The main objective of this study was to determine the factors responsible for the youth unemployment in Uganda. The data for this study was obtained from the Uganda National Household Survey 2016/17 collected by Uganda National Bureau of Statistics. A binary logistic regression method was employed to analyze a sample of 5,912 respondents for the ages between 18-30 years. The results obtained from the analysis of binary logistic regression indicate that sex, region, residence, education level, age and marital status significantly influence youth employment status in Uganda while health was not important in the model. The findings of the study indicated that Ugandan youth who attended post-secondary education are more unemployed compared to those with no education. An increase in age decreases unemployment level while the married youth have less chances of being unemployed as compared to the divorced ones. The study also showed that northern youth faced lower unemployment rate compared to other regions and urban youth increased their chances of unemployment compared to the rural ones. Finally males had the possibility to increase the chance of remaining in unemployment. It is therefore from this that we recommend that government should put in place affirmative action measures such as extra training, sensitization of potential employers to enable males compete favourably with females in the labour market. JEL Codes; C21 D01 J21 J23 J64 Key words: youth unemployment; determinants; binomial logit; Uganda; UNHS 2016/17

The importance of digitalization of payments systems cannot be understated. Digital payments invoke greater financial inclusion and enhance efficient flow of funds for payment of goods and services. The objective of the study was to understand the determinants of digital payment usage in Uganda. Specifically, the study assessed whether internet access, phone ownership, mode of receiving wages and socio demographic factors determined digital payment usage in Uganda. This study utilized a logistic regression model to analyse cross-sectional data from the 2021 Global Findex database. The empirical results indicated that internet access, phone ownership, receiving wages digitally, education level and area of residence significantly determined digital payment usage in Uganda. Surprisingly, the study found that, income, age and gender do not significantly predict the likelihood of adopting digital payments in Uganda which could indicate no discrimination in terms of income, gender and age in Uganda’s financial sector. The empirical results are comparable with the research findings in similar studies. The study exposes some areas that need further attention by financial institutions and policymakers, specifically in regard to internet access and wage payment.

Financial inclusion serves as an effective mechanism of social inclusion and reducing poverty substantially thereby attaining economic growth and development. This study analyses the drivers of financial inclusion in Uganda using Uganda's 2018 FinScope Survey conducted by Financial Sector Deepening Uganda. The specific objectives include showing the effect of gender, marital status, education, income, age, employment, location and dependency on financial inclusion in Uganda. The study adopts a binary logit model to realize its objectives. The empirical findings suggest that being male, education, income, employment, living in urban areas increases the probability for an individual to be financially included whereas being married and single reduces the likelihood for households to be financially included as regards to mobile money usage. For the case of bank usage, the findings suggest that being male, education, income, age, number of dependents, employment, living in urban areas increases the chances for individuals to be financially included. The study recommends that the government should close the gender, education and employment gaps.

The purpose of the research was to find out the impact of customer care services on the retention of customers at Nansubuga General Hardware. The objectives of the study were, to find out: (1) the effectiveness of customer complaint handling in the retention of customers at Nansubuga General Hardware; (2) the effectiveness of responsiveness to customers in retention of customers at Nansubuga General Hardware and (3) the effectiveness of after sales services on the retention of customers at Nansubuga General Hardware. The study adopted an evaluative cross sectional survey design and quantitative approach. Random sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data was collected from repeat customers using a questionnaire method and the unit of analysis were individuals. From the findings, the study concludes that effective complaint handling of customers complaints always makes customers come back for repeat purchases. Based on findings, after sales services makes customers loyal to the business and being responsive to customer needs makes them do more repeat purchases. The study recommends that in order to enhance customer retention, Nansubuga General Hardware should develop a well streamlined problem solving channel with clear reporting lines, effective supervision of customer service personnel, introduce a relationship officer who handles customers. It was recommended that customer service provision in Nansubuga General Hardware should go beyond satisfaction. Strategies that exceed customer expectations should be put in place to delight the customers.

NGOs are the most prevalent form of association in Uganda but their regulation has majorly been restrictive. NGOs ought to enjoy the right to freedom of association by operating in a regulatory environment that is subject only to limitations which conform to international standards. The NGO Act of 2016 and its regulations of 2017 have introduced limitations that further restrict enjoyment of this right. This study investigates the impact of the provisions of the NGO Act 2016 and its regulations of 2017 on the right to freedom of association in Uganda with focus on ActionAid Uganda, as a case study and explores the reforms required to establish a regulatory framework that upholds internationally accepted human rights principles. Previous research on NGO regulation in Uganda has primarily relied on the regime of the 1989 NGO Registration Act and thus has been unable to assess the specific implications of the NGO Act of 2016 which ushers in even more stringent regulations. The study investigates these issues within the universality of rights theories which stress that international human rights, in particular, the right to freedom of association, is and must be the same everywhere. On the whole, the study concludes that the limitations in the NGO Act 2016 and its regulations negate the very essence of the freedom to associate which should be enjoyed without requiring mandatory incorporation, a three-phase approval process, a tripartite annual reporting framework, and hefty blanket punishments for ambiguous offenses, inter alia. The study finds that the limitations placed on the enjoyment of this fundamental right are unjustified in a free and democratic country like ours and fall short of the international standards on the right to freedom of association. To this end, the study proposes a revision of the NGO Act and its regulations of 2017 to abolish mandatory incorporation before registration of NGOs, create guidelines to provide clarity for ambiguous provisions and adopt a single approval process in form of permits for NGOs which would all ensure that Government upholds its international and regional human rights commitments. It is hoped this study will inform the Government of Uganda, NGOs operating in Uganda and scholars with interest in the regulatory framework of NGOs in the country, thereby giving them the basis to step up the quality of regulation of NGOs.

The study examines the operation of Mutual Recognition Agreements vis-à-vis having a single legislation to govern cross-border legal practice to wit, the East African Community Cross Border Legal Practice Bill of 2014. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the strategy of using Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) or opting for an East African legislation on cross-border legal practice in the liberalization of trade in legal services within the East African Community. In this regard, the researcher embarked on examining the pros and cons of employing each of the mechanisms; the existing framework in partner states pertaining cross-border legal practice; the hindrances to the intended free mobility of lawyers in the EAC partner states and how they will be solved by choosing a mode of operation and making viable proposals for reforms towards the realization of free movement of legal services in the EAC drawing lessons from the European Union and other blocks. This was a c ross sectional study and the researcher adopted the qualitative method of data collection because the data majorly entailed non numeric futures. To appropriately answer the research questions, the inquiry was phenomenological in n ature using a detailed, rich, and thick or emphatic description. Purposive sampling technique was also adopted in selecting the key informants due to their perceived knowledge about cross border exchange of legal services. The study population comprised of lawyers, practicing advocates working under the verein structure mode of cross border legal practice, other advocates who deal with EAC integration cases and inhouse counsel from the Legal Department of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. Efforts to access some officials from the Ministry of East African Community Affairs (MEACA) and EAC Secretariat turned very futile for the researcher although that setback could not frustrate the entire study. This research met hodology made data collection easier, with high levels of reliability due to experts involved and this helped me to accomplish the study. Primary data was collected using an interview guide to explore and produce the data to use in this study, focus on the topics that were important to explore, maintain consistency a cross interviews with different key informants and to stay on track while conducting an in depth interview whereas secondary data was collected through review of relevant documents in the li braries and the internet. I examined empirical studies, essays, theses, reports, books and journals mainly on regional economic integration. Utmost confidentiality was observed while handling the data given the sensitivity of the topic under investigatio n in terms of the relationship of partner states and since the EAC is just being revamped. A descriptive and qualification method of data analysis and a qualitative content analysis which Bryman Bryman1 defines to mean searching out of underlying themes in the m aterial being analyzed using a brief quotation to illustrate the relevant points that were used. The key findings of this study reveal that Mutual Recognition Agreements are more preferred compared to having a single legislation to govern the EAC cross b order leg al practice and this is simply because the advantages of employing MRAs advanced were workable as well as achievable considering the existing challenges 2 It was a finding of this study that the eminent hinderences to the intended free mobility o f lawyer in the EAC partner states can be solved by choosing a mode of operation. There is already an existing though not fully utilized framework in the laws of p artner states on the regulation of the legal practice embedded in the provisions of the la ws regulating the practice of law in those respective states. The finding further reveal that there are viable proposals for reforms towards the realisation of free movement of legal services in the EAC if lessons are drawn from the European Union. Consi dering the findings of the study as stated, proposals and solutions to ensure that policy and law makers in the East African Assembly as well as the respective partner state Parliaments enact laws that are in line with the intended cross border legal pract ice so that the East Africans can mutually benefit. The recommendations include: (i) the respective Bar Associations of the EAC states should negotiate MRAs; ( there should be harmonizing and developing a common syllabus or curricula for the Law School s and Bar Course trainings among all partner states; ( States should operationalize the already existing legal framework in partner states to facilitate the EAC cross border legal practice in the short term and ( actualizing the lessons from the E.U . to make them work for the East African Community member states.

This study examines the sustainability of Uganda’s public debt from 1981/82 to 2016/17. The study uses the fiscal reaction function approach to find out whether the government’s reaction to the growing debt is responsive and systematic. The study uses annual secondary time series data obtained from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Bank of Uganda and the World Bank Database for World Development Indicators of 2018. The autoregressive distributed lag estimation approach is used based on the order of integration of the study variables and the presence of a long run relationship. The results show that, in the long run, the government has been able to respond to past debt build-up in a sustainable way by increasing the primary balance. However, in the short run, the government has not been responsive to the debt bulge which poses risks to debt sustainability. The study suggests that in order to guarantee future debt sustainability, the government should strengthen the primary balance by reducing wasteful expenditures through eliminating corruption, reducing fiscal slippages and supplementary budgets and curbing the creation of more administrative units which increase the funding burden of the government. Keywords: Debt Sustainability; Fiscal Policy; Fiscal Reaction Function JEL Classification: H63; E62; E62

There is vast academic literature on the determinants of out of pocket health care expenditure focusing on developed and low developed countries, however little is known about these factors in Uganda’s perspective and much worse, how these determinants vary across areas of residence, that is; among individuals living in rural versus those residing in urban areas of Uganda. This study attempts to fill this gap in literature by using a random effects model as an estimation strategy to analyze data from the Uganda National Panel Surveys of 2011/2012; 2013/2014 and 2015/2016. These panels are merged to cover a sample of 2,130 households that incurred out of pocket health care expenditure. The study examines socio-economic determinants of out of pocket health care expenditure in Uganda. Furthermore, it explorers whether and to what extent these determinants vary across areas of residence (that is: among rural versus urban residents). Findings indicate that: age, level of education (that is, those with some secondary, completed secondary and post-secondary or degree as their highest level of education), distance to the nearest health facility, gender (being female), household size and area of residence (that is, urban) had a positive and statistically significant effect on out of pocket health care expenditure in Uganda. On the other hand, marital status (that is, never married); and the region (that is eastern and Northern) had a negative and statistically significant relationship with out of pocket health care expenditure. Differences between rural versus urban residents are noted with regard to the effect of age and the level of education on out of pocket health care expenditure where these factors were found to affect only rural resident but not those in the urban settings. The following policy recommendations can be drawn from the finding. a) the need to develop innovative ways to reduce the financial burden on households, particularly for those in rural areas, to improve equity in access to health care services and improve financial protection; b) households having elderly members and those large in size should be exempted from paying some of the healthcare expenditures; c) policies that ensure that households have access to health care at subsidized cost or at no costs at all, these should particularly cover female headed households.