The external debt burden of many developing countries has increased their borrowing risk and interest charges on loans. The 2007–2008 global financial crisis exposed the vulnerability of developing countries' dependence on the international financial market (IFM). Given the uncertainty and higher borrowing risk, which limit access to external funds, it has become necessary that developing countries increase their internally generated revenue through taxation to facilitate growth and development. For effective distributive effect of tax policy, the tax burden ought to be optimal. This study estimates the optimal tax rate that maximises the economic growth for Ghana, using quarterly data from 2007 to 2017. Based on Scully's model, the study concludes that for the economy to grow at an average rate of 8.88% instead of the current 6.25%, the optimal tax rate should be raised from the current 15.30% to 27.69%. For policy purposes, the study highlights the implication of ensuring efficiency in revenue mobilisation through taxation.
AbstractThis article examined the impact of financial inclusion on rural–urban households' welfare inequality in Ghana using nationally representative survey data sourced from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey. The article used a multidimensional financial exclusion index and the real per adult equivalent measures of total annual household consumption expenditure as measures of financial inclusion and welfare, respectively. The article employed the instrumental variable estimation technique to account for the issues of endogeneity and sample selectivity bias associated with measuring financial inclusion. The estimated results from recentered influenced function‐Ordinary Least Squares of the unconditional quantile regression and the Oaxaca‐Blinder techniques show significant rural–urban welfare gaps in favor of urban households at the mean and across the selected quantiles. The study also found that differences in financial inclusion between rural and urban households contribute significantly to the welfare gaps, while the economic returns to financial inclusion reduce the welfare gaps both at the mean and the selected quantiles. The study recommends that policies aimed at improving financial inclusion as well as strengthening financial institutions in rural areas be put in place to help reduce the rural–urban welfare inequality in Ghana.
AbstractThe proponents of globalization claim that economic globalization (EGLO) is a catalyst for women's economic empowerment (WEE), whereas the opponents of EGLO are of the view that it is detrimental to WEE, especially in developing countries, as it can exacerbate preexisting inequality. This study has examined the impact of EGLO on WEE from 2005 to 2020 for 45 African countries. The analysis disaggregated the EGLO variable into trade and financial globalizations to examine their individual impact on WEE. The system generalized method of moments is used as the estimation technique. The results show that overall EGLO, trade globalization and financial globalizations significantly promote WEE. Furthermore, the paper reveals that female labour force participation and human development expedite WEE. The results obtained from the analyses of the segregated data – official English and non‐English speaking countries – are consistent with the aggregated data. Given these findings, this paper sheds light on how WEE could be enhanced on the African continent. Promoting WEE has the potential to expedite the achievement of some of the sustainable development goals.
PurposeThis paper has examined the effectiveness of foreign aid on Ghanaian economy under different political regimes.Design/methodology/approachUsing vector error correction and co-integration models on the annual data set over a period of 35 years, the authors demonstrate that foreign aid has had varied impacts on economic growth depending on the political ideology of the government in power.FindingsWith capitalist political philosophy, foreign aid improves private sector growth through infrastructural development. On the other hand, a government with socialist philosophy applies most of its foreign aid in direct social interventions with the view of improving human capital. Thus, each political party is likely to seek foreign aid/grant that will support its political agenda. Overall, the results show that foreign aid has a positive impact on the growth of the Ghanaian economy when there is good macroeconomic environment.Practical implicationsThis implies that the country experiences economic growth when there are sound economic policies to apply foreign aid.Originality/valueThe practical implication of the findings of this paper is that donor countries and agencies should consider the philosophy of the government in power while granting aid to recipient countries, especially in Africa. The results are robust to different proxies and models.
In the past 15 or so years, the "evidence-based medicine" (EBM) framework has become increasingly institutionalized, facilitating its transfer across the globe. In the late 1990s, the basic principles of EBM began to have a marked influence in a number of non-clinical public policy arenas. Policy-makers working in these areas are now being urged to move away from developing policies according to political ideologies to a more legitimate approach based on "scientific fact," a process termed "evidence-based policy-making" (EBPM). The conceptual diffusion of EBM to non-clinical arenas has exposed epistemologically destabilizing views regarding the definition of "science," particularly as it relates to the demands of global versus national/sub-national policy-making. Using the maternal and neonatal subfield as an ethnographic case-study, this paper explores the effects of these divergences on EBPM in 5 developing countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Nepal). In doing so, our analysis aims to explain why EBPM has thus far had a limited impact in the area of context-specific programmatic policy-development and implementation at the national and sub-national levels. Results highlight that the political contexts in which EBPM is played out promote uniformity of methodological and policy approaches, despite the fact that disciplinary diversity is being called for repeatedly in the public health literature. Even in situations where national EBPM diverges from international priorities, national evidence-based policies are found to hold little weight in countering global policy interests, which some informants claim are themselves legitimated, rather than informed, by evidence. Informants also highlight the way interpretations of research findings are shaped by the broader political context within which donors set priorities and distribute limited resources - contexts that are driven by the need to provide generalisable research recommendations based on scientifically replicable methods. Added to this are clear rifts between senior and junior-level experts within countries that constrain national and sub-national research agendas from serving as tools for empowered knowledge production and problem-solving. We conclude by arguing for diverse forms of research that can more effectively address context-specific problems. While such diversity may render EBPM more conflict-ridden, debate is by no means an undesirable characteristic in any evolving system of knowledge, for it has the potential to foster critical insight and localized change.
This study investigates whether export destination matters for economic growth. This important question is answered by utilising annual time series data spanning the period 1996–2018 on Ghana. Two main export destinations for Ghana – sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Europe and Central Asia (ECA) regions are selected for the analysis. The results from the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model show that, export destinations really matter for economic growth. Specifically, exports to the SSA region is not growth enhancing in the long-run, but exports to the ECA region is growth enhancing in both the short- and long-run. Based on the findings, we provide policy suggestions, which seek to improve economic growth through exports for consideration.
INTRODUCTION: The formation, modification and implementation of occupational health and safety policy for the Ghana healthcare industry hinge on data and reviews on occupational exposures. However, there is no synthesised review to speak to the issues of these occupational exposures. A scoping review on occupational exposures among the health workforce in Ghana will provide a broad overview of exposures, and can guide and assist in making decisions on occupational health issues relating to healthcare workers. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review methodology framework will guide the conduct of this scoping review. Primary research studies, government documents and other information on occupational exposures among healthcare workers published in the English language will be retrieved from databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO and Google scholar. A systematic search strategy will be employed to identify articles from 1 January 2010 until 30 November 2021. Also, grey literature sources in Ghana including government and tertiary institutions websites will be searched. A reference list of key studies and other available non-electronic materials will also be screened to identify relevant studies for inclusion. The review will consider studies that address prevalence, knowledge and predisposing factors of occupational exposures along with the use of occupational hazards control/preventive measures. After removal of duplicates, and title and abstract screening, relevant articles will be subjected to full-text analysis. The screening processes will be conducted independently by two reviewers. Data will then be extracted and presented in tabular form with a narrative to aid easy comprehension. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This scoping review does not require ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through publications, conference presentations and stakeholder meetings.
