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Item Environmental legislation in Ghana: Quantitative comparison between military and civilian regimes(Indian Journal of Environmental Protection, 2001-01) Domfeh, K.A.The purpose of this paper was to identify the extent which environmental issues were considered on the priority agenda of Ghana's Legislative Assembly from 1993 - 98. In doing so, an overview of some statutory environmental laws passed by both the immediate past military regime were undertaken. The civilian constitutional administration of the 1990s has more than its immediate military predecessor of the 1980s, demonstrated that legal conditions that safegaurd investments in conservation, foster improved resource use, and guarantee access to resources area prerequisite for sound, local resource management.Item Corporate liquidity management of listed firms in Ghana(Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 2009-09) Isshaq, Z.; Bokpin, G.A.Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate liquidity management of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) with the aim of ascertaining the determinants of corporate liquidity holdings. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a dynamic panel model where a lagged dependable variable is introduced as an explanatory variable. Annual data from the annual reports and financial statements of the firms together with the ITGSE Factbook/IT are used in the gathering of data spanning 1991-2007. The Arrellano-Bond estimator is used which incorporates the Sargan test for over identification. Findings Leverage is found to be not significant to Ghanaian-listed firms' liquidity demand perhaps due to the developmental stage of the financial market. However, liquidity is found to be statistically significantly influenced by a target liquidity level, size of the firm, return on assets and net working capital. Originality/value This is the first of its kind in the country despite the numerous studies carried out on the GSE. © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.Item The development of a scale measuring consumers' selection of retail banks in Ghana(Journal of African Business, 2009-09) Blankson, C.; Mbah, C.H.N.; Owusu-Frempong, L.Y.Ghana, one of the fastest growing liberalized developing economies in Africa, has, in recent years, established a nationwide rural bank system and has witnessed an increase in the entry of foreign retail banks. Although there are increased activities and interest about bank offerings and bank-customer relationships in Ghana (Dadzie, Akaah, and Dunson, 1989), to date, researchers have overlooked the factors underpinning consumers' selection criteria of retail banks in Ghana (Owusu-Frimpong, 1999). This exploratory research complements extant studies on retail bank selection by developing a scale providing insights into consumers' selection of retail banks in Ghana. The results identify three key factors, namely, "competence," "recommendation by parents," and "free banking/no bank charges" that are important in the decisions and selection of retail banks. The reliability and validity of the scale were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Conclusions, managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.Item A baseline study of Ghanian microfinance institutions(Journal of African Business, 2009-09) Aboagye, A.Q.Q.We conducted a baseline study of the historical performance of 34 rural and community banks (RCBs), 27 credit unions (CUs), and 2 savings and loans companies (S&Ls), which are licensed microfinance institutions in Ghana, for future comparisons. The study also investigated their potential for long-term survival. The RCBs and CUs were drawn from five political administrative regions. We found that RCBs and CUs have done reasonably well. Regional differences, however, exist in the performance of both RCBs and CUs, and there are significant differences in performance of RCBs vis-a-vis CUs. Both have good potential for long-term survival, but CU appears to be better positioned. We identified disparate levels of performance and future potential between the two S&Ls studied.Item An empirical analysis of the determinants of corporate investment decisions: Evidence from emerging market firms(International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 2009-11) Bokpin, G.A.; Onumah, J.M.The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of macroeconomic and financial market development on corporate investment decisions. The study adopts a dynamic panel data model using the Arellano and Bond (1991), the Difference GMM method. The findings revealed that the impact of macroeconomic and financial market development on corporate investment decisions was decidedly mixed depending on the measurement of the variables. Whilst stock market development and bank size are not significant in influencing corporate investment decisions, bond market development is significant in predicting corporate investment decisions. GDP per capita is significantly negative in predicting corporate investment decisions. Firm level factors such as past investment, profitability, firm size, growth opportunities available to firms and free cash flow are all significant in determining corporate investment decisions. The results of the study generally support existing literature on the impact of financial market development, macroeconomic variables and certain firm level factors on corporate investment decisions. The main value of this paper is to consider broad based approach to analysing the determinants of corporate investment decisions from emerging market context. © Euro Journals Publishing, Inc. 2009.Item Macroeconomic uncertainty and conditional stock-price volatility in frontier African markets: Evidence from Ghana(Journal of Risk Finance, 2009-08) Adjasi, C.K.D.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on stock-price volatility in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The method of analysis is in two stages. The first stage estimates univariate volatility models for each macroeconomic variable; namely consumer price index (proxy for inflation), exchange rate, money supply, interest rates, oil price, gold price, and cocoa price using the exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model. In the second stage volatility effect of macroeconomic variables on stock prices is estimated using the most recent squared residuals from the mean-conditional variance of macroeconomic variables as exogenous variables in the conditional variance equation of the stock price. Findings – The results show that higher volatility in cocoa prices and interest rates increases volatility of the stock prices, whilst higher volatility in gold prices, oil prices, and money supply reduces volatility of stock prices. Originality/value – This paper departs from previous studies on African markets, by incorporating time-varying volatility characteristics of stock returns and further examining the effect of conditional volatility of macroeconomic variables on the volatility of stock. It also incorporates the effect of external macroeconomic uncertainties from oil and commodity price shocks. © 2009, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Item Corporate governance, disclosure and foreign share ownership on the Ghana Stock Exchange(Managerial Auditing Journal, 2009-07) Bokpin, G.A.; Isshaq, Z.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between corporate disclosure and foreign share ownership on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). Design/methodology/approach: The paper follows the trinary procedure of Aksu and Kosedag and uses the Standard & Poor's transparency and disclosure items in the construction of the disclosure index. Therefore, the paper adopts a panel data analysis covering a period from 2002 to 2007 using the seemingly unrelated regression approach. Findings: The results indicate a statistically significant interaction between corporate disclosures and foreign share ownership among the sample firms. The market value of equity and market-to-book value ratio is documented; free cash flow and financial leverage have statistically significant relationships with foreign share ownership. Originality/value: This is the first of its kind in the country that considers the impact of corporate governance and disclosure on foreign share ownership despite the numerous studies carried out on the GSE. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Item Explaining the market power of Ghanaian banks(South African Journal of Economics, 2009-02) Aboagye, Q.Q.A.; Akoena, S.K.; Antwi-Asare, T.O.; Gockel, A.F.A competitive banking system helps lower transaction costs and risks. It also helps make financial markets more efficient. In Ghana however, observers believe that the banking industry is not competitive and point to the huge spread between bank lending and borrowing rates as evidence. The Ghanaian banking industry is analysed for evidence of market power by computing the Lerner Index of banks using quarterly data from 2001 to 2006. The evidence is that Ghanaian banks possess market power. Factors that significantly explain the market power of Ghanaian banks are: bank size, efficiency of banks with respect to staff costs, the macroeconomic environment and time. © Journal compilation © 2008 The Economic Society of South Africa.Item Male-female differences in the genetic regulation of t-PA and PAI-1 levels in a Ghanaian population(Human Genetics, 2008-11) Schoenhard, J.A.; Asselbergs, F.W.; Poku, K.A.; Stocki, S.A.; Gordon, S.; Vaughan, D.E.; Brown, N.J.; Moore, J.H.; Williams, S.M.Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) directly influence thrombus formation and degradation, and have been identified as risk factors for thromboembolic disease. Prior studies investigated determinants of t-PA and PAI-1 expression, but mainly in Caucasian subjects. The aim of this study was to identify the contributions of genetic and other factors to inter-individual variation in plasma levels of t-PA and PAI-1 in a large-scale population-based sample from urban West Africa. t-PA, PAI-1 and several demographic, anthropometric, and metabolic parameters were measured in 992 residents of Sunyani, the capital of the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. In addition, nine gene polymorphisms associated with components of the renin-angiotensin and fibrinolytic systems were determined. We found that BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, glucose, and triglycerides were all significant predictors of t-PA and PAI-1 in both females and males. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the PAI-1 4G/5G (rs1799768) polymorphism on PAI-1 levels in females, the TPA I/D (rs4646972) polymorphism on t-PA and PAI-1 in males, the renin (rs3730103) polymorphism on t-PA and PAI-1 in males, the ethanolamine kinase 2 (rs1917542) polymorphism on PAI-1 in males, and the renin (rs1464816) polymorphism on t-PA in females and on PAI-1 in males. This study of urban West Africans shows that t-PA and PAI-1 levels are determined by both genetic loci of the fibrinolytic and renin-angiotensin systems and other factors often associated with cardiovascular disease, and that genetic factors differ between males and females. © Springer-Verlag 2008.Item Implementing decentralised management in Ghana: The experience of the Sekyere West District health administration(Leadership in Health Services, 2008) Bowerman, J.; Sakyi, K.E.Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers to the implementation of management decentralisation of health services and programmes at district level in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Data for the study were collected through a qualitative technique in the Sekyere West district. Findings The findings are: transfer of authority for management decision making and planning was rarely operational at district level; and control over financial and personnel decisions remained centralised. The paper identified lack of staff capacity, lack of commitment and interorganisational conflict between health managers and local government officials as factors obstructing the implementation of management decentralisation in the district. Originality/value The lesson from the study is that the implementation of health care management decentralisation at district level has stalled because of the combined effect of internal and external constraints. The paper suggests that given the enormity of the problem of paucity of capacity to undertake new service management responsibilities, the process of transferring responsibilities, resources and control to lower level health managements should be gradual and incremental; the sequencing of reform too should be such that district health officers and stakeholders are given adequate training prior to the inauguration of new management reform. © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited