College of Humanities
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://197.255.125.131:4000/handle/123456789/22150
Browse
2863 results
Search Results
Item Institutions and African Economic Development(Working Paper, 2022) Fosu, A.K.In light of the increasing importance of institutions in economic development and Africa’s desire to catch up, the present paper provides an account of this crucial subject, ‘Institutions and African Economic Development. First, adopting the usual definition of ‘institutions’ as ‘rules of the game’, the paper shows that improvements in economic institutions, such as economic freedom, had begun by the early 1990s, and accelerated about the mid-1990s, consistent with observed improvements in economic and development outcomes. Also improved are measures of political institutions: an index of electoral competitiveness, constraint on the executive branch of government, and polity 2 as an indicator of the level of democracy, beginning in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Second, based primarily on a review of the extant literature, the paper observes that these improvements in the measures of economic and political institutions are positively associated with the increasing economic development in Africa. Third, indicators of institutional instability, measured by the frequency of civil wars and the incidence of coups d’etat, have been diminishing since the early 1990s, with implications for improved growth and human development. Fourth, some evidence is provided in support of the notion that African countries with better performance on institutional quality during the period of growth resurgence have also exhibited greater progress in poverty reduction. Finally, the paper concludes by flagging the potential risk of African countries backtracking on their respective trajectories toward achieving the democratic consolidation required to sustain the gains in growth and development.Item Body size estimation and weight management practices in urban poor communities in Ghana: A cross-sectional study(Journal of Health and Social Sciences, 2020) Frempong, G.A.; Anarfi, J.K.; Badasu, D.M.; Codjoe, S.N.A.Body size perception is a pertinent issue globally due to its implications for weight management. This study examined the influence of body size estimation on weight management behaviors in urban poor areas of Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data among a sample of 395 adults aged 18-70 years. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed for the collection of data on socio-demographic characteristics, weight perceptions, and weight management strategies. Anthropometric measurements were also taken, using standard procedures. Logistic regression models were used to examine relationships among the va variables. Results: More than half (57%) of the total sample was overweight or obese and 56.7% of the participants accurately estimated their body size. Nearly a third (37%) of the participants intended to stay about the same weight, while 29.6% and 11.9% wanted to lose or gain weight, respectively. To achieve their weight management goals, 60.3% of the participants engaged in healthy weight management practices. Body size estimation had no statistically significant relationship with weight management practices. However, the likelihood of engaging in healthy practices increased as age increased (OR = 1.021; 95% CI: 1.000 to 1.042). Individuals who belonged to households of the upper wealth category were less likely than those in lower wealth households to engage in healthy practices (OR = 0.548; CI: 0.330 to 0.911). Community of residence, a community conducive to physical activity and social support also significantly predicted weight management practices. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the importance of age and some socio-environmental factors in public health strategies for weight management.Item Comparison Of Stochastic Frontier Approaches For Estimating National Efficiency: An Application To Sub-Saharan African Countries(Journal Of Economic Development, 2018) Danquah, M.; Ouattara, B.In this paper, we attempt to estimate pure national (technical) efficiency for 19 SSA countries over the 1960-2010 period. In doing this, we compare conventional stochastic frontier models for panel data with several recently developed models that seek to control for unobserved heterogeneity in the inefficiency component. We find that the ‘true’ random effects model that treats unobserved heterogeneity in our national dataset generates more reasonable efficiency estimates. Moreover, the results confirm that most SSA countries operate far from the efficient frontier.Item Deliberation for Development: Ghana ’s First Deliberative Poll(Journal of Deliberative Democracy, 2019) Chirawurah, D.; Bawah, A.; Fishkin, J.; et al.This article poses the problem of public consultation in developing countries and applies a solution in Ghana as a test case. It describes the theoretical rationale for deliberative consultation with random samples, describes specific criteria for success, and then assesses an application under the challenging conditions of a developing country. It builds on notions of “deliberative democracy,” and shows how they can be practically realized in an African context through “Deliberative Polling” (DP). The challenge is that the context is one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest countries in Africa. Rather than consulting just stakeholders, or self-selected populations, or using conventional surveys, DP’s have the advantage of consulting random samples with deliberation in depth in confidential surveys so that the opinion changes can be evaluated at the individual level, free of social pressures for consensus. Is this practical in this context? A DP was conducted in Tamale, Ghana on issues of water, sanitation, hygiene, and food security. Criteria for success for DPs that have been applied in highly developed countries are discussed and then applied in Ghana under challenging conditions.Item Productivity Losses and Firm Responses to Electricity Shortages: Evidence from Ghana(The World Bank Economic Review, 2021) Abeberese, A.B.; Ackah, C.G.; Asuming, P.O.One of the commonly cited obstacles to firms’ operations in developing economies is inadequate access to electricity. This paper explores the impact of electricity outages on firm productivity using arguably exogenous variation in outages, induced by an electricity rationing program, across small and medium-sized Ghanaian manufacturing firms. The results indicate that eliminating outages in this setting could lead to an increase in firm productivity. Further analyses of the strategies firms use to cope with outages show that changing the firm’s product mix to favor less electricity-intensive products mitigates the negative impacts of outages on productivity. However, using a generator, a common strategy in many parts of the world, is unable to insulate firms from the negative impacts of outages on productivity.Item Better decisions for food security? Critical reflections on the economics of food choice and decision-making in development economics(Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2020) Stevano, S.; Codjoe, E.; Johnston, D.With malnutrition recognized as a key public health issue, attention has been placed on how individuals can make better decisions to attain food and nutrition security. Nevertheless, food practice entails a complex set of decisions that are not fully understood. This paper interrogates the focus on food choice by investigating how socio-economic relations shape practices of food provisioning. Given the surge of behavioral approaches in development economics and our focus on a middle-income country, we contextualize food choice in the transformations of the conceptualizations of decision-making in development economics. We draw on mixed-method evidence on food consumption practices among schoolchildren in Accra, Ghana. We find that the food decision-making process is complex in that it entails multiple moments and people, and embodies contradictory motivations. Decisions are negotiated outcomes reflecting social relations of power among the actors involved. Socio-economic inequality fragments the urban food environment and material living conditions. Furthermore, the concentration of capital gives the food industry the power to shape material and cultural relations to food in ways that extraordinarily limit the scope for individual choice. This is a critical case study to understand the contemporary dynamics of malnutrition in the urban Global South, with broader relevance for the analysis of food poverty elsewhere.Item Livestock ownership, household food security and childhood anaemia in rural Ghana(Plos One, 2019) Christian, A.K.; Wilson, M.L.; Aryeetey, R.N.O.; Jones, A.D.The mechanisms through which livestock ownership is associated with childhood anaemia are contested. Using a cross-sectional, community-based survey of 300 households in southern Ghana, we determined the associations of household livestock ownership with anaemia among children aged 2–5 years. Potential mediating effects of animal-source food (ASF) consumption, microbial infections, and household food security were investigated. Data on each child’s anaemia, malaria, and intestinal infections were collected for a subset of 221 households. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin (Hb) concentration <110 g/L. ASF consumption was measured as a count of the number of different ASF types consumed by each child in the week before the interview. Household food security was measured with a 15-item, pre-tested tool adapted from the USDA Household Food Security Core Module. The number of sheep and goats in aggregate was associated with higher odds of a child being anaemic (aOR (95% CI) = 1.10 (1.03, 1.17)). Households owning more free-range poultry had a greater diversity of consumed ASFs among children (Coef. (95% C) = 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)). Owning more pigs was associated with higher odds that a household was food secure (1.05 (0.99, 1.12). We found no evidence that the child’s ASF consumption mediated the association of livestock ownership with child anaemia, however, household food security mediated the association between household pig ownership and child anaemia. Overall, household ownership of livestock was associated with higher ASF consumption among children and improved household-level food security, yet also higher odds of anaemia among those young children. The mechanisms leading to these seemingly counterintuitive relationships require further investigation.Item Factors influencing the use of adequately iodated salt in Ghana(African Journal of Food Science, 2012) Ahiadeke, C.; Ackah, C.; Aryeetey, R.; Acquah, A.Ghana is one of the largest producers of salt in the West African region yet, access to and the use of adequately iodized salt is not widespread. Using the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2006, this paper examined the factors influencing the use of adequately iodized salt in Ghana. Factors that influence the use of adequately iodized salt include knowledge, access to information, and wealth status. Where access to formal education opportunities was not available, access to information through media still served as an important instrument to educate the public and increase the community’s knowledge on the nutritional value of consuming adequately iodized salt. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the cost of iodized salt should be reduced to make it more affordable particularly for the poor since wealth is an important factor influencing the use of adequately iodized salt. Furthermore, monitoring and ensuring enforcement of the law of salt fortification with iodine would help Ghana achieve universal salt iodization.Item ‘Being Ekklēsia’ According To Revelation 2:1 ̶3:22: An Exegetical And Theological Analysis(University of Ghana, 2023) Zotoo, N.M.The Greek word e vkklhsi ,a (congregation, assembly, gathering, ‘church’) designates the community of the followers of Jesus, the extension of his humanity, the locus where it is possible to experience his presence (cf. Matt. 18:20). Christian communities in Ghana have experienced an exponential growth, but they are besieged with two main challenges namely, diversity and fragmentation, and apparent low impact on the Ghanaian society. Their diversity and fragmentation raised a hermeneutic challenge because all appeal to the New Testament to define their identity and mission. Furthermore, their apparent low impact on the morality of Ghanaian society questions their authenticity and relevance. Against this backdrop, the research examined the identity and mission of the e vkklhsi ,a through an exegetical and theological analysis of Rev. 2⸻3. Holladay’s Theological Conversation Model was the theoretical framework that guided the study. The literary unit was analysed using Rhetorical Criticism, following Kennedy’s Rhetorical Criticism model, to discover how the literary unit portrays the identity and mission of the evkklhsi ,a, the rhetorical devices the author used to describe the features of the seven communities, and the perlocutionary effect of the text on its original readers. The research revealed that Rev. 2⸻3 portrayed the church as a spiritual entity created by God’s love (cf. 1:5; cf. Eph. 5:25) and designed to love God as well as love their fellow humans. She participates in the ‘world to come,’ lives in the horizon of the kingdom of God, and should embody its values, principles, and objectives. The e vkklhsi ,a as a ‘human’ entity is on a journey of continuous conversion (semper reformanda), to testify and imitate the Risen Lord, who is the faithful witness (cf. 1:5) and the Lamb who was slain (5:6). Conforming to her Lord, the church will be also persecuted. To impact his readers, the author employed several rhetorical devises such as: recipient formular, graphon imperative, tade legei formular, descriptive phrases about Jesus Christ, knowledge formular, indictment formular, exhortative formular, proclamation formular, promise of victory formular. The perlocutionary effect of the literary unit on the original readers was to offer comfort, and encouragement in time of crisis; to exhort them to persevere during persecution (cf. 2:10; 3:10-12). It urges them to pursue brotherly love, as a defining characteristic of the community of Jesus (cf. 2:5) and resist false teaching (cf. 2:2-3, 14-16, 20-23). It enjoins the churches to live a Christ-centered life and spirituality (cf. 2:20). The study recommends further research to contextualize the findings of this research in specific Christian communities in Ghana; furthermore, there is the need to study the theme of the identity and mission in the entire book of Revelation. Finally, the Christian communities in Ghana should commit to effective Bible training of their leaders and membership, to refocus their identity and mission on what is essential, discipleship of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20), instead of popularized doctrines that are not biblically founded.Item Transmitting An Integrated Ghanaian Storytelling Module In The Classroom: The Case Of The Aŋlɔ-Eʋe(University of Ghana, 2021-10) Tsikata, P.M.Throughout the history of humankind, when there were no written ways of communication, oral communication existed as the norm. And because human beings are historical species they continually engage themselves in the act of telling stories of things that happened, things they see happening and things that will happen. The Almighty God who is the creator of the world, according to Bible, laid the foot-map towards storytelling. For instance God said: let us make man in our own image and likeness. This is God telling us a story of what he wants to do. God began with the oral form of storytelling which he passed unto man and the Bible has become the written story of whatever ensued between God and man. In Ghana, storytelling was a normal ritual for the indigenes after the evening meal, especially. Lessons or morals from folktales help to guide children grow up as upright and responsible members of the society. Educational institutions have also been using storytelling as a tool for the transmission and sharing of knowledge and values, this is because it is a natural and powerful technique to communicate and exchange knowledge and experiences. Music and dance in traditional storytelling, which is the focus of this study, serves as a dynamic tool in the transmission of indigenous knowledge, skills, values and virtues. Therefore, this thesis examines Aŋlɔ-Eʋe traditional storytelling and other accompanied art forms such as music, drumming and dancing. Its purpose is to research how the traditional module of storytelling in the classroom can help the Ghanaian child in his/her development. This thesis will also look at the advantages of local language use in classroom storytelling over English Language in the development of literacy skills among the children.