Trade Liberalization and Poverty in Uganda
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Date
2009-10
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Kampala International University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
The research study examined the link between trade liberalization and poverty in Uganda.
Empirical data was collected from the districts of Soroti (Pingire sub-county) and Bukedea
(Kidongole sub-county) in Eastern Uganda using a partial correlation research design where
both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Various sampling techniques were
employed to select the respondents; these were the purposive, simple random sampling and
snowball techniques. Quantitative data analysis (i.e. the parametric approach) was used to
ease the procedure of classifying and sorting of data while the Qualitative data analysis
method was utilized owing to the partially descriptive and observational nature of the
research study.
The findings of the study show that trade liberalization in the cotton sub-sector is. at best,
very weakly correlated or associated with growth and therefore poverty reduction in the
districts of Soroti (Pingire sub-county) and Bukedea (Kidongole sub-county) in Eastern
Uganda. This is primarily due to the perpetually depressed global cotton price.
The following recommendations were subsequently suggested, (i) significant value addition
in the sub-sector most especially in the textile industry, (ii) capacity building for farmers’
groups, (iii) the promotion of commercial plantations, block estate farming and nucleus
estates and, (iv) the revival ofthe old cotton price stabilization fund.
The study also suggests that the concept of selective government intervention in the trade
mechanism, be considered. Trade liberalization essentially entails the complete eradication of
all barriers to trade (i.e. tariffs, quotas, zoning restrictions, etc.), regardless of whether this
leads to the destruction of domestic manufacturing capacity or not. Take the textile sector in
Uganda, for example, it will not develop into an established industry if imports of cheap
second-hand apparel from Europe and the United States are continually given perpetual free
entry into the country. This researcher, therefore, advocates for targeted discriminatory duties
or tariffs (quantitative restrictions) to be levied on these infant textile industry ‘killers’ in an
effort to restrain their flow into Uganda and hopefully give the local textile sector an
opportunity to mature.Keywords: Trade Liberalization, Poverty, Cotton Sub-Sector
Description
A thesis submitted to the school of Postgraduate Studies (Spgs) in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the Award of a Master Of Arts Degree in Project Planning and Management (Mappm) Of Kampala International University (KIU)
Keywords
Trade, Liberalization, Poverty, Uganda