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The study of yield gaps has become more complex, prompting the use of varied approaches to measure yields and a wider range of factors to explain these gaps. In the Global North, the focus is on precision farming, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a broader perspective is necessary due to pronounced variability in farmland conditions. While biogeophysical and management factors have been traditional focal points in yield gap analyses, socio-economic and institutional factors are increasingly recognized as significant, especially in SSA. This review synthesizes research from the past decade in SSA that integrates biogeophysical, management, farm characteristics, and institutional factors in yield gap discussions. The findings indicate a slow shift in including socio-economic factors, with management, particularly nutrient supply and crop management, remaining predominant. However, there is a growing trend towards methodological diversity, such as the adoption of remote sensing and GIS in recent years. Case studies from Kenya and Ghana, utilizing field surveys, interviews, panel data, and spatial analysis, highlight how a multifaceted approach can enhance our understanding of the various elements influencing maize yield gaps in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although corporations have been propelled to adapt eco-innovation strategies including decent work practices, responsible consumption and production, and transition from linear economy to circular economy model to integrate natural ecosystems, businesses, and waste management, inversely, the actual impact of the circular economy implementation (CEI) in Ghana is yet to be felt. This paper aims to analyse the implications of corporate green culture (CGC) on CEI behaviour, and to design a model that explains the mediating roles of environmental innovativeness (EI) and green intellectual capital (GIC) on the relation between CGC and CEI behaviour from the perspective of a lower resource economy context. Our paper is positioned on positivists' reasoning and quantitative research approach. A survey-based structured questionnaire has been used to collect data from 300 manufacturing firms in Ghana. Our hypotheses have been tested with the aid of SMART-PLS and structural equation modelling. The indicative results have shown that CGC positively affect CEI behaviour. Moreover, EI and GIC have significant and positive effects on CEI behaviour, Besides, GIC serves as a medium through which CGC indirectly impacts on CEI behaviour. The implications of the study include the emergence of baseline model to encourage CEI behaviour in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan African countries. The paper recommends that the newly developed model be used by practitioners to explain coordinated economic, ecological and social development, and restore ecological environment. Policymakers are encouraged to facilitate the reinforcement of environmental policies and subsequent realization of Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-corruption agencies in Ghana have failed over the years to deal with corruption and also take decisive steps in tackling the menace. For this reason inter alia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in 2018 established the Office of the Special Prosecutor as an institutional response to deal assertively with the issue of corruption. This action expanded the scope and discourse on the fight against corruption in Ghana. Following from this, the paper conceptualised the new institutional endeavour to control corruption in Ghana, simply as the 'judicialization of corruption'. By judicialization of corruption, the paper meant to portray a phenomenon where there is the use of judiciary and judicial processes in fighting corruption. Coming on the back of a political campaign promise, the paper seemly tested Ghanaian voters' view on this new anti-corruption arrangement by the government and puts forward a broad-spectrum of views by voters regarding the creation of the OSP. The paper used mixed method to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative data. The result showed majority of voters backing government's idea to create the OSP albeit a sizeable number perceiving the OSP as a mere conduit to 'witch-hunt' erstwhile government officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on hooks' notion of 'homeplace', Ahmed's theorisation of 'strange encounter,' and Sharpe's rumination on Black being 'in the wake' or afterlife of slavery, this paper reflects on how Aidoo's The Dilemma of a Ghost can help examine the 'Year of Return' project in terms of dwelling. The paper argues that Aidoo's play proffers a pedagogy of intercultural communication and a radical deconstruction of home and kinship. By noting Aidoo's emphasis on intercultural communication, home, and dwelling, the paper demonstrates how the 'Year of Return' can be conceptually enriched and pragmatically organised in ways that seriously consider Aidoo's ethic of dwelling. The paper is, therefore, a corrective to the overemphasis in the 'Year of Return' celebrations on trade, capital, and investment. Finally, the paper sheds light on the relationship between literature and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I seek to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on voter behaviour in the 2020 general elections in Ghana using survey data compiled in Greater Accra between July and August 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic became a major campaign issue in last year's election prompting varied responses and support from both the government and the main opposition parties. Though a majority of the electorate were satisfied (83.5%) and grateful (82%) for the relief items they received, only 3 out of every 10 of the respondents think the intervention had an effect on the way they voted. Using the rally-effect theory, the paper finds that the political leadership and incumbent government were able to rally support for their campaign as a result of the social intervention policies implemented in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, yet were unable to sustain and translate that support into electoral victory in the Greater Accra Region, a major swing region with the highest number of Covid-19 cases and one of the only two regions that witnessed a lockdown during the height of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of Governments of Ghana efforts to deal with misappropriation of public sector resources, the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658) was established to ensure probity, accountability, and transparency in the management of public sector resources, yet there is a high Corruption Perception Index in Ghana as asserted by the Transparent International 2021 release. To address this concern, our paper is aimed to develop a new model to explain the extent to which internal audit effectiveness (IAE) could be used to build strong organizational resilience as a mechanism through which efficiency in public procurement could be achieved while reducing public sector corruption incidence. Data have been collected from a cross-section of public sector workers. The structural equation modeling approach has been used to analyze the survey data. Our results have shown that cultural, and strategic resilience dimensions of organizational resilience significantly mediate the relationship between IAE and procurement performance. These results have implications for re-enforcement of audit regulations to ensure transparency in managing public sector resources with a focus on reducing negative public sector corruption perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Accord, the Ghana Energy Transition has been inaugurated to ensure a speedy shift from fossil fuel sources to clean energy (Solar, Wind, Thermal, Ocean Energy, Hydro Energy etc.) to avoid the worst of climate change. To facilitate the transition, we have developed an integrated model to explain the relationship between industry forces and investment intentions in renewable energy resources, and the moderating role of sustainable competitive strategy on the relationship between industry forces and investment intention. Cross-sectional survey data from Ghanaian private firms have been collected between January and February, 2022, and used for the study. To test our hypotheses, structural equation modelling approach and SMART-PLS 3.3.1 have been used. The results have shown that industry forces have significant effects on investment intention. The results have further shown that sustainable competitive strategy has significant relationships with investment intention. Moreover, the sustainable competitive strategy dimension of entrepreneurial competency has moderated the relationship between industry forces and investment intention. These results offer theoretical, policy and practical implications and guidance on strategies needed to attract private investment in renewable energy resources in Ghana and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the effect of inflation uncertainty on domestic investment in Ghana. In addition, it investigates the differential impacts of permanent and transitory inflation uncertainty on investment in Ghana. Inflation uncertainty was measured using the conditional variance generated from the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (CGARCH (1, 1)) model. Employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimator on data covering 1970 to 2020, the results provide strong evidence that inflation uncertainty, associated with high volatility in commodity prices, hampers domestic investment in Ghana. After disaggregating total inflation uncertainty into two components, this paper finds that permanent inflation uncertainty has a stronger adverse effect on domestic investment than does transitory inflation uncertainty. Additionally, the results reveal that domestic interest rate, foreign interest rate, government expenditure, and trade openness are also important factors that significantly affect investment in Ghana. Given the economic implications of these results, this paper offers actionable policy recommendations to improve investor confidence and spur domestic investment in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the structure of the market, efficiency and performance (profitability) of the general insurance industry in the Ghanaian economy. The overriding objective was to evaluate the impact that regulatory informed market structure would have on the pricing behaviour; examining the hypothesis of the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) for the general insurance market. Using data comprising a panel of 29 general insurance firms from 2008–2019, the paper used the Herfindahl Hirschman Index and the concentration ratio to measure the SCP in addition to computing efficiency as a measure for the Efficient Structure (ES) hypothesis. Using a Panel Corrected Standard Error and settling on Random Effect techniques, the paper found no evidence to suggest collusive firm behaviour among general insurers. The findings therefore supported the ES hypothesis, and rejected the SCP hypothesis. The paper presents insight into understanding the behaviour of insurance companies in the new markets inspired by regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to develop an integrated model to enhance the relationship between green entrepreneurship orientation (GEO), and sustainable firm performance to encourage sustainable consumption and production, by integrating Natural Resource Based View, and Dynamic Capability Theories with slight modification. We have approached this study through deductive reasoning, and the quantitative research approach. Structured questionnaire has been used to gather data from Green Entrepreneurs across different sectors in Ghana. The analyses have been conducted with the aid of SMART-PLS version 3.3.1 algorithm. Structural Equation Modelling technique has been used to test our hypotheses. Our results have shown that GEO drives green innovative performance, and firm performance. Moreover, green innovative capability significantly moderated the relationship between GEO, and green innovation performance. Again, green innovative performance significantly mediated the relation between GEO, and Sustainable firm performance. In conclusion, environmental sustainability could be achieved through GE, and Environmental Innovative Performance (EIP). Likewise, Green dynamic capability could be used to strengthen the relationship between GEO, and EIP. The implications of this study include the emergence of an integrated model to enhance green entrepreneurship development and environmental sustainability, and social realisation of Sustainability Development Goals 4, 8, 12, and 13 in a developing economy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between financial development and economic growth in Ghana between 1970 and 2020. The study adopted the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) techniques to address issues of model uncertainty due to many potential explanatory variables that could influence growth. The study revealed that credit to the private sector, gross domestic savings, inflation rate, labour force participation, current account balance and population growth as key promoters of growth. Therefore, there is the need to address cost of doing business and promote increased credit delivery to the private sector. The direct association between financial development and growth indicates the need for policy makers to implement measures such as provision of legal environment for efficient allocation of credit to the private sector and provide the environment for the establishment of more financial institutions to enhance the growth of the financial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transdisciplinary research has gained traction globally for mapping pathways for sustainable urbanisation. The involvement of local communities is believed to central to knowledge co-production needed to address sustainability challenges. But working with local communities can be challenging. This paper is structured around the authors' personal reflections on undertaking transdisciplinary household energy conservation projects in Ghana and South Africa. The paper reflects on the assumptions and challenges of doing transdisciplinary research in urban Africa and suggests some guidelines for consideration when doing transdisciplinary projects. An inductive analysis of our reflections showed five key challenges: lack of integration, divergent problem identification, tensions in knowledge co-production, asymmetrical power relations, and distrust and managing expectations. We draw on our collective experiences to develop guidelines for conducting transdisciplinary research in urban Africa. These guidelines are not prescriptive but can be useful for a growing and broader audience interested in undertaking transdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethics provides various models of fair allocation of scarce health resources like COVID-19 vaccines. Even though these models are grounded in some ethical principles like justice and beneficence, there were severe inequalities in global access to COVID-19 vaccines. In Ghana, about 21.5 million COVID-19-doses have been administered but comprise mainly members of the adult population. As a result, ethical issues related to vaccinating children have been largely ignored in the country. This paper explores some of the ethical implications related to children's exclusion in the initial COVID-19 vaccination programs in Ghana. It provides a general overview of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and how it related to children and discusses the risks to which Ghanaian children were exposed by delaying their COVID-19 vaccination. A guide to facilitating the full rollout of COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana for children has been proposed that indicates that a fair vaccine distribution for children should prioritize children on admission at health facilities, those diagnosed with severe underlying health conditions, and children who could play an instrumental role in promoting vaccine uptake. It concludes that children must not be placed at the peripheries of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines price volatility and transmission of rice markets in Ghana and draws implications for food security. Using monthly rice price data from 2013 to 2019, the paper uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) with an Error Correction Model (ECM) to ascertain the availability and accessibility of rice, whilst the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model is considered to measure the stability of the commodity. The paper finds evidence of cointegration between the World and Ghana's rice market. Findings confirm cointegration in Ghana's regional markets for both imported and domestically produced rice. This ensures stable long-run relationship, allowing trade flows that guarantees rice availability. The corrections in short-run deviations of price ensure continuous accessibility of rice in the country. Estimates from the volatility model suggest high fluctuation in prices, implying that stability in the prices of rice is an issue across all regional markets. The paper recommends efforts in increasing domestic production to enhance availability and accessibility of rice. Stakeholders along the rice value chain should be encouraged to invest in competitive rice production. Government should leverage rice prices with giant import countries to reduce the cost of importation for stable price on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates agri-food value chain transparency and the role of institutional quality on agri-food processing firms' performance. The research collected primary data via survey to analyse 320 agri-food processing firms. This study empirically established that value chain transparency and institutional quality significantly improve agri-food processing firms' performance. Also, institutional quality positively moderates the relationship between value chain transparency and the performance of agri-food processing firms significantly. The empirical results in this paper imply that stakeholders in the existing and incoming agri-food processing firms should prioritise transparency and institutional quality in making managerial decisions to achieve higher performance in their value chain. The study's uniqueness is its contribution to value chain literature and also towards the development of the agri-food value chain sector to enhance performance in a developing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Critical African Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Establishing effective pharmaceutical governance is a challenge for government agencies, private enterprises, and professionals working on the ground, demanding complex ethical decisions from the actors involved, especially in a lower-middle-income country like Ghana. This letter aims to share the author's perspectives and additional considerations on the analyses of the reports in the paper "It is very difficult in this business if you want to have a good conscience": pharmaceutical governance and on-the-ground ethical labor in Ghana by Hampshire et al. The letter's authors discuss the need to advance universal health coverage in Ghana, the everyday ethics, and the disparities between the collective and individual moral consciousness of the participants, as well as other aspects of governance in the pharmaceutical sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to measure farmers' perceptions on climate variations, and examine the effects of such variations on cassava production in Ghana. Using a three-stage sampling technique involving cluster, stratified, and simple random sampling techniques, structured questionnaires were administered to 252 smallholder cassava farmers in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region, Ghana. This was supplemented with focus group discussion sessions with male and female cassava farmers for the purpose of triangulating the quantitative and qualitative data. The study showed an overwhelming 98% of respondents, comprising 57% males, and 43% females, acknowledging to have noticed changes in the weather patterns over the last 30 years. While 85% of respondents said rainfall was decreasing, 75% said the rains did not come at the expected time, with 58% of them saying reduced rainy periods were the noticeable changes. Respondents attributed the changes in weather patterns to environmental degradation (72%), natural phenomenon (15%), and punishment by God (1%). Majority of them (97%) said they had suffered from decreasing yields in cassava as a result of seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall. The paper makes a strong case for activities that will bridge the knowledge-and-skill gap between male and female farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigated the nexus between Ghana's single spine pay policy and unemployment. An exploratory sequential mixed design method was employed to collect data from 413 business owners and managers, which comprised manufacturing companies, service industries, wholesalers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 24.0 as well as the structural equation modelling (SEM) statistical technique with PLS 3.0 was used to determine the hypothesized relationships. It was observed that single spine pay policy had a significant effect on unemployment. The policy had a very high influence on cyclical unemployment, followed by frictional unemployment as well as the structural unemployment in that order. It basically uncovered evidence that the introduction of the policy contributed to the unemployment situation in the country. The study contributes to the ongoing research in examining the linkage between single spine pay policy and unemployment. It also adds to the existing literature on the measurement of unemployment as a "multidimensional construct" instead of the conventional "unidimensional construct" measurement. The strategic implication of the result is discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally Financial inclusion provides an opportunity to promote equal access to resources for all. One of the crucial catalysts for microenterprises development is access to the financial market. However, the growth of many microenterprises has been truncated in Ghana due to limited access to financial opportunities. Despite this challenge, little is known about the drivers of financial inclusion in Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana. This paper examines the drivers of financial inclusion of microentrepreneurs in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Using a close ended questionnaire, this study employed an exploratory survey design to collect data from 200 engaged in trading, manufacturing, and services. The respondents were sampled using a simple random sampling technique. Given that the outcome variable is binary, the study used a binary probit regression model for the data analysis. The results predicted that religion, awareness of loan services, business registration, and preparation of financial statements drive financial inclusion in Wa Municipality. From the results, the study recommends that financial service providers should consider social networks, entrepreneurial practice, gender and religion as sensitive drivers of financial inclusion. In addition, financial education should be intensified as knowledge of the available financial products is a key driver of financial inclusion in the Municipality. While this study has contributed to the body of literature on financial inclusion in Ghana, further research is necessary to identify consumer financial needs to meet clients' expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unmatched growth in available jobs, given the rising youth population, is a major concern for policymakers in sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs), particularly Ghana. The weakness in the link between education and the needed skill by the industry, has been labelled as the cause of rising unemployment and prolonged unemployment duration in Ghana. This paper presents new evidence on the effect of education and skill—language, computer and numeracy skills—on unemployment duration in Ghana using the Skill Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) skill dataset collected by the World Bank in 2013. The study employs Cox's Proportional Hazard Model to examine the effect of education, language, computer and numeracy skill on unemployment duration. We found that education reduces the duration of unemployment in general. However, the effect is higher for exiting salaried work compared to self-employed jobs. Proficiency in computer, English or Ewe reduces the duration of unemployment. In particular, we observe that individuals highly skilled in computer use are 34.4% more likely to exit unemployment compared to those without computer skills. Interestingly, the effect of computer skills is through channels other than formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of mining foreign direct investment on economic growth in Ghana using quarterly time series data from 1996–2015. The study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach to cointegration and the error correction model to investigate the existence of a long-run and short-run equilibrium relationship between foreign direct investment into the mining sector and economic growth. The study established that foreign direct investment into the mining sector hurts economic growth in Ghana in the long run but a positive in the short run. The study also finds that private sector credit, capital stock, government spending, and labour participation rate have a statistically significant positive relationship with economic growth in the long run. Trade openness exhibited a statistically significant negative long-run relationship with economic growth, while inflation had a positive but insignificant impact on economic growth for the study period. The study recommends that government should encourage research and development in the mining sector and align mining and other environmental policies to ensure sustainable growth. It is further recommended that government tactfully provide investment incentives to ensure the development of other sectors to avoid the Dutch disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical paper explores the link between remittance inflows and financial development in Ghana from 1980–2019. Empirical analyses are carried out using the ARDL VECM, DOLS, CCR and FMOLS techniques. Furthermore, the IRF and forecast FEVD analyses were employed to comprehend better financial development's response to shocks to remittance inflows and other macroeconomic factors. The results demonstrate that the variables are cointegrated, and remittance was found to be beneficial to financial development in both the short and long run. Furthermore, from the IRF analysis, positive shocks to remittance have a favourable influence on financial development. The FEVD investigation suggests that shocks to migrant remittance accounted for almost 32% of the overall variations in financial development. The implication is that, from a policy perspective, well-structured strategies should be devised and executed to promote higher remittance flows via official conduits. This will stimulate economic growth, financial development, and other monetary benefits of remittance inflows to the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been institutionalized in Ghana with structures, processes, and methods. This paper identifies and analyzes the policy players involved; the way in which issues were framed; and the manner in which administrative structures were used to set the agenda for, adopt, and implement HTA. It shows that the Ministry of Health, supported by other players, led HTA agenda-setting through training activities and discussions on evidence of selection pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other health-related technologies. HTA was then captured in a health sector aide memoire that summarized the decisions made at a national health summit. In implementing the HTA policy, technical working groups and a steering committee were constituted to provide recommendations to the minister of health on high-level decisions. The ability of agenda influencers to maneuver existing administrative and bureaucratic structures, align them with national strategic goals, and sustain HTA implementation enabled Ghana to institutionalize HTA. Limited financial support and a dearth of in-country expertise are being addressed through capacity building and funding. To ensure early national buy-in and uptake, policy makers and agenda influencers need to understand each country's health system and align HTA with national policy decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influx of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the COP 21 has necessitated the need for a paradigm shift in traditional consumption and production to reflect a balance between environmental safety, social justice and profitability. The Ghanaian Petroleum Industry is predominately fossil fuel–based with higher level of carbon and methane emissions. Ensuing from the Stakeholders' and the Resource-Based View theories, this paper aims to develop a model to explain the relationship between sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices and sustainable performance (SP) by examining the extent to which pressure from stakeholders could strengthen the proposed model in the context of downstream petroleum supply chain. Variance-Based Partial Least Square method has been used to analyse a cross-sectional data from Oil Marketing companies in Ghana. Our results have revealed that SSCM practices such as environmental, economic, and social are positively related to SP. Moreover, stakeholder's pressure positively and significantly relates to SP. Again, stakeholders' pressure significantly moderate the relationships between environmental and social dimensions of SSCM practices and SP. By implications, there is an emergency of an SP model with enhanced predictability. Again, policymakers and advocates can achieve greater sustainability by maximising stakeholders' pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands on financial literacy, access to digital finance, and SME performance in the Central Region of Ghana. First, the study analysed SMEs' digital platform knowledge and utilisation. It examined the relationship between financial literacy, access to digital finance, and SME performance. The paper discussed the mediating influence of access to digital finance on SMEs' financial literacy and performance. The study employed the quantitative research approach. Using the purposive sampling technique, a total of 400 responses were gathered from SMEs in Cape Coast, Mankessim, Assin Fosu, Agona Swedru, and Kasoa. The study used self-administered questionnaires to collect data. SPSS was employed to evaluate descriptive statistics. Results show that SMEs in the study areas use Mobile Money more than any other digital platform. PLS-SEM was used to investigate the relationship between financial literacy, digital finance, and SME performance. It was found that financial literacy positively affects access to digital finance. Also, access to digital finance improved performance. Access to digital finance mediates the relationship between financial literacy and SME performance. Access to digital finance is as crucial as financial literacy for increasing performance. Therefore, using digital platforms to trade would boost business performance. Digital trading platform providers should improve advertising and make their systems user-friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper sought to explore the effect of capital flight on the economic growth nexus in Ghana. The study used quarterly time series data from 1976 to 2020 to test three hypotheses. The paper used non-linear autoregressive distributive lagged employing unit root test, co-integration test, and Wald test to assess the asymmetrical relationship among the variables. The study posits that both the positive and negative changes in capital flight affect economic growth significantly. Again, the study revealed that capital flight and other macroeconomic variables explain about 75.28% of economic growth. Furthermore, the model can restore the short-run relationship to the dynamic long-long equilibrium at the speed of 35.6%. The study recommends that government economic policymakers build economic confidence by stabilizing economic conditions in the country to reduce the incentives for capital outflows. Further, as a priority, the government must formulate strategies to recover looted public funds by corrupt public officials stacked in foreign accounts and inject them into the economy to boost economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considered Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Model to analyse technical efficiency and their determinants of groundnut farmers in Ghana. The paper used a cross-sectional data of three-hundred (300) observations to obtain posterior distributions of the farmers' technical efficiency levels. All computations were done using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (MCMC). Results revealed that the groundnut farmers produce at an increasing return to scale of 1.10. Average technical efficiency of the farmers was found to be 70.5%, ranging from a minimum of 13.0% to a maximum of 95.1%. Frequency of extension visit, educational level and gender of the farmers were identified to significantly explain inefficiency of the farmers. The paper concluded that groundnut farmers in the northern part of Ghana are operating in the first stage of the production function and could increase their frontier output by 29.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2011, successive Governments in Ghana have developed, and implemented Renewable Energy Master Plan to leverage macroenvironmental forces and encourage indigenous investment in Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs), but the actual impacts are yet to be felt by Ghanaians. The main objectives of the study are to: examine the impacts of Macroenvironment Forces (MF) on Small and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs) investment intentions in RETs, and determine the moderating effects of Entrepreneurship Orientation (EO) dimensions (viz. proactiveness, competitive aggression, innovativeness, and risk-taken) on the relationship between MF and SMEs' investment intentions. A total of 240 usable responses were received through self-administered survey questionnaires among Ghanaian SMEs. Variance-Based Partial Least Square Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used for the data analyses and hypotheses testing. The results revealed that MF had significant and positive relationship with SMEs' intention to invest in RETs. Moreover, the results showed that proactiveness, competitive aggressive, and innovation had direct effects on intention to invest in RETs. Again, the results showed that EO dimensions significantly moderated the relationship between MF and investment intentions in RETs. The implications of these results include extending previous MF works by evaluating MF, EO, and investment intention relationships in a developing country context, which has been largely ignored in previous studies. Again, this paper provides insights into the value of macroenvironment scanning and assessment which could lead to better investment intentions in clean, affordable, and reliable energy service. Besides, the efficacy of EO in MF-investment intentions relationship has been well established in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology & Society is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper sought to examine the pre- and post-IFRS adoption effects on the financial reporting quality (FRQ) of manufacturing firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) via means of correlation analysis, as well as regression analysis using a standard Fixed Effect (FE) model and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique. Data was sourced from the audited annual reports of eleven manufacturing firms observed over the period 2001 to 2006 for the pre-adoption era, and 2007 to 2014 for the post adoption era, making 148 firm-year observations. Using earnings management, measured by modified Jones' discretionary accruals, as a proxy for FRQ, the regression results showed a significant negative effect of IFRS adoption on earnings management, thus indicating an improvement in the FRQ. On the extent of earnings management practices both pre- and post-IFRS adoption, the study finds a decrease in the post-adoption era as against the pre-adoption era, also signifying an improvement in accounting quality after the adoption of IFRS. The findings of this study indicate that, IFRS adoption enhances the quality of firms' financial reports within the Ghanaian capital market, which is envisaged to boost investor confidence and attract more capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of public debt on inflation in Ghana using annual data during the period 1983–2018. The study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration and an error correction model to examine this linkage. The cointegrating regression results reveal evidence of a stable long-run relationship between inflation and the explanatory variables in the presence of a structural break. The findings also show a positive and significant impact of public debt on inflation. These results were found to hold, irrespective of whether the regression was conducted in the short run or in the long run. The study confirms the presence of the inflationary effects of public debt in Ghana. The government should, therefore, be prudent when considering increases in public debt to minimize volatility in inflation and its associated risks to the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the impact of the adoption of cocoa hand pollination (CHP) on the welfare of smallholder cocoa producers. Using data collected from 1200 cocoa farmers in Huni Valley and Kejebril districts of Ghana, we employed endogenous switching regression, propensity score matching and inverse probability weighted adjustment techniques to assess the impact. The two-step Cragg was used to examine the determinants of the decision and intensity of adoption. The results showed that education, marriage and farm size positively influenced both the decision and intensity of adoption of the CHP technique. The result further showed that the cost of labour for implementing the technology, age, education, family head, economic active members, age of the cocoa tree, off-farm work, credit access and farm size significantly determined the impact of adoption on smallholder cocoa producers' welfare. Additionally, there is a positive impact of CHP adoption on productivity, income and food security. Careful consideration should be given to these factors including collaborations between government and stakeholders in the cocoa industry through the regular sensitization and trainings for farmers on improved technologies as the CHP to increase productivity, household income and reduce food insecurity of smallholder cocoa farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number of genotypes/varieties of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L) fibre in Ghana. The kenaf fibre is used in both engineering and social products and its properties improve its choice. This paper reports the tensile strength and elongation of five genotypes of the kenaf fibre in Ghana. The fibres are cultivated and harvested at maturity and prepared with water retting. A gauge length of 20 mm was used and cardboard as the initial support. The fibre diameters are found for each genotype to be 34.2 μm, 40.4 μm, 38.2 μm, 43.2 μm and 39.2 μm for EB31, TN11, EN31, PN11 and HN11 respectively. The densities are 0.53 g/cm³ for EB31; 0.60 g/cm³ for TN11; 0.63 g/cm³ for EN31; 0.94 g/cm³ for PN11 and 1.00 g/cm³ for HN11. The tensile strengths are 734.53 MPa for EB31, 1292.37 MPa for TN11, 1241.53 MPa for EN31, 979.35 MPa for PN11 and 1365.14 MPa for HN11. The corresponding percentage elongations are found to be 10.88 for EB31; 12.23 for TN11; 14.66 for EN31; 15.81 for PN11 and 13.13 for HN11. These results will make the application of fibre in various engineering applications, especially in composites, more predictive in properties and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research paper is to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) influencing the success of public road construction projects from the perspective of a developing nation. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on the extent to which critical success factors gathered from literature impact the success of public road construction projects from sector practitioners' perspectives in Ghana. The data was then analysed using factor analysis. The study revealed that external environmental factors have the highest influence (46.23%) on public road construction project success, followed by project management factors (12.25%) while procurement-related factors have the least impact (6.97%). Public construction project management organisations and the government will now have a deeper understanding of CSFs that influence the success of public construction projects and use them as a guide to enhance the successful delivery of public road construction projects. Even though numerous studies have been undertaken to enhance the success of construction projects in Ghana, very little attention has been given to procurement-related factors. Thus, the study outcome will add value to sector practitioners and the Government of Ghana in the management of public road construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary healthcare (PHC) has become a concern in most resource constraint economies particularly in the global south where meeting this important economic need has become a burden. Given this, blockchain technology (BT), a promising transformation in contemporary service delivery, has become an alternative for service-oriented institutions to meet their desired goals. In primary healthcare, BT has been utilised to lessen the burden on medical supply chain and data management. Nonetheless, the technology seems to be a preserve of the developed economies. In the global south, not only has the complexities of the technology hindered the implementation of the technology but the understanding of its affordances has also been nascent. This study extends Task-technology fit model with the perceived e-readiness model. Drawing on the best-worst method, this paper investigates PHC managers' decision to embrace BT for PHC delivery in Ghana. The study finds that, in order of relevance, task-technology, infrastructure and individual characteristics are the main drivers of BT adoption and implementation. The study proposes the implementation of various strategies relevant to ensuring a sustainable BT for the management of PHC in resource constraint economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It depends on both the pedestrians and the building whether they can be evacuated from a building safely and quickly in any situation. Understanding pedestrian behavior is crucial when designing buildings for safe evacuation in emergencies like earthquakes and fires. Since this topic has yet to be fully explored in Ghana, we conducted experiments in a classroom to capture the characteristics of pedestrian movements during an emergency. In this experimental study, students were asked to pretend to evacuate during an emergency. The simulation and comparison of the evacuation of students from a classroom were conducted using a multi-grid model in our study. The study examines several factors that influence evacuation characteristics. These factors include pedestrian density, speed, time, door width, body mass index, and classroom capacity. The paper describes in detail all study phases, including planning, preliminary work, observational studies, empirical data collection, and statistical analysis. It thoroughly examines premovement time, group density, and velocities for groups and individuals moving through doorways, traveling distances, and walking in educational settings. A person's state of mind and psychological abilities are also taken into account, as well as their level of emotional involvement in the movement. The obtained results are also discussed for evacuation planning in educational institutions under different conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buffer stock intervention is a hedging policy against income losses due to price fluctuations, primarily from farming activities, notably the production of cereals. This paper investigates the impact of buffer stock intervention on smallholder farmers' food security in Ghana. To this end, the motivation was to estimate the nutrient-content household dietary diversity index (NHDDI) based on a cross-sectional data set. We apply Coarsened Exact Matching, Weighted Least Squares, and Weighted Ordered Probit analysis as econometric methods. We find that marital status, gender, education, and income positively impact food security, while the household size and the number of children under five years old have a negative impact. We also find that income and education, which have a positive direct impact on food security, have a mitigating effect on the negative impact of children under five years. The most important finding is that participation in the buffer stock operations improves the household food security of participating smallholder farmers. NAFCO in its present form has positive effects on food security for participants, positive but smaller price effects for non-participating smallholder farmers, and negative effects for consumers at large. The latter effect could be reduced by implementing a buffer stock policy consisting of buying during the glut and selling when supply is tight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiency and productivity measurement in the insurance industry has attracted great interest from academicians, practitioners, financial market analysts, insurance regulators, and researchers; however, the near absence of empirical work on the productivity changes of the life insurance industry in Ghana poses management challenges. The main objective of this paper is to measure the efficiency and productivity changes in the life insurance industry in Ghana. The Ghana National Insurance Commission's annual report data was used in this study. We employ the non-parametric Malmquist productivity change indices and the bootstrap technique to measure the productivity changes of a sample of 19 out of 20 Ghanaian life insurance firms for the period 2015–2020. The empirical results show that the level of output-oriented technical inefficiency of the life insurance industry in Ghana is approximately 17% over the period 2015–2020. This result provides us with a general guide to identify the periods in which the industry is most and least technically efficient. Also, our findings show that the estimate of total productivity changes has retrogressed about 13% over the period in the Ghanaian life insurance industry. We further identified that the deterioration in the productivity is due to efficiency changes. The decomposition of the technological changes also reveals that the life insurance industry did not benefit from pure scale efficiency. This study contributes by encouraging the policy makers and managers of life insurance firm to use scarce resources efficiently and productively in order to stay in business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are motivated by the growing complexity of financial service products amidst an unending wave of Ponzi schemes as well as the low levels of financial literacy reported by prior studies. Particularly, while the extant literature has focused on various determinants of financial literacy, limited insights exist on the implications of financial literacy on financial behaviour. Consequently, we focus our empirical test on identifying the link between financial literacy and financial behaviour. We formulated our hypotheses from the family resource management theory which postulates that individual behaviour is a function of their knowledge. Thus, relative to financial literacy and financial behaviour, we argue that financially literate individuals are more likely to exhibit sound financial behaviour than those who are financially illiterate. We tested our hypothesis by using the logistic regression technique on a cross-sectional sample of 3,932 students pursuing various undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Ghanaian public and private universities. Notably, we selected our respondents from six (6) public and six (6) private universities. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, our results show that financially literate students are more likely to exhibit sound financial behaviour. Specifically, the results demonstrate that financial literacy is a major input for financial behaviour. Additionally, we observe that variables such as family characteristics particularly the father's educational background, and discussion of financial matters at home are significant predictors of sound financial behaviour. Generally, our results have implications for various stakeholders including governments, academic institutions, and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teenage motherhood is a social occurrence that presents itself in every country. This paper explored lived experiences of teenage mothers in the Adaklu District of Ghana. The study was a phenomenological qualitative study. Data for the study were obtained through narratives, and photovoices; using an in-depth interview guide. The thematic data analysis technique was employed to present the findings. The study purposively sampled 30 teenage mothers. Teenage mothers used pictures such as trees by the riverside, stacked blocks, and electrical sockets to explain their motherhood experiences. Codes from the data revolved around instruction, and communicative learning lived experiences. Teenage motherhood experiences were largely on issues such as the irresponsible attitude of a child's father, rape, remorsefulness, engagement in apprenticeship, supportive partners, and relatives. It can be concluded that teenage mothers have different perspectives on their lived experiences which could either help or hinder how they make meaning of their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent advancements in autonomous vehicles as a means of providing sustainable transport, governments, policymakers and automobile companies, including those in the emerging economies, need to understand what drives the adoption of the technology among people. This paper, for that matter, examines the factors that influence the intention of Ghanaians to use autonomous vehicles (AVs). The Technology Acceptance Model was adopted, extended and data analysed by using multiple linear regression in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21 and then the PROCESS macro add-on. Subjective norm, attitude, and awareness were found to have a significant and positive direct influence on intention to use AVs. Intention to use AVs varies significantly by age and monthly income. Trust, perceived risk, perceived benefit, and perceived ease of use have a significant indirect effect on the intention to use AVs. Perceived usefulness has both a direct significant influence on intention to use AVs and a significant indirect effect on intention to use AVs when partially mediated by attitude. Recommendations have been given to government and all transport stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance of pharmaceutical medicines entails complex ethical decisions that should, in theory, be the responsibility of democratically accountable government agencies. However, in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), regulatory and health systems constraints mean that many people still lack access to safe, appropriate and affordable medication, posing significant ethical challenges for those working on the "front line". Drawing on 18 months of fieldwork in Ghana, we present three detailed case studies of individuals in this position: an urban retail pharmacist, a rural over-the-counter medicine retailer, and a local inspector. Through these case studies, we consider the significant burden of "ethical labour" borne by those operating "on the ground", who navigate complex moral, legal and business imperatives in real time and with very real consequences for those they serve. The paper ends with a reflection on the tensions between abstract, generalised ethical frameworks based on high-level principles, and a pragmatic, contingent ethics-in-practice that foregrounds immediate individual needs – a tension rooted in the gap between the theory and the reality of pharmaceutical governance that shifts the burden of ethical labour downwards and perpetuates long-term public health risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical sector corruption undermines patient access to medicines by diverting public funds for private gain and exacerbating health inequities. This paper presents an analysis of UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) compliance in seven countries and examines how full UNCAC adoption may reduce corruption risks within four key pharmaceutical decision-making points: product approval, formulary selection, procurement, and dispensing. Countries were selected based on their participation in the Medicines Transparency Alliance and the WHO Good Governance for Medicines Programme. Each country’s domestic anti-corruption laws and policies were catalogued and analysed to evaluate their implementation of select UNCAC Articles relevant to the pharmaceutical sector. Countries displayed high compliance with UNCAC provisions on procurement and the recognition of most public sector corruption offences. However, several countries do not penalise private sector bribery or provide statutory protection to whistleblowers or witnesses in corruption proceedings, suggesting that private sector pharmaceutical dispensing may be a decision-making point particularly vulnerable to corruption. Fully implementing the UNCAC is a meaningful first step that countries can take reduce pharmaceutical sector corruption. However, without broader commitment to cultures of transparency and institutional integrity, corruption legislation alone is likely insufficient to ensure long-term, sustainable pharmaceutical sector good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between child labour and educational attainment and explores the distinction between harmful and non-harmful agricultural cocoa work. We conduct a secondary analysis of data on 3,338 children who reported attending school in 2018 across cocoa growing regions of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. To address differences between harmful and non-harmful child labour, we differentiated work completed by a child by hazardous activity engagement. These groups of child labour were then modelled against educational attainment, defined by a whether or not the child needed to repeat a class. We then conducted mediation analysis to assess whether injury mediates this relationship. Our results show that hazardous child labour increases the odds of repeating a class and work-related injury compared to non-hazardous labour. The effect of hazardous child labour on academic attainment was also found to be mediated by work-related injuries by 14%. Educational attainment is associated with hazardous labour activities and the odds of injury and not the act of participation in agricultural labour alone. Programmes based on strong measures of harmful work will foster better protection for children who are most at risk and may inform global debates around the benefits versus the risks of child labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provisioning ecosystem services are under threat in peripheral areas in African cities due to urbanisation pressures. Previous studies have focused on land conversion and food crop production. How urbanisation pressures intertwine with the provisioning ecosystem services availability to peri-urban households is an empirical question, which this paper answered using Wa in Ghana as a case. The mixed method research approach was employed involving 400 randomly selected households with the aid of a questionnaire, while interviews were also conducted with relevant stakeholders. Descriptive statistics and a five-point Likert scale were used to analyse the household data, while interview responses were thematised. We observed that urbanisation adversely affected ecosystems, reducing the availability of wild fruits, fuelwood, and game to farmer households. From the households' perspective, most of these services will disappear in the future as urbanisation intensifies. We recommend the restoration of degraded lands for the conservation of natural habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the dynamics of urban land use and land cover change, and their implications for livelihoods in peri-urban Tamale, Ghana. The study employed household data and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) for 1986, Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM +) for 2004 and Landsat 8 Operationalised Landsat Imager/Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLIS/TIRS) for 2019. The findings show that the urban expansion process witnessed a transition from agricultural livelihood to a more complex and monetised urban economy, which presented mixed impacts on the livelihoods of the peri-urban households. We argued that the horizontal expansion of urban areas into prime agricultural lands could be halted by promoting vertical development in the form of multi-storey buildings rather than the horizontal multiplication of individual housing units. Supporting the peri-urban households to diversify their livelihood portfolios by venturing into beekeeping, poultry farming, and livestock keeping, which do not require large tracts of land is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an interface between health and education, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) offers a potent tool among other interventions to accelerate healthy transition of adolescents into adulthood. With increasing interest in in-school CSE provision/delivery, young people in out-of-school contexts may be left behind. This study forms part of implementation research to understand if the activities used to train and support the facilitators are feasible, appropriate, acceptable, and effective in enabling them to engage a defined group of young people, deliver CSE to them in the out-of-school context, and assist them in obtaining relevant services. This paper presents findings of mapping of out-of-school CSE interventions in Ghana, ongoing or completed between 2015 and 2020, and then discusses a needs assessment of two purposively selected groups of vulnerable out-of-school youth: young people living with HIV and AIDS (YPLHIV) and those living in detention (YPiD). We conducted 10 interviews with YPLHIV and three focus group discussions with YPiD in November 2020. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using both deductive and inductive approaches. The mapping yielded 29 interventions (18/62% were ongoing) focused extensively on the delivery of CSE-related knowledge and information; none were aimed at building facilitators' capacity and most targeted the northern regions. Among YPLHIV, living positively after diagnosis, disclosure skills and use of HIV/AIDS health services were critical. YpID sought clarification on personal hygiene, consent in sexual relationships, medium/channel to deliver CSE, and issues around same-sex sexual intercourse. Both groups sought skills in dealing with stigmatisation and discrimination. Implications of the findings for our own and other interventions are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic impacts on the environment, land cover and land use change such as urbanisation and deforestation affect rainfall and change riverflow responsiveness and seasonal flows as a result of their influence on nonlinear behaviour of the catchments of rivers. Water supply is seriously affected which invariably impacts on domestic activities and agriculture. In some countries river transportation, hydropower, irrigation and fish farming are at risk due to these impacts. Within this paper, a review of existing hydrological and climatic studies in Africa and Ghana in particular is presented. The paper highlights the knowledge gaps identified in the review, such as rainfall-riverflow processes and their controls in the country, estimation of cycles in evapo-transpiration and solar radiation time series, together with the complete characterisation of the temporal and spatial fluctuations within the climate cycles. The establishment of a monograph of catchment response characteristic across the Ghanaian latitudinal gradient and if possible across the tropics is recommended. This could be used for the prediction of hydrologic response of ungauged catchments in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of monetary policy on key macroeconomic indicators in Ghana. The study used annual time series data from 2002 to 2017, which was sourced from the World Development Indicator (WDI) and the Bank of Ghana (BOG). The data were converted to Quarterly data between 2002Q1 and 2017Q4, which covers a sample period of sixteen years. The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lagged Model (ARDL) for analyzing the data. Unit root test was conducted using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) tests, and the results of the analysis exhibited a cointegration realtionship among the variables of order one (1). Monetary policy changes affected lending rates by (0.32%) compared to the other variables. Overall, the results suggests that monetary policy affects macro economic indicators performance in Ghana. Based on the foregoing, the paper recommends that, in efforts to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, the need for policy intervention in determining the stance of fiscal policies, develop financial markets, and liberalize controlled interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]