widely accepted as a theory. The Kenyan manufacturing sector contributes about 10 percent to the GDP of which agro-processing contributes 3 percent. The sector grows at about 4 percent annually and is set to be one of the main drivers of industrialization and economic growth in the Kenya. The resource based theory of the firm was tested on the food and beverage firms in Kenya on the basis of resource capability configurations that accord firms sustainable competitive advantage. From the 138 food and beverage manufacturing firms registered by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers in 2011, the study targeted 95 firms in and around Nairobi and Mombasa using purposive judgmental sampling. The study was carried out through a standardized questionnaire. The independent variables were mainly constructs of intangible assets like firm knowledge, firms’ information management, strategic planning, organizational structure and organizational culture. Out of the 95 firms surveyed, 32 responded giving 33.7 percent response rate. From the multivariate ordinary least squares regression analysis, the effects of organizational structure (p = 0.04, α=0.05) were found significant at 95 percent confidence interval indicating the importance of the intangible asset to firms’ sustainable competitive advantage. The findings confirmed the importance of the organizational structure, whose building blocks are individuals in the firm, as a pattern of communication and relations among a group of human beings, including the process of making and implementing decisions as key contributors of firms sustainable competitive advantage in Kenya.