Suchergebnisse

Can training improve the entrepreneurial outcomes of those in poverty? Typical training modalities to teach entrepreneurship to the poor are generally one of three: 1) financial literacy training, 2) values training and 3) "rules of thumb" training. In this study we examine the Academy for Creating Enterprise's (ACE) entrepreneurship training program in Mexico, which uses a variation of all three types of training. We compared those who received ACE training: residential, night-class and regional, with a control group to see if the training would improve ACE participants' personal income, business employment, gross revenue and relative poverty status. Our study shows that, when compared to the control group, ACE training had a marginal positive impact on income, employment and revenues, and a substantial one on mobility from poverty. However, when making comparisons within the different types of training, the type of training program participants attended had little impact on these same outcomes. Thus, practitioners and researchers interested in training the poor to engage in entrepreneurial activities might explore low-cost, high volume options because there seem to be positive results with these programs when compared to more intensive programs that require more labor and higher costs.

Rabies is one of the most fatal viral diseases mostly transmitted through a bite of an infected mammal. In many parts of Africa and Asia, rabid dogs are the main transmitters of the disease to humans. In the Philippines, government enforced dog registration laws and government/NGO sponsored mass dog vaccination campaigns have so far been the cornerstone in successfully reducing the burden of disease in parts of the country. To further enhance the continuation of such programs, however, an introduction of affordable dog vaccination and registration fees to the public is vital and have shown to be an important strategy in other parts of the country. Our main objective here was to systematically assess how much money individuals were willing to pay for dog vaccination and registration in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. We also assessed whether the amount individuals were willing to pay was influenced by their demographic and knowledge characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a combination of cluster sampling, random sampling, and convenience sampling methods to identify study participants. We employed a specific elicitation strategy (bidding game) to elicit how much individual were willing to pay for such services. Our results indicate that Ilocos Norte residents, on average, were willing to pay 69.65 PHP (1.67 USD) for dog vaccination and 29.13 PHP (0.70 USD) for dog registration. The majority (86%) of respondents were willing to pay the stated amount to vaccinate each of their dogs, annually. We also found that willingness to pay was influences by age, income, municipality of residency, people's willingness to commit to pay each year, number of dogs owned, and knowledge regarding rabies signs in dogs. This findings give policy makers some indication of how much people were willing to contribute financially towards dog vaccination and registration in particular and towards rabies elimination from Ilocos Norte, in general. Socio-economic and demographic factors, however, may need to be considered ...