Department of Economics
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Item Household structure and child outocmes: School enrolment and labour force participation of fostered children in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Asuman, D.; Boakye-Yiadom, L.; Owoo, N.S.Children are an integral part of cultural and economic setting of households in Ghana. As such, their welfare outcomes are of a primary concern to the household and the development aspirations of the nation. Child fostering, the practice by which children reside in households where neither parent is present is pervasive in most societies of West Africa. Data from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey suggest that approximately 14% of individuals less than sixteen years old reside in households where neither parent is present. The practice of fostering also has important implications for economic studies that have attempted to establish the determinants of child welfare outcomes in societies where the prevalence of fostering is high. This study examines the relationship between household structure and child outcomes by assessing the determinants of school enrolment and labour force participation of primary school age fostered children in Ghana. The study further examines the role of the biological relationship between a child and the caregiver and the school enrolment and market production decisions concerning fostered children. Applying the bivariate probit model to the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, the study finds that the personal characteristics of the fostered child (age, gender and relationship to the head of household) are significant determinants of welfare outcomes of fostered children. Characteristics of the head of household particularly the educational attainment of the household head is a strong predictor of the school and labour market outcomes of fostered children. Household demographic characteristics do not exhibit significant influences of the household decisions concerning fostered children; whilst an index of household income suggests that improvements in household income leads to better child outcomes. A key policy recommendation that arises from this study is the need for public programmes and policies that are targeted at improving the welfare outcomes of children taking into account the high mobility of children between households in GhanaItem Fiscal and monetary policy dynamism in the Sub-Saharan Africa frontier markets(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Boateng, S.S.; Abbey, E.N.This paper investigates the relationship between fiscal and monetary policies on economic growth using countries within the Sub-Saharan Africa Frontier Markets (SSAFMs). In other words, the paper explors the dynamism of fiscal and monetary policy on economy growth in the Sub-Saharan Frontier Markets (SSAFMs). A balanced panel of five countries in the SSAFMs, for a period of 28 years (1985-2012), were used for the estimation. The Granger Causality test as well as the causality testing procedure due Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H) was used to establish causalities. To analyze the relationship between fiscal and monetary policy measures on growth the pooled mean group (PM G) estimates and the mean group (MG) estimator results were computed. The study finds that that monetary policy (Granger) causes fiscal policy; stated differently, monetary policy has been the dominant force accommodating the challenging fiscal stance in the SSAFM. Future studies could focus on the effect of macro-prudential policies on economic growth. It is recommended that appropriate monetary policies could be used to address the vulnerabilities that may arise out of the integration of the SSAFMS into the global financial market. The main value of this paper is to empirically project the dynamism of fiscal and monetary policy on economy growth in the Sub-Saharan Frontier Markets (SSAFMs)Item Financial inclusion and technical change: An empirical evidence from Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Abbey, E.N.; Dzeha, G.D.; Boateng, S.S.This paper investigates the linkage between technical change and financial inclusion in Ghana. This study employs logistic regression model using micro-data from the Global Findex Database to examine the extent of relation between technical change and financial inclusion in Ghana. The study finds that that technical change is not sufficient in activating financial inclusion. What is important for financial inclusion are such factors as; improving financial literacy, reducing cost or introduce costless account opening, boasting financial sector confidence and inspire financial institution to introduce banking products that meet the need(s) of those financially excluded. Hence the study concludes that a lot more needs to be done for such technical changes to trigger financial inclusion in Ghana since this has important macroeconomic implication for long term economic growthItem Energy consumption intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence and policies(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Aboagye, S.; Nketiah-Amponsah, E.The aftermath of the 1970 oil price shock coupled with rapid urbanization, rising population, industrialization and increased environmental degradation in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), have necessitated a shift of emphasis from energy consumption to a thorough investigation into energy consumption intensity. This notwithstanding, the evidence remains sparse for SSA as literature has not adequately examined the effects of SSA's economic growth process on energy intensity in the region and this is what the study addresses using a panel dataset from 1980-2010 covering 36 SSA countries. A system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimation confirmed the existence of a U-shaped economic growth-energy consumption intensity nexus in SSA. Additionally, both urbanization and industrialization are found to increase energy consumption intensity while the contrary existed for FDI and trade. Inflation was not found to include the drivers of energy consumption intensity. Against these we discuss some policy options.Item The economic growth-environmental sustainability nexus in developing countries: Some evidence from Sub Sahara Africa(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Aboagye, S.Ensuring environmental sustainability amidst the quest to stimulate growth in SSA remains an issue of great concern and therefore considered extremely important in contemporary growth agenda in many developing countries. Notwithstanding these, the evidence for SSA remains very sparse, as literature has not adequately examined the effects of SSA's economic growth process on environment sustainability in the region. Using a panel dataset from 1980-2010 covering 28 SSA countries and employing environmental pollution, degradation and sustainability indices, this study examines the environmental impact of economic growth within the standard Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) framework. Estimation by the system Generalized Method of Moment confirmed the existence of the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) hypothesis for environmental sustainability and degradation measured respectively by Adjusted Net Savings and energy consumption but was not confirmed for environmental pollution as the findings were not supported by data on C02 e missions. Additionally, greater openness to trade was associated with a fall in both pollution and environment sustainability but for urbanization the contrary was found to exist. Furthermore, industrialization was also found to unambiguously harm the environment while the converse was established for FDI. These findings have stern theoretical and policy implications for the economic growth-environmental sustainability nexus in SSA and further cast doubts on validity of the EKC for C02 especially for SSA. Following this evidence we discuss some policy optionsItem The impact of the national health insurance Scheme on the productivity of cassava farmers in Ghana: evidence from the central and eastern Regions(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Awuku, M.O.; Nketiah- Amponsah, E.; Osei- Akoto, I.Health insurance is a humanitarian and affordable way of financing health care services to all. With the main aim of NHIS being the provision of easy. equitable access to health care especially in the rural areas and also the fact that every citizen is taxed with an NHIS levy. it is expected that most. if not all. of the citizens in the country especially the rural areas will enrol. But this is not so. especially among the poorest quintile in most studies. The study therefore estimates the factors that influence the decision to participate. the impact of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on cassava productivity as well as ranking of the constraints to NHIS participation of farmers in the Ayensuano district and Mfantsiman municipal in the Eastern and Central regions of Ghana respectively. The study employed the logit. propensity score matching and the Garret ranking techniques for its analyses. Results from the study reveals that participation in NHIS increases farmers' productivity by approximately 15 bags of cassava per the production year. The significant factors that determine participation in NHIS include income. social capital. gender. health status. awareness. religion. extension contact and distance. Delay in the issue of health insurance cards is the main problem faced by farmers in the study area. The study recommends that the N H IS which is mandatory by law should be enforced on the whole population especially on farmers.Item Explaining regional fertility variations in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Owoo, N.S.Ghana's current population is about 24.2 million, and given the current population growth rate of 2.4%, Ghana's population is expected to double in about 29 years. Although fertility rates in Ghana have declined from 6.4 to 4 children per woman between 1988 and 2008, this transition has not been homogenous across all regions of Ghana. Fertility rates remain higher in the northern regions of the country, compared to the southern regions. This paper examines explanations for the regional fertility variations- particularly the persistently high fertility rates observed in the northern regions-paying particular attention to the contribution of socioeconomic, cultural and religious factors, and fertility attitudes among women in explaining this phenomenon. In order to capture the most recent fertility variations in the country, the paper uses the most recent round (2008) of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, and employs a Poisson multivariate estimation technique. Results indicate that regional differences in fertility are largely explained by socioeconomic factors such as urbanization, child mortality, education and household wealth. Cultural and religious factors also explain some of the observed variation between the Northern region and the southern regions. The inclusion of the duration of post-par tum amenorrhea and other proximate determinants in the model specifications significantly explains residual differences in fertility outcomes, particularly among the three northern regions. Findings therefore indicate a need for more region-specific policy targeting in the effort to reduce high fertility rates and ease the growth in population.