Browsing by Author "Twerefou, D.K."

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An Assessment of Ghana’s Efforts in Achieving Sustainable Development
(Legon Center for International Affairs, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, 2007) Twerefou, D.K.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, called on all countries to adopt National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) that will integrate and harmonize development policies by ensuring that they balance economic, social and environmental objectives. It also called for the establishment of solid and resourced institutions that can ensure this integration in a more coherent and coordinated manner. This paper assesses Ghana’s efforts in the implementation of sustainable development (SD) strategies with particular emphasis on the period 1990-2002. The study does this using SD indicators selected by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment. Analysis of the data indicates that the country has made some efforts in ensuring SD through the formulation of new policies and/or the modification of existing ones to suit SD objectives. In the area of economic sustainability, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow, net Overseas Development Investment (ODI), Gross National Savings (GNS) and Gross Domestic Investment (GDI) has all increased. However, dependence on external loans, huge trade and current account deficits as well as the inability to add value to primary product pose a threat to SD. On the social indicators, poverty and inequality has generally reduced. Also, access to sanitation and safe water has improved together with other health and education indicators. In the area of environment, total land area under cultivation has increased together with irrigated agricultural land though the increase is marginal. Sadly, the percentage of people using biomass is very high. Carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of Petroleum and Carbon Intensity on the average have increased though in global terms, Ghana’s emission of carbon dioxide from the use of petroleum products is quite low. Inspite of these successes, there are many challenges. General and specific policy measures aimed at improving the implementation of the SD agenda are provided.
Choice of household adaptation strategies to flood risk management in Accra, Ghana
(City and Environment Interactions, 2019) Twerefou, D.K.; Adu-Danso, E.; Abbey, E.; Dovie, B.D.
In this paper, we discuss the psychological and socio-economic factors as well as the constraints that inhibit private precautionary flood-risk mitigation measures among urban households in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana within the Protection Motivation framework. The results show that threat appraisal has mixed effects on the decisions by households to adopt a damage protection measure against flooding. With regards to coping appraisal, the study found that households who do not feel helpless about flooding in the neighbourhood resort to some struc tural measures such as reinforcing their house against flood damage. The study also finds that socio-economic factors have an overall positive effect on protective behaviour. Additionally, structural measures taken by the public sector to provide protection against damage from a flood are shown to complement the adoption of some specific private pro tective measures such as clearing drains and sandbagging by households. We, therefore, recommend policy choices to focus on the provision of the needed community-level flood protection infrastructure since it stimulates private flood precautionary measures
The contest for mineral wealth: an economic analysis of conflicts in Ghanaian mining communities.
(2017-06) Twerefou, D.K.; Ayimpusah, E.A.; Owusu-Afriyie, J.; Adjei-Mantey, K.; Bokpin, G.A.
The paper uses survey data from 1458 households in 60 communities from 24 districts in 5 regions of Ghana and logistic regression to examine conflicts as a contest for mineral wealth in mining communities, estimates the determinants of conflicts in these mining communities and examines how these contests could erode and/or enhance Ghana’s gains from mining. The paper finds that the likelihood of a conflict occurring in a mining area is about 56.7%. Village effect was found to be a significant positive predictor of mining conflict. Also, improvement in primary education, employment opportunities to community members of ages 25–50, the strength of institutions and the absence of small-scale miners in a mining community reduces the probability of conflicts occurring by 12.8, 35.8, 6.57 and 17.7%, respectively. While an increase in pollution levels increases the likelihood of conflicts occurring by 7.1%, primary occupation in manufacturing and services, and increase in household monthly expenditure significantly increases the likelihood of conflicts within the mining communities as the cost of living increases.
The Economic Impact of Climate Change on Road Infrastructure in Ghana
(Open Access, 2015) Twerefou, D.K.; Chinowsky, P.; Adjei-Mantey, K.; Strzepek, N.L.
This paper estimates the economic impact of climate change on road infrastructure using the stressor-response methodology. Our analysis indicates that it could cumulatively (2020-2100) cost Ghana $473 million to maintain and repair damages caused to existing roads as a result of climate change (no adapt scenario). However, if the country adapts the design and construction of new road infrastructure, expected to occur over the asset's lifespan (adapt scenario), the total cumulative cost could increase to $678.47 million due to the initial costs of adaptation. This investment provides lower costs on a decadal basis later in the infrastructure lifespan. This creates the planning question of whether lower decadal costs in the future are a priority or if minimizing initial costs is a priority. The paper addresses this question through decadal and average annual costs up to the year 2100 for the ten regions, using the potential impacts of 54 distinct potential climate scenarios.
An Economic Valuation of the Kakum National Park: An Individual Travel Cost Approach
(2012) Twerefou, D.K.; Adjei-Ababio, D.
A major problem confronting environmental economists is the difficulty in valuing environmental resources and other public goods such as recreational sites since there are no markets or markets are imperfect in situations where they exist. The Kakum National Park, officially opened in 1994, is one of the most important parks in Ghana that protects a vast rainforest including its bio-diversity, habitats and natural processes, and houses the only Canopy Walkway in Africa which allows visitors to explore a tropical rainforest canopy from suspension bridges. Since the establishment of the Kakum National Park, not much has been done to assess its value to recreationers using the appropriate economic valuation techniques. This study seeks to address these questions by adopting the simple formulation of the individual travel cost method to derive the monetary value of Kakum National Park as well as factors that influence visits to the park using a survey of 246 visitors. Our results indicate that the annual per person value of the site is about 67.28 (US$ 46.40) which translates into an annual aggregate value of 8,481,653.20 (US$ 5,849,416) in 2009. Regression analysis using the zero-truncated negative binomial method indicate that travel cost, gender, knowledge of composite sites are the most important factors that influence visitation to the Park.
The Effect of Trade Liberalization on the Environment: A Case Study of Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2013-06) Appiah-Konadu, P.; Twerefou, D.K.; Tutu, K.
This study seeks to contribute to the emerging economic literature on trade liberalization and the environment in developing countries. Using time series data from 1970 to 2010 obtained from the World Development Indicators (WDI) online database, the study applies least squares multiple regression technique to estimate the effect of trade openness on the environment in Ghana. We estimate the composition, scale and technique effect of trade liberalization on Ghana’s environment using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission and Net Forest Depletion (NFD) as proxies for environmental degradation. Our results indicate that trade liberalization has adverse effect on emissions of carbon dioxide as a result of negative scale and composition effects of trade overriding the positive technique effect of trade. This finding appears to confirm the pollution haven hypothesis. However, the effect of trade liberalization on net forest depletion is favourable as a result of the positive scale and technique effects of trade which outweigh the adverse composition effect. Meanwhile, by testing for and failing to reject the pollution haven hypothesis in the two regression equations, it is suggested that the relocation of pollution intensive industries into Ghana as a result of weak environmental policies could be contributing to Carbon dioxide emissions and the depletion of forest resources in the country. Based on the results we recommend that further trade liberalization policies in Resource- Rich Developing Countries in Africa should be accompanied by strict enforcement of environmental regulations in order to avert the adverse impact of trade on the environment.
Efficiency of household electricity consumption in Ghana
(Energy Policy, 2020-06-16) Twerefou, D.K.; Abeney, J.O.
One explanation that can be associated with the inadequate focus on demand-side management of household electricity consumption is the poor knowledge on consumption inefficiency. This study estimates the efficiency of Ghanaian households’ electricity consumption and factors influencing inefficiency using the energy demand frontier model and data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey. The results indicate that income is inelastic to electricity demand while price elasticity to demand is inversely related. Appliance ownership, number of rooms, location and ecological zones significantly affected electricity demand. The mean efficiency score is 63.0% for the entire sample and, 69.9% and 66.3% for rural and urban households respectively, suggesting the existence of an immense potential for implementation of energy efficiency measures. Factors that negatively influence efficiency included education, ageing and power outages. Households living in bungalows and apartments are less efficient compared to those in compound houses possibly because of selfmonitoring behaviour. Compared to very poor households, poor and non-poor households are less efficient in electricity consumption while public sector employees are less energy efficient compared to the unemployed. Policy choices should focus on standardization of appliances, education on energy efficiency and development of the rural appliance markets through incentives.
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].
Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Evidence from Ghana
(West Africa Monetary Institute (WAMI), Accra, 2007) Twerefou, D.K.; Akoena, S.K.; Agyire-Tettey, F.K.; Mawutor, G.
The causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption represents a widely studied topic in energy economics and interest in this area of research has increased because of global warming, oil price shocks and recent advancement in econometric methodology. Although it is very well known that there is a strong correlation between energy consumption and economic growth, the issue of “causality” still remains unanswered in Ghana. This study aims at investigating the possibility of the “energy demand - led growth” and “growth-driven energy demand” hypotheses in Ghana. Using annual data for the period 1975 - 2006 and the Vector Autoregression model (VAR), the study established that for Ghana, causality runs from economic growth to energy (electricity and petroleum) consumption. Possible explanation for this occurrence could be that in Ghana the major driver of economic growth is the agricultural sector whose energy consumption is low. The household sector consumes majority of electricity generated whiles most of the oil products are consumed by the transport sector. The implication is that, the industrial and service sectors that are supposed to be energy intensive through the use of advanced technologies and the major drivers of economic growth are not energy intensive and rarely drive growth. Rather, the agricultural sector drives growth although its energy consumption is quite minimal. Impulse response analysis revealed that it takes a longer time for shocks in economic growth on energy consumption to return to their long run equilibrium than it is for a shock in energy consumption on economic growth.
Energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from the West African Sub Region
(West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018) Twerefou, D.K.; Iddrisu, K.S.; Twum, E.A.
The availability of reliable energy supply to meet the demand of the growing population in West Africa is important for achieving not only economic growth but also meeting the sustainable development aspirations of the subregion. However, conflicting conclusions have been espoused on the energy-growth nexus with little information on the nexus in the sub-region. In this study we employ the panel cointegration techniques and data on total energy consumption, electricity consumption and petroleum consumption to establish the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth for the seventeen countries in the West African sub region. The results indicate that in the short run, there is no causal relationship running from total energy, electricity and petroleum consumption to growth. However, there is a unidirectional relationship running from growth to electricity consumption indicating that conservation policies in electricity may not have effect on economic growth. In the long run however, electricity and petroleum consumption were found to have a positive and significant impact on growth suggesting that policy choices should focus on enhancing the generation of these types of energy. © 2018, Ecological Laboratory. All rights reserved.
The environmental effects of economic growth and globalization in Sub-Saharan Africa: A panel general method of moments approach
(ELSEVIER, 2017-12) Twerefou, D.K.; Danso-Mensah, K.; Bokpin, G.A,
The study examines the impact of economic growth and globalization on environmental quality and sustainability proxied by carbon dioxide emissions and Adjusted National Savings respectively as well as the satisfaction of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for 36 Sub-Saharan African countries using panel data for the period 1990 to 2013 and the system General Method of Moments estimation technique. The results reveal a positive relationship between economic growth and environmental quality and sustainability. Evidence of the satisfaction of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for both environmental quality and sustainability was also observed. Globalization was found to have a worsening effect on both environmental quality and sustainability and its negative effect outweighs the positive income effects on environmental quality and sustainability. We recommend that Sub-Saharan African countries strengthen their environmental norms in their effort to increase growth and participate in globalization through the use of cleaner technologies and products as well as reducing the depreciation of natural and fixed capital through investments in green infrastructure and nature-based projects while increasing educational expenditure and combating the ecological crises that arise from environmental quality degradation.
Estimating the Cost of Emissions at Toll Booths: Case Study of Tema and Frafraha Toll Booths in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Adu-Ababio, K.; Twerefou, D.K.; Tutu, K.A.; University of Ghana Digital Collections, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences
Global demand for easy mobility is increasing and the environmental impact of transport has become an important concern in transportation network planning and decision-making. As a result suitable methods are required to assess fuel consumption and emissions reduc-tion strategies that seek to improve energy efficiency and decarbonisation. This thesis looks at the contribution of toll plazas to transport CO2 emissions as it is at these specific loca-tions that bottlenecks and congestion usually occur. Using a mechanical formula and an integrated methodology, this study specifically analyses the influence of waiting time at Manual Toll Collection (MTC) stations on energy consumption and subsequent excess CO2 emissions at the Accra/Tema-bound and the Oyibi/Frafraha bound toll plazas in the Greater Accra region of Ghana by considering five vehicle categories. Excess CO2 emissions ob-tained is measured in tons (tCO2) and valued in terms of Carbon Credits to obtain monetary estimates in Dollars. Case studies shows that energy consumption and CO2 emissions are directly related to vehicle mass, engine efficiency, acceleration rate and the amount of waiting time. Articulator/Heavy Trucks records the highest per vehicle excess CO2 emis-sions rate of 2.905 tCO2 and 0.953 tCO2 for the Frafraha and the Tema bound toll plazas respectively whiles the Saloon car category recorded the least per vehicle excess emissions of 0.162 tCO2 and 0.054 tCO2 for the Frafraha and the Tema toll plazas respectively. Cost-ing results also show that Ghana can earn some amount of money in Carbon Credits for all vehicle categories considered. Per vehicle excess CO2 emissions from Articulated/Heavy Trucks values highest - $36.95 and $12.12 at the Frafraha and the Tema toll plazas respec-tively whiles the Saloon car category excess CO2 emissions values least - $2.06 and $0.69 at the Frafraha and the Tema toll plaza respectively. To achieve these monetary gains and ensure transport sustainability, the study suggests that the application of new technologies like the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to toll collection systems is an effective man-agement strategy from an environmental point of view to tackle the issue of excess CO2 emissions at toll plazas.
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 Economics
One 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.
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.
Impact of international trade on the quality of the natural environment: A case study of Ghana from 1970 to 2010
(ResearchGate, 2015) Anaman, K.A.; Twerefou, D.K.; Appiah-Konadu, P.
While trade openness has existed in Ghana since independence in 1957, economic liberalization policies implemented in Ghana starting from April 1983 to present date have led to a significant increase in trade openness. However, the impact of increased trade liberalization on the natural environment still remains unclear. In this work, we estimate the scale, technique and composition effects of trade liberalization on Ghana's environment using carbon dioxide emissions as proxy for environmental degradation and data for the period 1970 to 2010. The results indicate that in the long-run period, international trade has had adverse effects through the increased emissions of carbon dioxide as a result of increasing urbanization. However, increasing per capita income over the period has also reduced emissions of carbon dioxide illustrating the technique effect that increasing wealth of the individual leads to improved demand for higher quality of the environment. Similar results were obtained for the short-run period with the negative scale effect of increasing carbon dioxide emissions from increasing urbanization, and the positive technique effect arising from reduction of emissions from increasing per capita income being observed.
Impact of International Trade on the Quality of the Natural Environment: A Case Study of Ghana from 1970 to 2010
(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2015-06) Twerefou, D.K.; Appiah-Konadu, P.; Anaman, K.A.
While trade openness has existed in Ghana since independence in 1957, economic liberalization policies implemented in Ghana starting from April 1983 to present date have led to a significant increase in trade openness. However, the impact of increased trade liberalization on the natural environment still remains unclear. In this work, we estimate the scale, technique and composition effects of trade liberalization on Ghana's environment using carbon dioxide emissions as proxy for environmental degradation and data for the period 1970 to 2010. The results indicate that in the long-run period, international trade has had adverse effects through the increased emissions of carbon dioxide as a result of increasing urbanization. However, increasing per capita income over the period has also reduced emissions of carbon dioxide illustrating the technique effect that increasing wealth of the individual leads to improved demand for higher quality of the environment. Similar results were obtained for the short-run period with the negative scale effect of increasing carbon dioxide emissions from increasing urbanization, and the positive technique effect arising from reduction of emissions from increasing per capita income being observed.
The impact of macroeconomic risk on asset prices in Ghana, 1997-2002
(African Development Review, 2005-04) Twerefou, D.K.; Nimo, M.K.
The dwindling nature of overseas development assistance in the early part of the 1990s called for the establishment of capital markets in some African countries, including Ghana, with the view to increasing foreign direct investments and achieving sustainable inflows, growth and development. One important factor which affects the determination of prices and the growth of capital markets is macroeconomic risk which is quite high in developing countries. Following works done on advanced stock markets, this study seeks to investigate the impact of six macroeconomic risk factors on asset pricing in the various industrial classification - financial, manufacturing, food and beverages, distribution and mining under the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) for the period January 1997 to December 2002. Using the arbitrage pricing methodology developed by Ross (1976) and Chen et al. (1986), the study revealed that investors in Ghana considered three main macroeconomic risk factors - short-term interest rate risk, inflation risk and the term structure of the country's interest rate in the determination of the various industrial asset prices during the period under consideration. Analysis of the risks and returns profile of the industries also shows that financial assets made the best gains on the market. Both general and specific policy recommendations aimed at improving the performance of the GSE are explored. © African Development Bank 2005. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Impact of stock market development on economic growth: Evidence from selected sub‑Saharan African countries
(Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 2019-03-29) Twerefou, D.K.; Abbey, E.; Codjoe, E.A.; Ngotho, P.S.
This paper examines the impact of stock market development on economic growth in Sub‑Saharan Africa using a balanced panel data of five selected countries over the period 1993 – 2013 and the system generalised method of moments dynamic panel estimation framework. The paper finds a positive impact of stock market development proxied by the turnover ratio of domestic shares and market capitalization on economic growth though minimal. Furthermore, investment, lagged gross domestic product and human capital were found to have a significantly positive impact on growth while trade and foreign direct investment negatively impacted on growth, even though the results for foreign direct investment is not significant in all the models and consequently, not very robust. There should be policy measures aimed at enhancing economic growth using the development of the stocks market as a channel. Such policies should focus on developing the appropriate mix of taxation of investors as well as the development of requisite technology, institutional and regulatory framework that will facilitate an increase in the size and liquidity of the market in the sub‑region.
Income inequality and cooperative propensities in developing economies: Summarizing the preliminary experimental evidence
(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016) Rosenbaum, S.M.; Billinger, S.; Twerefou, D.K.; Isola, W.A.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of income inequality on cooperative propensities, and thus the ability of individuals to resolve collective action dilemmas. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a meta-study of 32 developing country lab experiments correlating cooperative behaviour with prevailing Gini coefficients. Furthermore, the paper conducts standard dictator- and public goods game (PGG) experiments with culturally and demographically similar subject pools in two West African countries characterized by high and persistent variation in national income inequality. Findings The meta-study findings of a significant negative relationship between income inequality and contribution levels in the PGG are corroborated by the own laboratory experimental findings that participants in more unequal Nigeria are significantly less altruistic and exhibit significantly lower propensities to cooperate than their more egalitarian Ghanaian counterparts. Moreover, the latter findings are robust when controlling for personal income levels. Practical implications The findings have nontrivial implications for collective action theorists and practitioners seeking to elicit tacit cooperation in developing countries. Originality/value The major contributions of this paper are the novel meta-analysis and the first attempt to examine the influence of personal income levels on cooperative behaviour in societies characterized by differential levels of income inequality.
Land Tenure Security, Investment and the Environment in Ghana
(Academic Journals, 2011) Twerefou, D.K.; Osei-Assibey, E.; Agyire-Tetteh, F.
Using a nationally representative data obtained from a survey, this study attempts to examine empirically two main issues: first, the causal relationship between land tenure security and investment and secondly, the impact of tenure security (land rights) on environmental degradation. Analysis of the results indicates that investment in farmlands in Ghana is low and appears not to enhance tenure security and that the reverse causation of tenure security enhancing investment seems non-existent. This implies that agricultural investments in the country are not security-induced and that investment is not an important determinant of tenure security. However, tenure security appears to be an incentive for investment in that when endogeneity was not controlled, tenure security had a positive and significant impact on investment though the result is not robust. This implies that farmers with tenure security are more likely to invest in their lands, which may eventually lead to higher productivity. Furthermore, our results indicate that tenure security (land rights) has no significant impact on environmental degradation apart from the destruction of vegetation cover, which appears to be a major environmental problem in Ghana. General and specific policy recommendation aimed at improving tenure security and investment in land are explored.