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Despite more than a decade of the Safe Motherhood Initiative in Ghana, access and utilisation levels of modern healthcare services by expecting mothers remain very low, even though considerable progress has been made over time. Using Andersen's behavioural model (1968, 1995) as the conceptual framework, the study examines, with data from Ghana DHS (GSS and MI, 1999), user-related social, economic and demographic factors that influence access and utilisation of safe motherhood services. The bivariate and multivariate analyses reveal that education of mother and spouse, regional location of residence and socioeconomic status exert the strongest impact and are significant in predicting the use of safe motherhood services and thus differentials in health among expecting mothers. The implications of these results for improved maternal healthcare are discussed.

Between 1987 and 1999, Ghana's privatisation programme generated revenues for the government equivalent to about 14 per cent of GDP from a moribund public sector which had previously been dependent on state subventions, and thus succeeded in fulfilling a key role in easing the fiscal crisis and in fostering the Structural Adjustment Programme. The big question remained, however, whether the privatisation process would help the growth of Ghana's economy and help maximise political gains. This article reviews the experience of Ghana in privatising public enterprises, and assesses the impact of the ongoing privatisation programme on the Ghanaian economy. It suggests that, in spite of the high proceeds, the net direct revenues from privatisation have been relatively modest, due to the high outstanding credit sales, the high costs of divestiture and high outstanding liabilities of privatised firms. It also appears that the programme has placed too much emphasis on public finance rationalisation and faith in the market system, and too little on sociopolitical and regulatory issues. Equally, the inadequate attention given to post-privatisation regulation of privatised businesses, and the use of the divestiture programme as a political patronage instrument to reward the regime's friends and political insiders, has conferred limited success for privatisation in achieving its goal of enhancing efficiency, private sector investment and employment.

AbstractWe study how the allocation of resources impacts localised crime rates. Recent studies on the effects of Chinese aid in Africa have increased rapidly, and this paper contributes by showing the mechanism by which aid increases crime. Using a geo‐referenced dataset of subnational allocation of Chinese projects, geographically matched with 145 701 respondents of four rounds of Afrobarometer surveys from 36 African countries, we use a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference (DDD) approach and an instrumental variable (IV) identification strategy to account for endogeneity and capture the effect of living near projects under implementation before or after a survey against those with no projects. We find that Chinese aid projects significantly increased crime rates in the immediate locations where the projects were implemented. The main channel of effect is the increased local economic activities leading to the availability of employable opportunities. There is a similar but smaller magnitude of the effect regarding projects funded by other donor agencies.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ghana have a history of being short-lived. However, Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Ghana, on the other hand has achieved notable success by impacting millions of lives over 50 years of working in Ghana. Apparently, this research investigates into the key financial management practices of NGOs in Ghana using the case of YMCA Ghana. The study revealed that, the quality of Financial Management staff and their responsibility are the most effective financial management indicator in YMCA Ghana amongst all the other well-functioning indicators. Nevertheless, it is evident in the study that the challenge YMCA Ghana faces in its financial management practice is irregular external audit review of financial and accounting data. Therefore, it is recommended that frequent subscription for external audit services should be established in NGOs and also, cost effective monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) programme management framework should be adopted by NGOs in Ghana.

Using quantitative measures including Gini coefficient, standard deviation and years of schooling and Lorenz curves the study looks at inequality of access to educational opportunities by various groups including males and females in various ecological zones in Ghana over time. The study finds evidence of declining education inequality and increases in average years of schooling over time similar to that observed in other developing countries. It, however, finds an increase in the already existing wide education gender-gab, in spite of the emphasis on girl child education under the country's economic reform, which was introduced in 1983. (DÜI-Sbd)