Browsing by Author "Moshi, Goodiel"

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    The cost of a 'free' primary education in Tanzania
    (PKP Publishing Services Network, 2009) Vavrus, Frances; Moshi, Goodiel
    One of the most widely heralded educational policy reforms of the past few years has been the elimination of primary school fees in countries where pupils and parents have been responsible for such costs. Consistent with the goals of Education for All (EFA), international organizations and national governments in many Sub-Saharan African countries have joined together to increase access to schooling by abolishing fees and other mandatory contributions. The logic for such a change in policy is clear: If the cost of schooling is too high, poor parents will not send their children to school; therefore, the elimination of compulsory charges will lower the cost of education and increase the number of children in school. Indeed, several studies suggest that the recent elimination of school fees in East Africa is the reason for the rapid increase in primary school enrollment (Glewwe & Zhao, 2005; International Monetary Fund and the International Development Association [IMF & IDA], 2001, 2004). EFA has also heralded a new era for girls’ education in Africa, with global attention directed toward redressing gender disparities in enrollment and attainment through the lowering of school-related costs and other mechanisms (Bloch, Beoku-Betts, & Tabachnick, 1998; Samoff, 1999). Yet what if fees are only a fraction of the cost to parents to send their children—boys and girls—to school? What if schools cannot maintain themselves without required ―contributions‖ from parents because governments do not keep their financial promises? What if policies to abolish fees and other expenses satisfy international stakeholders but do not significantly reduce the financial burden of schooling on families, thereby necessitating children‘s labor in poor households? These are some of the niggling questions about the relationship between school fees and primary education, and between policy and practice, explored in this article about the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) in the United Republic of Tanzania. We consider how educational policy in heavily indebted countries, such as Tanzania, is shaped by international and national configurations of power that are reflected in policy discourse and policy implementation at the local level. Our analytical approach draws on the work of Stephen Ball (1990), as well as critical discourse analysis (CDA), which assumes that the relations of power can be discerned by tracing the production, circulation, and implementation of a given policy (Fairclough, 1992; Rogers, 2004). This requires looking at parallels between economic policy shaped by international financial institutions and national education policies in Africa, and it involves exploring the degree of local awareness of domestic reforms intended to improve the lives of the populace. With this view of policy studies in mind, we first situate the study of PEDP within a broader international context and then examine its implementation in northern Tanzania.
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    Digital skills for gig workers in digital platforms
    (Digital Skills Insights, 2020) Mwakatumbula, Hilda; Moshi, Goodiel
    Africa is home to the youngest population in the world. The United Nations Development Programme estimates that by 2055, the continent's youth population (15–24 years old) will reach 226 million. 1 Youth can be a blessing; however, as with any resource, unless adequately managed it can become a burden. African youth face several challenges in integrating with the global economy, including pervasive unemployment due to low education levels (Coulibaly et al., 2019). Most African youths live in poverty and some opt to migrate abroad in search of greener pastures. As the world approaches the Fourth Industrial Revolution, African governments have a significant role to play in addressing issues facing youth. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has led to migration to the digital economy as the world becomes more digitized and sophisticated every day. New technologies play a critical role in all sectors of the economy and have an impact on interactions within society and thereby the labour market (Leahy & Wilson, 2014). The changing digital landscape forces workers to continually update their skills to remain competitive in the labour market. In the United States, 82 per cent of middle-skilled jobs are digital-intensive, and workers with digital skills have higher remuneration (Bradley et al., 2017). Today, countries seek to update their citizens' skills to ensure that everyone can participate fully in the economy and that employers in all sectors can hire the necessary digitally skilled employees. Most developed countries, including the United States and United Kingdom (UK), and regional organizations such as the European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, are working hard to scrutinize skill demand in current and future labour markets. 2
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    Mobile money and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa countries
    (Elsevier BV, 2018) Mothobi, Onkokame; Moshi, Goodiel; Deen-Swarray, Mariama
    Mobile money can potentially contribute to the well-being of people at the bottom of the pyramid by providing them with the necessary platforms to access financial services. The mobile money platforms allow individuals to send, receive or save money in their mobile money wallet, services which they cannot access in the formal banking system. However, there is a shortage of evidence on the impact of these services on issues relating to financial inclusion, such as the ability to smooth consumption on the poor, making it impossible to derive evidence-based policies. Supply-side data is generally limited, as it is impossible to discern crucial estimates, such as age, gender and income, which are crucial to the development of policies. We use an After Access Survey that collects information on access and use of ICTs in seven African countries, in 2017. Our results suggest that mobile money services are more likely to be used by individuals who have no access to bank account. Supporting the notion that these services provide the poor with services that formal banks cannot offer. We find that individuals who live in households that have a relative who migrated to other places in the country are more likely to use mobile money services. Relatively wealthier and the employed individuals are more likely to transfer money to their dependents using mobile money services. At a local level, mobile money can be seen as a tool to drive financial inclusion, but it only allows users to make transactions and does not allow consumers to borrow for consumption smoothing.
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    The impact of psychological barriers in influencing customers' decisions in the telecommunication sector
    (AIRCC Publishing Corporation, 2013) Nassar, Hussein; Moshi, Goodiel; Mitomo, Hitoshi
    Increased competition in broadband telecommunication market led to a surge in campaigns and packages for customers. Whereas traditional economic theory assumed that abundance of alternatives is to be welcomed by customers, recent theories however, have emphasized that multiple choices may have a negative role in adoption or switching behavior. The unorthodox conclusions of negative impact of wide assortment of choices were studied through the lens of behavioral economics. Most notably,“anticipated regret” was identified to be major cause of choice deferral of purchase. This paper investigates the role of selection difficulty and anticipated regret on the intention of broadband subscribers to upgrade to higher connection speed. The result shows that there is a significant positive relationship between anticipated regret and decision avoidance. Results also indicate that selection difficulty has positive relationship with switching cost thus indirectly reducing the perceived net benefit of upgraded internet connection. This study, therefore, confirmed the significant impact of psychological barriers together with economic factors in influencing customers’ decisions in the telecommunication sector. This paper thus recommends managers of telecom firms and regulators to seek reducing anticipated regret and selection difficulty when promoting upgraded services even when such services are promising higher economic benefit.