Cursed before production?
Big discoveries of high value natural resources can have negative economic, political, and social effects long before full production of a resource begins. While Tanzania has already experienced some tensions around the country’s gas discovery, there is consensus among scholars and practitioners that the country has thus far generally avoided experiencing economic and political problems […]
The Impact of Cultural, Religious and Legal Factors on Women’s Empowerment through Conditional Cash Transfers
This brief draws from a research report titled “Assessing women empowerment in Tanzania: the case of the Productive Social Safety Net Programme”. The research was funded by the International Development Centre (IDRC) as part of a research programme on “Growth and Opportunities for Women” and supported by the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF). It is […]
Assessing the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Women’s Empowerment in Tanzania
This brief snapshot results from a study that examined the impact of cash transfers on household living standards, and on women empowerment in the period 2015– 2017. The study adopts a Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) approach, and panel data sets to carry out a quasi-experimental assessment of the Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) component […]
Citizen’s satisfaction with public services and willingness to pay taxes in Tanzania
Measuring user’s satisfaction with the public goods and services are an important component of organizational performance strategies for continual improvement (OECD, 2013). It is also a means of allowing policymakers to understand their customer base, helping to identify needs or gaps in accessibility (OECD, 2013). Public services are key determinant of quality of life and […]
Alternatives to local content requirements in resource-rich countries
This paper discusses whether and to what extent resource-rich developing countries should introduce local content policies, i.e. requirements to include local inputs in petroleum extraction activities of multinational corporations. We argue that local content needs to be seen as a public expenditure question, since local content requirements increase multinational costs, and hence reduce the taxes […]
Growth, Employment, Poverty and Inequality in Tanzania
This paper shows that in Tanzania, economic growth contributes to job creation and employment opportunities, however, it does very little to curb income inequality. Using official data from various local sources compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics…
Determinants of Public Health Expenditure Growth in Tanzania: An Application of Bayesian Model
This paper identifies some major drivers of per capita public health expenditure growth in Tanzania using nationally representative annual data between 1995 and 2014. It used a Bayesian model based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation.
Non-resource taxation in a resource rich setting
A broader tax base will enhance tax compliance in Tanzania Huge reservoirs of natural gas have been discovered offshore the southern coast of Tanzania. The country might become a large producer of gas, and a potential exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the next decades.
Can Smallholders benefit from the new market opportunities from the extractive industry in Tanzania?
The recent discovery of huge oil and gas reserves in Tanzania has created a new opportunity for economic growth and development of the country. Tanzania is expected to be one of the leading producers and exporters of natural gas in the coming decade. However, 88 percent of poor Tanzanians live in rural areas and two-thirds […]
Targeted Not Blanket Allocation, is key to improving effectiveness of input use through voucher schemes
Agriculture development strategies continue to play an integral role in the economies and livelihoods of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of their predominantly agrarian economies and agriculture provides employment to large proportions of the population. Despite their importance to local economies, these strategies have historically been driven by funding from international development agencies. […]
Intergovernmental fiscal relations in Tanzania: Guidelines or directives?
The literature on political economy of decentralization underscores the importance of intergovernmental transfers as a vehicle for achieving national social, economic and political policy goals when administrative and financial powers are devolved to lower levels of government. Decentralization left without considering the capacity of authorities to raise enough resources and address needs will enhance inequity […]
Institutional and Legal Analysis of D-by-D in Tanzania: Rhetoric vs Reality
This policy brief highlights some key aspects of institutional and legal frameworks guiding the central-local relations in Tanzania Mainland. The past decades have seen a major set of initiatives by the central government to reform and modernize its local governments. Although there are specific policy and legal reforms, there has been a strong trend towards […]
Limits to citizen engagement and downward accountability in the context of decentralization by devolution in Tanzania
This brief examines how the process of decentralization by devolution in Tanzania affects local democracy and the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. The most common arguments for democratic decentralization in the literature are two, an efficiency argument and a normative argument. The efficiency argument is based on the fact that knowledge about needs and […]
Financial discretion in LGAs and its effect on delivery of financial services through special funds for women and youth
This brief examines how the process of decentralization by devolution in Tanzania affects outcomes in terms of local government authorities (LGAs) capacity to deliver financial services to the poor. These outcomes depend on the level of administrative autonomy given to LGAs by the central government, their own capacity to execute, and ability to raise financial […]
Enhancing the Distribution and Performance of Health Workforce in Kenya
Health workers are the cornerstone and drivers of health systems and must be adequate if the country is to achieve her health targets as articulated in the Kenya Health Policy (2014- 2030), Kenya Vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals. There is a strong positive correlation between health workforce density and service coverage and health outcomes […]
Implementing Agriculture input systems in Tanzania: Evidence from NAIVS
Agriculture development strategies continue to play an integral role in the economies and livelihoods of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the predominantly agrarian economies and agriculture provides employment to large proportions of the population. Despite their importance to local economies, these strategies have historically been driven by funding from international development agencies. […]