Browsing by Author "Turkson, F. E."
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Item Estimating the Trade Effects of Sub-Regional Free Trade Areas in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Panel Data Analysis(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Quarshie, G.,; Turkson, F. E.; Senadza, B.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of Economics.Sub-Saharan Africa has over the years witnessed the proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) within the sub-region. However, intra-regional trade remains considerably low around 10 percent of its trade with the rest of the world. This has led researchers to investigate whether these RTAs have been trade-creating or trade diverting. Nevertheless, these studies have not extended their analysis to investigate the effect of the membership of some dominant economies in their respective trade blocs. Thus, this study provides evidence on the sensitivity of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to the membership of some dominant economies using a panel of forty-six (46) countries from the period 1960-2012. The study employed the use of the Hausman-Taylor estimator in order to control for the correlation of individual-specific unobservable effects that could be correlated with other explanatory variables. This method of estimation generates unbiased and consistent parameter estimates. Results from the estimation suggest that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Corporation (SADC) have been trade-creating whereas Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have been trade-diverting. A further sensitivity analysis conforms to expectation about the influence of dominant economies (Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa) on the performance of the trade blocks. It is therefore recommended based on the significant effect of distance on trade that governments provide improved infrastructure to facilitate trade among member countries across the region. Also domestic industries must be given the support to expand their productive capacities to add value to their manufactures for an enhanced export for their countries which goes a long way to impact on the GDP of their countries and further improves intra-regional trade. In addition, processes at the borders of member countries must be harmonized and made easy to facilitate the movement of goods across borders. Furthermore, member countries of FTAs in SSA must work towards using a common currency in order to reduce costs to importers and exporters through foreign exchange losses.Item Influences of parental occupation on children's occupational choices(Emerald Publishing, 2023) Turkson, F. E.; Mohammed, I.; Baffour, P. T.; et al.Abstract Purpose – This study examines the relationships between parents’ and children’s occupations to determine the existence of intergenerational transmission of occupations. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the purpose of the study, four predominant occupational types based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO): agriculture and forestry; services and sales; managerial/administrative; and professional/technical are examined using data from the latest (7th) round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS). Two complementary methods involving the correlational analysis and regression-based techniques are used. Findings – The findings indicate the presence of parental influences on children’s occupational choices (samesex and cross-sex) in the Ghanaian labour market, with maternals and same-sector effects having a more substantial influence on children’s occupational choices, especially in agriculture and forestry, and services and sales sectors. Research limitations/implications – The lack of panel data in observing children’s occupational choices over time makes it challenging to assume direct causation. Originality/value – The study is the first to highlight the relative strengths of paternal influence (father’s effect) and maternal impact (mother’s effect) on sons’ and daughters’ occupational choices in Africa. The findings have several implications for intergenerational (im)mobility of occupations including how policymakers can make career guidance more effective.Item Trade Logistics, Trade Costs and Bilateral Trade within Sub Saharan Africa – A Panel Estimation(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Nutor, R. S.; Turkson, F. E.; Assibey, E. O.; Turkson, R. S.; Assibey, E. O.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of Economics; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of EconomicsWorld trade has expanded over the last few decades, but the trade within Africa especially among Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has been low. Globally there has been a reduction in tariff rates, reducing trade costs in general, but the SSA region still records the high costs of trade as compared to other developing regions and this has hindered the flow of trade within the region (World Bank Doing Business report, 2013). SSA’s poorly developed trade logistics in the form of poor infrastructure, weak institutions, and trade facilitation have largely accounted for the region’s high trade cost (Turkson, 2011; Heokman and Nicita, 2008). Using a logistics augmented gravity model, the study analyzes the impact of improvements in trade logistics performance (aggregated and disaggregated) on the volume of bilateral trade between countries in SSA over a period 2007 to 2012. With three rounds of the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) published by the World Bank, and trade indicators from UNCOMTRADE and CEPII, the Hausman Taylor estimation results indicate a positive impact of logistics performance improvements of exporter country on volumes of bilateral trade among countries in SSA over time. Findings recommends the need for both private and public institutions that have direct or indirect influence on infrastructure and trade facilitation to develop innovative approaches to help tackle the challenges of high transport and transaction costs, and weak institutional capacities facing many countries in SSA, as a means of boosting trade within the region, increasing their ability to compete in the global economy and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).