Browsing by Author "Bekoe, W."
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Item Carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, industrial structure, and technical efficiency: Empirical evidence from Ghana, Senegal, and Morocco on the causal dynamics(Energy, 2012-11) Adom, K.P.; Bekoe, W.; Amuakwa-Mensah, F.; Mensah, J.T.; Botchway, E.This paper investigated the short-run causal relationships and the long-run equilibrium relationships among carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, technical efficiency, and industrial structure for three African countries. Using Bounds cointegration approach the result showed evidence of multiple long-run equilibrium relationships for Ghana and Senegal but a one-way long-run equilibrium relationship for Morocco. The result from the Toda and Yomamoto granger causality test showed a mix of bidirectional, unidirectional, and neutral relationships for all countries. Whilst in Senegal carbon dioxide emission was not found to be a limiting factor to economic growth; it was found to act as a limiting factor to economic growth in Morocco and Ghana. Lastly, the result from the variance decomposition analysis revealed that economic growth contributes largely to changes in future carbon dioxide emissions in Senegal and Morocco whilst in Ghana technical efficiency contributes largely to changes in future variations in carbon dioxide emissions. These results have important policy implications for these countries' energy efficiency systems. © 2012.Item Conditional dynamic forecast of electrical energy consumption requirements in Ghana by 2020: A comparison of ARDL and PAM(Energy, 2012-08) Adom, P.K.; Bekoe, W.The frequent power outages which characterises Ghana's electricity sector have raised serious concerns among policy makers and stakeholders. The causes of this problem have been cited as growing demand and inadequate investment. The objective of this study, therefore, was to identify the factors that affect aggregate electricity demand in Ghana both in the short and long-run as a guide for demand-side management based on two econometric approaches-ARDL and PAM. Also predictions of aggregate electricity demand based on these econometric methods were obtained to guide investment decisions in the electricity sector. The result revealed that the positive output, urbanisation, and income effects more than offset the negative efficiency effects leading to growth in electricity consumption both in the short-run and long-run. The result further establishes the superiority of the ARDL approach to forecasting over the Partial adjustment approach to forecasting. For all three scenarios, future domestic consumption levels of electrical energy are predicted to increase ad infinitum from 2012 to 2020. Specifically electricity demand is estimated to fall within 20,453 and 34,867 GWh by the year 2020 for all three scenarios. This requires huge capital investments in additional plant capacity. © 2012.Item The Dynamics of Public Debt, Inflation and Exchange Rate in Ghana: A Vector Autoregressive Analysis(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Ameyaw, E.; Barimah, A; Bekoe, W.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of EconomicsThe rising trend in Ghana’s public debt has sparked some controversies about the relationship and the direction of causality between the public debt and two of its determinants ― inflation and the exchange rate. While some argue that public debt affects the exchange rate and inflation, others are of the view that inflation and exchange rate rather affect the public debt. This study therefore investigates the relationship and the direction of causality between the public debt, inflation and the exchange rate in Ghana. We employ the vector auto-regressive technique to empirically investigate these relationships for the period 1990-2013, both in the short run and the long run. The dynamic interactions are studied with Granger causality tests, impulse response functions, and forecast error variance decompositions. Using the Johansen approach, the empirical results found a long-run relationship running from inflation and exchange rate to the public debt ratio with no feedback from the public debt to inflation and the exchange rate in the long run. In the short-run, while the study found a negative significant relationship between inflation and the public debt, no strong relationship was found to exist between the public debt and exchange rate in the short run. One channel of unidirectional causality was found in the short run, actively running from inflation to public debt. All the impulse response functions of shocks to the variables were found to be permanent over time which was reinforced by the level effects (estimated using cumulative impulse response functions). The diagnostic test confirmed the validity of the model and CUSUM and CUSUMSQ test revealed the stability of the model. The results from the study imply that policy makers should choose inflation over exchange rate as a policy variable to reduce the public debt in the short-run. Moreover, a higher and rising public debt has no exchange rate risk or inflation risk in the case of Ghana, and hence the government can still borrow in the short run with no negative impact on inflation and exchange.Item Effects of Occupational Safety and Health on Labour Productivity: A Case Study of Some Selected Firms in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2013-07) Adjotor, F.N.; Laryea, A.D.A.; Bekoe, W.The countless incidences of injury, death, frequent absenteeism and huge compensation costs that characterized most Ghanaian industry are worries to the country’s economic development. This draws from the fact that these negative implications of unhealthy and unsafe working environment continue to plague labour productivity in the country and have the tendency of retarding economic growth. At least 7 per cent of Ghana’s GDP is spent on solving problems related to the improper management of health and safety. To effectively address this menace, the effects of the health and safety of an organisation on one’s productivity need to be well known and understood. Using primary data from firm survey in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, the univariate estimation technique was employed to access the impact of employees’ health and the safety of an organisation on employees’ productivity. The study further accessed the impact of health and safety on performance indicators like attendance, quality, quantity, concentration and efforts of employees. In order to avoid the use of several univariate estimations the multivariate estimation techniques was employed under this case. Findings from the study indicate that health and safety are vital to one’s productivity. The marginal impacts of health and safety on employees’ productivity were 21 and 27 percent respectively. It was also evident that health and safety positively affect one’s attendance, quality, quantity, effort and concentration levels at work. However, the health of the individual and safety of the organisation greatly affect one’s quality of work and attendance respectively among the performance indicators. The results further indicated that the impacts of health and safety on labour productivity were not organisation specific. The study recommends that firms should iiiUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh establish occupational safety and health offices that will ensure the wellbeing of their employees. Secondly health care incentives should cover all categories of workers; this is to offset constraints to health care demand. Finally there should be a system that evaluates, monitors and controls risk at work places in order to reduce the decline in productivity associated with any kind of risk.Item Electricity supply in Ghana: The implications of climate-induced distortions in the water-energy equilibrium and system losses(Renewable Energy, 2019-04) Adom, P.K.; Agradi, M.P.; Bekoe, W.An important synergy exists between electricity supply security and sustainable economic development. However, distortions in the water-energy equilibrium (especially for electricity systems that heavily depend on hydropower renewable energy) and operational inefficiency in the transmission and distribution networks can affect electricity supply negatively and distort this synergy. Given the irreversible nature of capital investments and the time-dependent nature of learning abilities and information flow, it is critical to delineate the short- and long-run effects of system losses and distortions in the water-energy equilibrium on electricity availability. This study applies an econometric approach to study the case of Ghana from 1970 to 2016. Distortions in the water-energy equilibrium negatively affect electricity supply in the short- and long-run. Investment in storage renewable hydro will ensure operational flexibility and compensate for the variability in water flow. Moreover, storage hydropower is a vital asset for the development of non-flexible renewables (i.e. wind and solar) due to the synergy that exists between them. System losses have a concave effect on electricity supply, with the tolerable rate determined as 6.65%. Current levels suggest that the country should cut down on system losses by 13.35%; this requires a significant investment in transmission and distribution networks and meters.Item An Empirical Examination of the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Ghana: an ARDL Approach.(De Gruyter Open, 2016-12) Twerefou, D.K.; Adusah-Poku, F.; Bekoe, W.The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates an inverted U-shaped relationship between different pollutants and economic growth. In Ghana, as in many other developing countries, there exist scanty studies that confirm or otherwise the EKC hypothesis with regards to CO2 emissions as well as the factors that drive CO2 emissions. This work aims to bridge this knowledge gap by addressing these two major questions using data from 1970 to 2010 and the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Testing approach. The results rather suggest a U-shaped relationship between per capita GDP and CO2 emissions per capita indicating the non-existence of the EKC hypothesis for CO2 in Ghana. This implies that further increase in per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will only be associated with increase in CO2 emissions as the income per capita turning point of about $624 at constant 2000 prices occurred between 1996 and 1997. Furthermore, our results reveal energy consumption and trade openness are positive long run drivers of CO2 emissions. It is therefore recommended that the enhancement of trade liberalization policies should ensure the use of cleaner technologies and products while investment in cleaner energy alternatives could help reduce CO2 emissions. We also recommend the implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy which integrates development and climate change mitigation actions. (PDF) An empirical examination of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana: an ARDL approach. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311991242_An_empirical_examination_of_the_Environmental_Kuznets_Curve_hypothesis_for_carbon_dioxide_emissions_in_Ghana_an_ARDL_approach [accessed Oct 26 2018].Item Household Choice of Water Supply and Sanitation Systems: Contemporary Ghanaian Analysis(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Aryitey, P.N.A.; Bekoe, W.; Twerefou, D.K.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities School of Social Sciences, Department of EconomicsOne of the most important preconditions for sustainable development is access to clean drinking water. In addition, sanitation has been the cause of many other development challenges as poor sanitation impacts public health, education and the environment. In consequence, there have been numerous interventions and efforts by various governments over years to improve water supply sources and sanitation facilities in Ghana. Nevertheless, there is more to learn regarding the determinants of the choice of water supply and sanitation facilities in Ghana. Using a logistic regression model with the help of data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey, this study aimed at ascertaining the determinants of the choice of water supply sources and sanitation facilities on the demand side. The results from the regression established that household size, time to get to sanitation facility, sex, age, type of person, income, and type of residence were significant variables that determined the choice of household source of water supply. In the case of the determinants of sanitation choice, educational level of household head, household size, and time to get to facility, type of person using facility, number of households sharing the facility, income, and the type of residence were the significant variables. The results have confirmed particularly that time to get to water supply source and sanitation facility significantly reduces the probability of choosing such facilities. Small household sizes (at most 3) will also significantly choose both improved source of water supply and improved sanitation facility. Various policy implications of the findings have been given accordingly, some of which are; designing and implementing a wide network University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii of improved water supply systems to achieve an appreciable level of safe water for use by households, targeting environmental policy first of all at the provision of improved water sources in the rural areas and in addition government should give much attention to providing improved sanitation in the entire country at large. Furthermore, financial institutions that give out credit should be encouraged to target poor households and make credit available and accessible to enable such households source them to run and sustain their own businesses.Item Households' Willingness to Pay for Improved Electricity Supply in the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Areas(University of Ghana, 2013-07) Adjei-Mantey, K.; Twerefou, D.K.; Bekoe, W.Electricity is an essential commodity that affects every sphere of life. It is especially fundamental for emerging economies whose national developmental agenda require constant availability of power. Ghana depends heavily on electricity to carry out most of its activities. The industry, services sector, and households all need electricity for their activities. Unfortunately, a major problem that confronts the nation is the irregular and unreliable supply of electricity. Electric power usually goes off indiscriminately and in most cases without prior notification to consumers. Households suffer reduction in utility since some leisure activities cannot be undertaken in the absence of electricity. In addition household appliances are not left without damages when the power supply is erratic. Industries on the other hand have to bear increased costs of production by acquiring back up facilities to be able to continue production during power outages. Smaller firms which cannot afford backups are compelled to stop production altogether when there is no power. This study therefore seeks to investigate how much households in the Accra-Tema metropolitan area are willing to pay for improved electricity supply as well as examine the factors that influence households’ willingness to pay using a contingent valuation survey and the ordered probit econometric model. The study collects cross sectional data from a sample of 358 households drawn from different suburbs within the metropolis. Using a face-to-face interview approach, a discrete choice with follow-up elicitation technique was used to collect the data. Results from the study reveal that households are willing to pay a significant amount to improve electricity supply. The mean willingness to pay was found to be GHȼ 0.2667, an amount nearly 47% higher than current average tariffs. The significant factors that affect the willingness to pay of households are household income, tertiary educational level of respondents, size of household, sex of respondents, and the reliability of current supply of electricity. It is recommended that government should invest heavily in power infrastructure to improve electricity supply and subsequently increase tariffs since the people are prepared to pay for it. Increasing household incomes by improving the national daily minimum wage and creating employment opportunities as well as measures to promote formal education in the country to higher levels are among the recommendations made in this study. Further studies are recommended to estimate the total costs to be incurred in providing a reliable electricity supply system such as the one used in the hypothetical case.Item Macroeconomic uncertainty and private investment in Ghana: An empirical investigation(International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2013-03) Bekoe, W.; Adom, P.K.In spite of the progress made in economic performance over the years, the Ghanaian economy continues to be bedevilled by a host of constraints. Among these constraints are low levels of savings and investments which have raised serious concerns among economists and policy makers with respect to the sustainability of the achievements attained so far. This study attempts to investigate empirically the link between investments and uncertainty using dataset from Ghana covering the period 1975 to 2008. In the empirical analysis, the paper aims at separating ordinary variability from uncertainty by the construction of measures of uncertainty for some key macroeconomic indicators and using them to assess their impact on investment behaviour within an econometric framework including other acceptable determinants of investment. The Phillip-Hansen cointegration test confirms the existence of long-run equilibrium relationship between private investment, standard determinants of investment, and macroeconomic uncertainty. Result from the study shows that on the whole the investment-uncertainty link reveals a significant negative effect of all macroeconomic uncertainty indicator variables on private investment with the exception of real exchange rate volatility. The values for price of capital uncertainty, real GDP growth uncertainty, and terms of trade uncertainty are large in absolute terms. The regression result further reveals that private investment displays important inertia and shows slow adjustment process towards long-run equilibrium. Lastly, the summary measure of macroeconomic uncertainty which encompasses the first principal components of the conditional variances of the five macroeconomic variables shows a consistent indirect effect on private investment. Generally we found macroeconomic uncertainties to be more detrimental to private investment growth in the long-run relative to the short-run. © 2013, Econjournals. All rights reserved.Item Modelling aggregate domestic electricity demand in Ghana: An autoregressive distributed lag bounds cointegration approach(Energy Policy, 2012-03) Adom, P.K.; Bekoe, W.; Akoena, S.K.K.In spite of the varying supply boosting efforts made by various governments to deal with the existing demand-supply gap in the electricity sector, the incessant growth in aggregate domestic electricity demand has made these efforts futile. As an objective, this paper attempts to identify the factors responsible for the historical growth trends in aggregate domestic electricity demand quantifying their effects both in the short-run and long-run periods using the ARDL Bounds cointegration approach and the sample period 1975 to 2005. In the long-run, real per capita GDP, industry efficiency, structural changes in the economy, and degree of urbanisation are identified as the main driving force behind the historical growth trend in aggregate domestic electricity demand. However, in the short-run, real per capita GDP, industry efficiency, and degree of urbanisation are the main drivers of aggregate domestic electricity demand. Industry efficiency is the only factor that drives aggregate domestic electricity demand downwards. However, the negative efficiency effect is insufficient to have outweighed the positive income, output, and demographic effects, hence the continual growth in aggregate domestic electricity demand. As a policy option, we recommend that appropriate electricity efficiency standards be implemented at the industry level. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.Item Modelling electricity demand in Ghana revisited: The role of policy regime changes(Energy Policy, 2013-10) Adom, P.K.; Bekoe, W.As policy regime changes, demand elasticities are unlikely to be constant since individuals change how they form their expectations, and this will change the estimated decision rules. In this paper, the time-varying nature of electricity demand elasticities prior to and post the economic reform period in Ghana is analysed using the FM-OLS. Three different sample periods -pre-reform, post-reform, and full-period- was used in the analysis. The result from the full-sample period revealed that in the long-run electricity demand is significantly affected by industry efficiency, industry value added, and real per capita GDP. Urbanization rate, however, has no significant effect. The pre-reform estimate showed lower income, output, and urbanization elasticities but higher industry energy efficiency elasticity relative to the post-reform period. This suggests that technological change in the pre-reform period has been energy saving whilst technological change in the post reform period has been energy consuming. The result further showed evidence of changing structure of the economy from the more energy intensive sector to the less energy intensive sector after the reform. Government should renew her effort in promoting energy saving technologies in the industrial sector and adjust the industrial structure to encourage the expansion of low energy intensive industries or high technology efficient industries. © 2013.Item Pension Contributions and National Savings in Ghana. Trends, Prospects, and Challenges(University of Ghana, 2013-07) Charles, M.; Quartey, P.; Bekoe, W.World Bank report (2010) clearly reported a continuous increase in old age dependency ratio and a sharp decline in fertility rate. The disparity of child birth between the early 1960s and the 2000s has caused many people to be found in the old age group. Now, the kind of pension scheme operating in Ghana is the Pay as you go scheme (PAYG) and the sustainability of the scheme depends on increasing working population. The problem is how the fewer young people under the PAYG scheme can take care of the many old generation without breaking down the scheme Meanwhile, studies suggest that mandatory pension scheme increases savings but we have recorded decreases in Ghana’s national savings though SSNIT operates the mandatory pension scheme. The objectives of the study are; to examine the trends in pension contributions and national savings in Ghana, to establish the relationship between pension contributions and national savings, and to identify the prospects and challenges in the pension industry. The Overlapping generation model used in the study. The study employed the Ordinary Least Squares to establish the linear relationship and the Vector Error Correction Model as the estimation technique. Results from the study indicated that one of the predominant challenges facing the scheme are insufficient monthly benefit. Also from the secondary data results, interesting findings like a percentage unit increase in financial deepening will cause a decrease in national savings and a positive correlation between pension contribution and savings. It was suggested from the findings that SSNIT should increase the monthly benefits of pensioners, so that consumption will be smoothened during the days of retirement.Item The Population Growth - Economic Growth Nexus: New Evidence from Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Anudjo, E.Y; Twumasi, P.; Bekoe, W.; University Of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of EconomicsEstablishing the relationship between population growth and economic growth has become fundamental to the policy makers in developing countries and Ghana in particular. However, there has been no agreement whether population growth is beneficial or detrimental to economic growth. This study therefore examines the empirical relationship between population growth and economic growth in Ghana using time series data from 1980-2013. It specifically explores the short-run and long-run relationship between population growth and economic growth as well as the direction of causality between them. The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bounds (ARDL) approach of estimation strategy due to its small sample property and its applicability of whether a series is integrated of I(O) or I(1). Granger –causality test was also employed to determine the direction of causality between population growth and economic growth. The study reveals a negative relationship between population growth and economic growth in the short-run and unidirectional causality in the long-run between them. The study further revealed that population density and labour force impacts positively, whereas unemployment rate impacts negatively on economic growth in the long run but gross capital formation was not statistically significant. Unemployment rate was statistically insignificant in the short-run. Gross capital formation, labour force and population density had a positive statistically significant effect on economic growth in the short-run but unemployment rate was not statistically significant. The ecm (-1) results reveals a high speed of 83.6 percent of long-run equilibrium adjustment every year after a long-run shock in the model. The study recommends that Government should continue encouraging its campaign on family planning and policies that would give rise to creation of job opportunities for the massive labour force that it has. The government should also put measures to ensure that the economy grows at a higher rate than the population growth. This will ensure that the increasing demand of services arising from the population growth is met.