Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish socio-economic factors and maternal practices that determine child mortality in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the role of sex, birth weight, birth order and duration of breastfeeding of a child; age, marital status and education of the mother; and household wealth in determining child mortality. The study employs a logistic regression model to establish which of the factors significantly impacts child mortality in Uganda. Findings The study established that education level, age and marital status of the mother as well as household wealth significantly impact child mortality. Also important are the sex, birth weight, birth order and breastfeeding duration. Research limitations/implications Policies aimed at promoting breastfeeding and education of female children can make a significant contribution to the reduction of child mortality in Uganda. Practical implications Health care intervention programs should focus on single, poor and uneducated mothers as their children are at great risk due to poor and inadequate health care utilization. Originality/value This paper could be the first effort in examining child mortality status in Uganda using a logistic regression model.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of board governance quality (BGQ) and its mechanisms, namely board activity, board independence, board communication and board expertise, on the level of risk disclosure compliance (RDC) among financial institutions (FIs) in Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a cross-sectional design where data are collected through a questionnaire survey and audited financial statements of 83 FIs. The authors employ partial least square structural equation modeling (SmartPLS32.7) to test hypotheses.FindingsThe authors find that the level of RDC in Ugandan FIs is low. Further, the study finds the positive relation between BGQ and RDC. Moreover, the authors find that RDC is positively and significantly related with board activity, board independence, board communication and board expertise. Furthermore, the authors find that the level of RDC is positively and significantly related to ownership type, firm size and board size, respectively. Nevertheless, industry type, number of branches and firm age are insignificantly related to RDC.Practical implicationsThe study provides relevant insights into regulators and policy makers with early symptoms of potential problems regarding weak board governance in FIs. Policy makers may also use these findings as a guideline tool for improving existing board governance frameworks in place and development of new disclosure policies. In addition, the study provides an input into the review and amendments of existing corporate governance codes for the regulators.Originality/valueThis study offers the empirical evidence on the nexus between BGQ and RDC of FIs in Uganda. Moreover, the study also offers evidence on how BGQ mechanisms impact RDC. The study also further adds theoretical foundations to the RDC literature.

Progressive development is an interest of every country. Advancement in development is an indicator of successful policy implementation. However, some authors claim it’s a concept of “yesterday”. Policy implementation until now lacks an integrated theoretical foundation and guidance for success which partly contributes to misguided, uncertain, ineffective and retrogressive policy implementation practice especially in the developing world. Little attention has been put on policy implementation effectiveness. This article traces the policy implementation concept and project new directions for its more rewarding furtherance. Contributions towards policy implementation research and practice should be relevant to its contemporary generation. Using reviewed literature, this article traces the historical, methodological and practical development of policy implementation. It suggests that the third generation paradigm may exploit advances in implementation science. Networks, governance, and internationalization are sectors and resources that can progress policy implementation towards focused relevance and enhanced contribution towards sustainable development.

The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical explanation of business process reengineering performance using emerging themes of adaptability and knowledge management in the context of developing economies. The study used a narrative cross-sectional survey conducted using qualitative data collection technique, specifically the appreciative inquiry. The study used operations managers and senior executive managers to gather qualitative data from Uganda’s reengineered microfinance institutions to provide indepth explanation of business process reengineering performance. The authors find that adaptability, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing explain business process reengineering performance. The results suggest that business process reengineering be made mandatory to ensure sustainable competitiveness of the financial sector. The study provides novel insights of business process reengineering performance using a theory of change and a complexity theory. Methodological, theoretical, managerial and policy implications herein play pivotal role in bridging the knowledge gap that exists in Microfinance institutions of developing economies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Uganda's economic growth determinants can fully be analyzed within the framework of the neoclassical growth theory. The study uses quarterly data for the period 2007-2018. The underlying empirical models are estimated using IV-GMM in the specific-to-general modeling approach. Estimates show that unlike the factor of capital stock per worker, human capital per worker persists to be a significant factor that influences Uganda's economic growth even when additional variables motivated by the endogenous growth theory are included in the empirical model. The factor of population growth remains theoretically plausible but reduces its strength of influence with the additional explanatory variables. The estimates suggest that the neoclassical growth model has the ability but does not fully explain growth variations in Uganda which manifests the theory's fractional relevance. Estimates further show that other factors such as low lending interest rates, attraction of FDI and expansion of domestic credit are important enhancers for Uganda's economic growth. Results do not support the notion of conditional convergence commonly cited in growth literature. Our point of departure from existing literature on Uganda's growth determinants is the inclusion of productivity factors motivated by the endogenous growth proponents in the empirical model as control variables.