The failure of macro-economic policies to deliver meaningful reductions in poverty and achieve basic needs in Tanzania has provoked a deep questioning of the relevance of economic growth center policies in Local Economic Development (LED). The government and development partners are increasingly shifting from the traditional top down approaches to the all-inclusive bottom up approaches for effective local development. The concept of sustainable Local Economic Development is thus examined in the context of economic activities and challenges using a case study of Shinyanga region in Tanzania.

The purpose of this paper is to determine which factors are most important in voluntary corporate disclosure at firm level in emerging markets. The study characteristics that cause differences in results in the original empirical studies are also examined. This study applies a meta- regression technique developed by Stanley and Jarrell (1989) to a sample of 32 empirical studies published between 2011 and 2020.  The study findings reveal that the financial crisis variable, region of the study variable, and weighting of the dependent variable significantly affect study results of the original empirical researches. Moreover, the most important and robust determinants of corporate disclosure in emerging markets are board independence and foreign listing status. Study findings also indicate that firm size, which is identified by most empirical studies to be a significant and most robust determinant of corporate disclosure, to be insignificant in this meta-regression study. This study will help to resolve the ambiguity that has existed over the past decade in literature as to which factors are really important in voluntary corporate disclosure practices in emerging countries. Secondly, this study extends the literature relating to corporate disclosure practice in emerging countries.

This paper presents findings of an empirical study carried out to identify barriers and enablers of women’s participation in the industrial economy in Tanzania, using a case study of Mwanza region, using a cross-sectional design to examine determinants of women participation in the industrial economy in Tanzania. Particularly, a mixed approach involving both qualitative and quantitative data was adopted. Generally, the study reached out to a total of 228 women and 21 Key Informants drawn from 12 sampled wards from two districts of Nyamagana and Sengerema. Data collection involved mainly two approaches: primary data collection through survey, Key Informant Interviews (semi-structured), informal interviews, Focus Group Discussions and secondary data through desk review. The study revealed that limited access to financing information, lack of formal education, lack of entrepreneurial knowledge/skills and lack of marketing information are major barriers for women wishing to participate in the industrial economy. Moreover, membership in CBO and self-confidence are the main enablers of women participation in the industrial economy. Therefore, sensitization programs and establishment of Business Development Services (BDS) at ward levels would help women to access skills and services which will empower them to actively and successfully participate in the industrial economy.

This paper presents findings of the study to examine the current PPD practices in Kigoma region in order to identify main challenges and gaps in the current PPD model in order to provide appropriate recommendations for improvement of the current PPD practices. The researcher adopted a qualitative research approach in order to obtain in-depth information about PPDs practices from participants who share the same mandate; using the case study of Kasulu and Kibondo district councils. The targeted population included government officials, traders, farmers, Private Sector Organizations, financial institutions and influential people in the respective areas. These respondents were selected purposively because they were knowledgeable and informative about PPD practices taking place at Kasulu and Kibondo Districts. In total, 120 respondents were interviewed in both districts. The study found that Kigoma region has adopted “the hub” PPD model which involves a dedicated secretariat charged with mobilizing constructive dialogues. However, PPD practices are currently constrained with limited capacity in terms of finance, tools, technical know-how, influence, and convincing power to stretch across different government departments and agencies. In order to improve PPD forums, main recommendations include forming permanent working groups based on the important sectors in the local areas, appropriation of funds to the task forces/ working groups and that policy should be designed to ensure that members for the PPDs have specific tenure.

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