Research Articles
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A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The faculty publications through published and on-going articles/researches are captured in this community
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Item Effect of HIV/AIDS on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recent Evidence(International Advances in Economic Research, 2019-11-26) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Abubakari, M.; Baffour, P.T.This paper examines the effect of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using data from 46 SSA countries spanning the period 2000–2015. Results based on the system-generalized method of moments estimation showed that a 1% increase in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in SSA decreased the growth in per capita income by 0.47%. The impact of HIV/AIDS on economic growth was felt most in Eastern Africa followed by West Africa, although the prevalence rate was highest in Southern Africa. In particular, a 1% increase in the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa and West Africa retarded growth in per capita income by 0.64% and 0.47%, respectively, over the study period. The paper suggests that for SSA to minimize the impact of HIV/AIDS prevalence on growth, African governments should take a cue from the southern African countries by making anti-retroviral drugs more accessible and affordable to persons living with the disease.Item MSIS 2016: What are we teaching in Sub-Saharan Africa?(Association for Information Systems, 2019-08-17) Kevor, M.O.; Boateng, R.; Awuni, E.K.Organisations tend to increasingly prefer graduates with substantial competencies to reduce the cost of on-the-job training and to ensure a seamless transition from the classroom to the workplace. It is imperative that universities meet these organisational demands by developing innovative curricula. The Joint Taskforce of the Association of Computing Machines and the Association for Information Systems developed an information systems (IS) curriculum model to guide institutions’ degree programmes. The extent to which this model is adopted has been studied largely in the context of undergraduate programmes in the UK and US, and little research has been done in other regions. Thus, this paper empirically provides evidence of the nature of graduate IS programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa and assesses their adherence to the broad categories of competencies proposed in the MSIS 2016 through a direct survey of top universities. We found among others that, non-adherence to the MSIS 2016 is common.Item Service recovery satisfaction in offline and online experiences(Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2019-11-19) Hinson, R.E.; Odoom, R.; Agbemabiese, G.C.Purpose – Given that the peculiar nature of the internet has introduced new dimensions of service delivery as well as new dimensions of service failures and recovery, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the relationships between recovery strategies and recovery satisfaction within offline and online settings. Design/methodology/approach – Data for the empirical tests of our hypotheses were collected via offline and online (specifically Facebook and Twitter) samples of customers who have experienced some form of service failure and recovery measures from service providers within the past year. Findings – The results indicate that recovery strategies largely influence recovery satisfaction among aggrieved customers. However, these are conditional and not invariant across the two settings. In the authors’ offline setting, in particular, apology did not show a statistically significant impact on recovery satisfaction, even though, along with compensation and explanation, this relationship was significant among the online sample. Originality/value – The study offers practical implications for service managers within emerging economies on the various conditions where they can maximise their service recovery efforts (both offline and online) to generate optimum recovery satisfaction.Item Challenging formal accountability processes in community natural resource management in Sub-Saharan Africa(GeoJournal, 2019-06-28) Siakwah, P.; Musavengane, R.Africa is endowed with vast natural resources. It is equally labelled a cursed continent due to a plethora of conflicts emanating from the use and sharing of gains from these natural resources. For the past decades, accountability has been thought of as an anecdote to natural resources conflicts. However, these challenges have persisted across the Sub-Saharan African region. Using Ghana and South African communities, the study revisits the relationship between accountability of natural resources and community development with the aim to strengthen accountability processes in Africa. The paper revealed that accountability in natural resources management should extend beyond reports and opinions of the technocrats, bureaucrats, experts and political elites. We argue that accountability should be participatory, inclusive, and embody elements of trust and social justices. It therefore proposes the adoption of negotiated accountability, to strengthen the governance of natural resources in Africa. Negotiated accountability should holistically address four main accountability elements: the normative, relational, decisional and behavioural element.Item A Literature Review of Mobile Payments in Sub-Saharan Africa(International Working Conference on Transfer and Diffusion of IT, 2019-05-19) Boateng, R.The influx of mobile technologies during 1990’s saw to the purchase of mobile phones and subsequently mobile terminals in the form of tablets, PDAs among others. The trend in adoption has seen increasing hikes and drastic impact on business transactions also recorded. Mobile payments have emerged as one of the electronic payment platforms that are creating convenience for many consumers. In order to strengthen the field and to examine the knowledge gap over a decade (2007–2017), a review of literature was opportune. Hence 37 studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa were retrieved, classified based on TOE framework and Porter’s five competitive forces. The thematic areas identified based on the framework were reviewed. In addition, geographical cover, methodological issues, conceptual frameworks and gaps identified for further studies were also studied. The analysis showed that, similar to earlier findings; Changes in technology, merchant adoption and consumer adoption have been well researched into with grey areas like traditional payment systems, socio-cultural factors that affect implementation of mobile payment system. The research gaps and direction of future research were discussed.Item Major subpopulations of Plasmodium falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa(Science, 2019-08-23) Amenga-Etego, L.; Amambua-Ngwa, A.; Kamau, E.; Amato, R.; Ghansah, A.; Golassa, L.; Randrianarivelojosia, M.; Ishengoma, D.; Apinjoh, T.; Maïga-Ascofaré, O.; Andagalu, B.; Yavo, W.; Bouyou-Akotet, M.; Kolapo, O.; Mane, K.; Worwui, A.; Jeffries, D.; Simpson, V.; D’Alessandro, U.; Kwiatkowski, D.; Djimde, A.A.Understanding genomic variation and population structure of Plasmodium falciparum across Africa is necessary to sustain progress toward malaria elimination. Genome clustering of 2263 P. falciparum isolates from 24 malaria-endemic settings in 15 African countries identified major western, central, and eastern ancestries, plus a highly divergent Ethiopian population. Ancestry aligned to these regional blocs, overlapping with both the parasite’s origin and with historical human migration. The parasite populations are interbred and shared genomic haplotypes, especially across drug resistance loci, which showed the strongest recent identity-by-descent between populations. A recent signature of selection on chromosome 12 with candidate resistance loci against artemisinin derivatives was evident in Ghana and Malawi. Such selection and the emerging substructure may affect treatment-based intervention strategies against P. falciparum malaria.Item Inflammatory bowel disease at Korle-bu teaching hospital: case reports(Ghana Medical Journal, 2000-03) Nkrumah, K.N.Inflammatory bowel disease is regarded as uncommon or even rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. Four cases documented at The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital between June 1997 and May 1998 are described and the literature briefly reviewed.Item 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.Item Understanding the role of culture and gender stereotypes in women entrepreneurship through the lens of the stereotype threat theory(Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 2019-08-23) Adom, K.; Anambane, G.Purpose – This paper aims to explore the role of culture and gender stereotypes in the entrepreneurial journey of women entrepreneurs. It specifically focuses on women entrepreneurs in the Nabdam district of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted the qualitative approach and collected data from 20 women entrepreneurs in the Nabdam district in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews which were analysed according to identified themes. Findings – The key finding of the study is that culture, through gender stereotypes, acts as a “push” motivational factor of women entrepreneurship and breeds more necessity-driven women entrepreneurs than opportunity-driven ones. However, gender stereotyping is found to be a bane to entrepreneurial success of several women-owned enterprises. Due to gender stereotypes, countless women entrepreneurs are skeptical about venturing into “unknown sector” sectors not familiar and operating larger businesses that are likely to yield more profits. Originality/value – Currently, there is less research on entrepreneurship and culture/gender stereotypes until now in Ghana, and this study seeks to bridge this gap. The results are discussed linking what is pertaining in other economic landscapes, thus avoiding just national perspectives. This is the first known study conducted in the study area that looks at entrepreneurship through the lens of culture-gender stereotypes. Keywords: Culture, Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa, Women entrepreneurship, Female entrepreneurship, Gender stereotypesItem Evaluation of the Association Between Health State Utilities and Obesity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health Wave 2(Value in Health, 2019-06-13) Biritwum, R.B.; Lartey, S.T.; Si, L.; De Graaff, B.; Magnussen, C.G.; Ahmad, H.; Campbell, J.; Minicuci, N.; Kowal, P.; Palmer, A.J.Background: Obesity is a major public health challenge and its prevalence has increased across the age spectrum from 1980 to date in most parts of the world including sub-Saharan Africa. Studies that derive health state utilities (HSUs) stratified by weight status to support the conduct of economic evaluations and prioritization of cost-effective weight management interventions are lacking in sub-Saharan Africa. Objectives: To estimate age- and sex-specific HSUs for Ghana, along with HSUs by weight status. Associations between HSUs and overweight and obesity will be examined. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey of the Ghanaian population. Methods: Data were sourced from theWorld Health Organization Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health (WHO SAGE), 2014 to 2015. Using a “judgment-based mapping” method, responses to items from the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life (WHOQOL-100) used in the WHO SAGE were mapped to EQ-5D-5L profiles, and the Zimbabwe value set was applied to calculate HSUs. Poststratified sampling weights were applied to estimate mean HSUs, and a multivariable linear regression model was used to examine associations between HSUs and overweight or obesity. Results: Responses from 3966 adults aged 18 to 110 years were analyzed. The mean (95% confidence interval) HSU was 0.856 (95% CI: 0.850, 0.863) for the population, 0.866 (95% CI: 0.857, 0.875) for men, and 0.849 (95% CI: 0.841, 0.856) for women. Lower mean HSUs were observed for obese individuals and with older ages. Multivariable regression analysis showed that HSUs were negatively associated with obesity (20.024; 95% CI: 20.037, 20.011), female sex (20.011; 95% CI: 20.020, 20.003), and older age groups in the population. Conclusions: The study provides HSUs by sex, age, and body mass index (BMI) categories for the Ghanaian population and examines associations between HSU and high BMI. Obesity was negatively associated with health state utility in the population. These data can be used in future economic evaluations for Ghana and sub-Saharan African populations.