The paper used stochastic frontier analysis to investigate factors contributing to productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among smallholder maize producers in Ethiopia. Findings showed that the supply of inputs and technology significantly impacted maize productivity, and they are significant efficiency differences among farmers. We found that women-managed households were more efficient than their male-managed counterparts. We also offer new insights into a non-linear effect of farmers’ education on their efficiency level. Furthermore, we documented that households would benefit from a 20.80% productivity gain and 14% production cost savings if they were operating at the full economic efficiency level. Land fragmentation and distance from the main market were the key factors that adversely affected the efficiency level of smallholder maize farmers. Hence, policies leading to reduction of land fragmentation and developing market infrastructure in rural areas could promote the efficiency of farmers which enhances farm productivity.
Most students considered that having a university degree is sufficient to be employed. However, obtaining a job after graduation becomes challenging, especially in developing countries. As a result, some graduates have to wait a considerable amount of time to get their first job. We estimated the average waiting time for first employment for 2019 first-degree graduates from Debre Markos University (Burie campus), Ethiopia. The median waiting time for the first employment of graduates was 35 weeks, showing that 50% of graduates managed to secure their first job 35 weeks after graduation. In addition, Cox proportional hazard and log-normal accelerated failure time models were fitted to model waiting time for first employment with various factors. It was found that cumulative grade point average, gender, internship, and age of the graduates were significant factors that affect the waiting time for first employment of graduates. Finally, we documented that though cumulative grade point average is important to pass the first phase of elimination criteria, it is not the only metric that employers consider.
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