Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis

Abstract The advocacy coalition framework (ACF) has provided a sound theoretical lens to better understand dynamic and complex policy issues for over three decades. Yet, its application in non‐Western contexts remains scant. This article focuses on two critical variables of the ACF—advocacy coalitions and policy core beliefs—to analyze the patterns of interaction that occurred between anti‐corruption policy actors in the passage leading to the development of one of Botswana's most recent anti‐corruption laws—the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act (DALA). The study relied on secondary data (policy statements and positions [ n = 368]) retrieved from various sources such as parliamentary transcripts (Hansard) and mainstream media ( n = 149). The results of the discourse network analysis revealed several types of coalitions that emerged in the DALA policy sub‐system. In addition to highlighting the significance of collaborative efforts and the exchange of ideas between different policy actors, the study contributes to the ACF literature by unpacking the role of advocacy coalitions in an understudied and underrepresented context.

This study examines the role played by education in female labor market participation in Botswana. Using the 2015/2016 Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey data and a multinomial logit model, the study found that relative to self-employment, women with higher qualifications are more likely to be wage employed, whereas those with lower to no education are less likely to be wage employed. Alternatively, women with higher education are less likely to be unemployed, whereas those with lower education are more likely to be unemployed or out of the labor force as opposed to being self-employed. This suggests that the government should continue educating women beyond secondary level as it will better equip them to participate in more meaningful labor market activities. In order to encourage participation of women in high rewarding self-employment activities, there is need to intensify empowerment schemes that are largely oriented towards their self-employment.

We model the determinants of rural poverty in Botswana by conducting an empirical analysis of household welfare using the 2009/10 Botswana Core Welfare Indicator survey (BCWIS) to identify such factors associated with rural poverty. The paper found that female headed households, especially those residing in rural areas have higher incidences of poverty than male headed households. The study also found male-headed households, education, employment, livestock ownership and access to amenities as factors that positively related with welfare for all rural households and the results were consistent across both FHHs and MHHs models, except for a few factors such as livestock ownership. Household size and dependency ratios negatively related with welfare. However, dependency ratio did not influence welfare amongst MHHs since such households are characterised by fewer dependents unlike the FHHs. characteristics variables and thus public policy should focus on such factors in addressing rural poverty, especially among FHHs. Creation of employment opportunities in rural areas is key in helping the government in its poverty eradication efforts in rural areas. The paper also concludes that FHHs in rural area must be made a special target of poverty eradication programmes, and a well focused gender specific intervention for poverty eradication initiatives is needed. Moreover, rural development strategies should emphasize the provision of agricultural infrastructure, promotion of agricultural productivity growth through improved technology adoption, as well as provision of basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity in rural areas.

This paper examines the development of the Botswana’s poultry sector, which has become the dominant meat industry in Botswana. The poultry sector is the most successful example of import substitution in Botswana with the country having achieved national self sufficiency. The paper describes the value chain in the industry and shows how, given the small size of the market, a high degree of market concentration exists. This paper raises issues regarding the fundamental tension between competition and industrial policy in a small developing country. As the larger firms in the poultry industry move towards export readiness after 36 years of protection, the question of a new trade and industry regime is considered.   Key words: Poultry industry, competition policy, trade policy.

This study examines the determinants of private saving in Botswana for the period covering 19942009. We use quarterly time series data to evaluate the magnitude and direction of the effects of key policy and non-policy variables on private saving. The variables examined are inflation, real interest rates, real gross national disposable income, degree of financial depth and dependency ratio. The dependency ratio is included in order to capture the effect of demographic influence on private savings. The stated determinants of savings are articulated in the context of the life cycle hypothesis. We investigate the short and long run behavior of the variables using an ARDL-ECM. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between household income and their savings. The dependency ratio exerts a negative impact on private savings which supports the Lifecycle Hypothesis. The results also suggest that financial sector development has induced a positive impact on private savings in Botswana. Interest rates have a positive relationship with private savings; and, lastly, inflation has a negative relationship with private savings. Financial depth and real interest rates are the core policy instruments that the government can use to encourage savings in Botswana.

Botswana has been one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world over the past three decades, and has avoided most of the economic problems faced by African countries. However, poverty continues to be a major economic and social issue. Data from national surveys carried out in 1985/86 and 1993/94 show that although there was a major reduction in poverty over this period, by the early 1990s over one‐third of households still had incomes below the relevant poverty line. The article uses the 1993/94 household survey data to analyse the causes of poverty. It reports on the results of cross‐section regressions relating household poverty to various demographic and economic characteristics. Poverty is measured by the standard binary (poor, non‐poor) approach, as well as a poverty status index. The latter measures a variation on the depth of poverty, through a weighted ratio of household consumption to its poverty line. The results show that the probability of poverty is positively related to being located in a rural area and having a female head of household, and negatively related to years of schooling and being employed. Employment appears to have the greatest single impact on poverty, followed by rural location and female gender with roughly the same effects. The paper concludes with suggestions for changes in the focus of poverty alleviation strategies, which should move away from the traditional drought relief approach to more permanent welfare support for poor households, with a focus where possible on employment generation.