NOVAFRICA News: NOVAFRICA students in the spotlight

Last week five students from the NOVAFRICA Student Group presented their thesis research projects.

Their theses pressed topics in development economics such as international migration, education, health, cash transfers, conflict, and natural disasters.

Patricia Caetano found that climate disasters in Mozambique between 2000 to 2018 had negative effects on social capital. Individuals’ income and expectations decreased, leading to a desire for state intervention, increased participation in protests, and a decline in community ties.

Eva Fröhlich studied the SABLA Scheme in Andhra Pradesh, India. Her study showed that it did not have a positive impact on adolescent girls’ health and schooling outcomes while increasing their ability to perform paid work- with ambiguous effects on empowerment.

Isabel Caldeira focused on artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Africa. Using georeferenced data and a 54-country sample from 1997 to 2018, this study found that artisanal and small-scale gold mining is associated with an increased risk of conflict.

Constantin Nixdorff found that rural migrants residing in urban areas of Mozambique for an extended period tend to shift their voting preferences in favor of opposition parties and become more critical of the incumbent government.

Rita Mira Vaz examined how the integration of Cape Verdean migrants is affected by non-cognitive characteristics like risk aversion, impatience, and grit. She found that risk aversion improved social integration, and impatience increased active citizenship among immigrants.

We congratulate them and wish them all the success.